Slowcooker Mexican Beefy Mac

Slowcooker Mexican Beefy Mac
Makes 4 Servings

1 pound ground beef
1 tbsp minced garlic, jarred
salt and pepper, to taste
1 can fat-free cream of chicken soup
½ cup fat-free sour cream
1 can rotel
1 packet taco seasoning
1 tsp hot sauce
8 oz. pasta (short shape of your choice)

Add beef to slowcooker. Mix soup, garlic, sour cream, rotel, taco seasoning and hot sauce. Stir well and pour over beef. Cook on high 3 hours. Stir, ensuring beef is cooked/no longer pink. If cooked, stir in noodles. Cook for 20 minutes until noodles soften.

Nutritional Information: 457 calories, 60 carabs, 7 fat grams and 32 protein grams.

Review: This was super easy, yummy and spicy! I liked being able to just add raw meat and a few cans/packets to a slowcooker and then having a yummy meal. To reduce the spice, simply remove or decrease the hot sauce - easy peasy. I liked this dish too because I LOVE slowcooker dishes and that cook the pasta for me - gives the noodles a lot of great flavor. This one is an easy one and will definitely be repeated. To make it 6 servings I'd consider just adding a can of corn or a can of black beans! This is definitely one of those you can make your own by adding salsa instead of rotel, topping with guac or jalapeno, etc.

Christmas Breakfast Round Up!

I posted this over on my other blog and thought I should add it here too - LOVING these Christmas-breakfast-recipes!
1. Breakfast Wonton Cups

Breakfast Wonton cups
Makes 4 Servings (12 cups)
Recipe adapted from Cooking with Mel
Nutritional Information (for 3 cups): 262 calories, 14 carbs, 12 fat grams and 21 protein grams.
I LOVED these little bits of fabulous. I loved that you could have 3, I loved the flavor. I hearted the crispy on the outside fluffy egg in the inside. Make these! All you need are simple ingredients and a muffin tin! You could even let guests make their own with a toppings bar! Recipe is here!

2.  Italian Egg Bake

Italian Egg Bake
Makes 6 Servings
Inspired by a Pillsbury recipe
Nutritional Information: 353 calories, 24 carbs, 17 fat grams and 24 protein grams.
Tastes great and is very filling - didn't take long either which is always nice. I'd pre-cooked the sausage, so it was already in a box cooked and ready, and the cheese was already grated too - this helped! I liked the add of the Italian bread crumbs - the crunchy topping was nice with the softer, fluffy egg/potato layer. It's also great that it makes 6 servings AND reheats well. Recipe is here!

3. Spicy Potato & Bacon Breakfast

Spicy Potato and Bacon Breakfast Casserole
Recipe adapted from Our Best Bites
Makes 4 Servings
Nutritional Information: 308 calories, 27 carbs, 12 fat grams and 22 protein grams.

Really easy, pretty (in my humble opinion) and made very healthy sized servings. Especially for 300 calories - I felt more like it tasted like a 400-calorie meal! It's a keeper, and I think you could really make it your own with more veggies, too! Recipe is here!

4. Ricotta Tomato Toast & Italian Eggs

Ricotta Tomato Toast and Italian Eggs

Makes 4 Servings
Nutritional Information: 295 calories, 16 carbs, 16 fat grams and 25 protein grams.

LOVE the basily eggs - so good! The toast is great too, but just make sure you're okay with the fact that it's a bit cold (if that makes sense). The eggs are warm (obvi) but the toast isn't due to the cold tomato! Recipe is here!

5. Breakfast Nachos

Breakfast Nachos
Recipe from My Bizzy Kitchen
Makes 2 Servings
Nutritional Information: 337 calories, 32 carbs, 15 fat grams and 18 protein grams.

YUM. Seriously - I loved the flavors of the eggs, bacon and salsa and the crunch of the nachos, which made them really fun to eat.  It filled me up to - while the calories aren't super high the fat helped as well as the protein. Just double, triple or quadruple for a crowd - just get out your baking sheets and go! Recipe is here!

There you have it - Christmas Breakfast round-up! 

Breakfast Wonton cups

Breakfast Wonton cups
Makes 4 Servings (12 cups)
Recipe adapted from Cooking with Mel

12 Wonton Wraps
2 oz. (56 grams) Cabot 75% reduced fat cheese, shredded (divided)
5 eggs
½ tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp hot sauce
½ tbsp onion powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
¼ cup fat-free milk
½ red bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, diced
½ tbsp minced garlic
8 slices turkey bacon
1 oz. Sargento Reduced Fat Mexican Cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400. Spray nonstick spray into muffin tins. Add one wonton wrap to each muffin cup and add all of the cabot cheese at the bottom (14 grams of cheese for each 3 cups/serving). Bake for 5 minutes. Combine eggs, garlic powder, hot sauce, onion powder, salt and pepper and milk. Whisk together. Dice pepper into small pieces and add to egg mixture along with parsley. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic. Stir for 30 seconds, then add bacon. Heat 2 minutes on each side until crisp. Remove from pan and dice. Remove pan from oven. Sprinkle 2 pieces of now-diced bacon each over each 3 cups/serving. Pour egg mixture evenly across each cup, and top with final ounce cheese across each cup. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes (or until the eggs are set).

