Crock-Pot® Countdown Touchscreen Slow Cooker
High five if you own a crockpot!!
You have the ability to make SO MANY good meals in this baby. If yours has a timer setting consider me envious, mine was purchased before technology caught on so it just has 3 basic settings but it works perfectly so I can't justify getting a new one.
On to food.... traditionally, I think of a long slow cooked meal as hearty. The problem is it is usually a startchy, carb loaded meal with a supremely fatty meat. One of the easiest meats to put in a crock pot is chicken breasts. Want to make it one step easier?! They can be frozen chicken breasts! There aren't many better feelings than walking in the door after a long day to a dinner that is waiting on you!
Here are some ideas:
Chicken Taco Soup 1.5 c serving= 165 calories
4-6 frozen