Nutritional Information (for 3 cups): 262 calories, 14 carbs, 12 fat grams and 21 protein grams.

Review: Seriously?! I LOVED these little bits of fabulous. I loved that you could have 3, I loved the flavor. I hearted the crispy on the outside fluffy egg in the inside. I worried the spice would be too overpowering but it was JUST right. To make this easier, just dice up some ham and use pre-shredded cheese and/or pre-cut veggies. I think I am about to try a TON of variations of these – SO exciting!

Slowcooker Chicken, Chickpea & Potato Curry

Slowcooker Chicken, Chickpea & Potato Curry
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Makes 6 Servings

22 oz. chicken (frozen or raw)
1 tbsp canola oil
2 cups carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 can diced tomatoes (not drained)
4-5 red potatoes, quartered (24 oz.)
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup light coconut milk

Spray slowcooker with cooking spray. Add chicken. Heat oil in a pan over medium. Add garlic. Stir constantly for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add carrots and onion; sauté 3-4 minutes. Add spices and tomatoes to the pan. Continue to cook for an additional 2 minutes or until the spices become fragrant. Remove from heat and pour into slow cooker. Add potatoes, chickepeas, vegetable stock and a bay leaf. Set slow cooker on high for 3 hours. Add milk and continue to cook for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Nutritional Information: 409 calories, 51 carbs, 7 fat grams and 33 protein grams.

Review: So hearty! This is a great, filling recipe that reheats very well. I loved the use of potatoes - I don't use them enough! And the shredded chicken tasted wonderful. For more spice, simply add red pepper flakes - it had enough for me as is, but Austin added a bit to his!  For the carrots, I used pre-cut match sticks - less work! Everything else was pretty much ready to go - just add to the slowcooker and walk away. I also liked that it made 6 servings - and the nutritionals were right in line with my goals for meals.

Oven Chili Dogs

Oven Chili Dogs
Makes 4 Servings (8 hotdogs total)
Adapted from Real Mom Kitchen and Blog Chef

8 hot dog buns (120 calories or less for each)
8 light hot dogs (100 calories or less for each)
4 tsp mustard
½ cup 98% fat free Hormel Turkey Chili with Beans, divided
2 tbsp white onion, diced
2 tbsp green onion, diced

Preheat oven to 350. Squirt ½ tsp mustard into each hot dog bum. Fill buns with hot dogs in a rectangular baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray (6 across and 2 on side). Top each with 1 tbsp chili (save remaining chili in container for another recipe) and white onion. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and top with green onion. Serve.

Nutritional Information: 446 calories, 53 carbs, 16 fat grams and 22 protein grams.

Review: LOVED. I crave food like this, but don't give in. Now I can! If only I can figure out a way to get these into football games.... that's when I really crave them. LOL But really, great taste, not soggy at all, I loved how it cooked the hot dog in the bun - very tasty.

1 serving - 2 dogs!

Cheeseburger and Fries Casserole

Cheeseburger and Fries Casserole
Recipe adapted from Lauren’s Kitchen
Makes 4 Servings

1 pound 96/4 ground beef
¼ tsp salt and pepper
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
8 tbsp fat-free sour cream
8 oz. frozen French fries
2 oz. 75% Cabot reduced fat cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Bake french fries on baking sheet for 10 minutes while preparing beef. In a skillet over medium heat, brown beef in half of Worcestershire sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally until beef is no longer pink. Drain excess grease, and add seasonings and remaining sauce. Return to heat, and stir in the cheese soup and sour cream until blended. Heat through, 3 minutes, and remove from stove. Transfer to an 8x8 inch baking dish. Cover the ground beef mixture with a layer of partially cooked French fries. Bake for 10  minutes. Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle cheese on top. Return to the oven and bake until cheese has melted, 5 minutes.

Nutritional Information: 403 calories, 26 carbs, 17 fat grams and 31 protein grams.

Review: It really tasted like a cheeseburger! I loved the recipe, the Worcestershire sauce went a long way and the dish was super cheesy and creamy. I worried about how it would reheat, but while the fries did lose their crispiness, it wasn't mushy like I'd feared! The serving size filled me up, and it's definitely a fun, childlike dish. I wouldn't make it for guests (it's just too silly of a dish!), but would definitely make it again for us and think it would be a great meal for kiddos.

One serving!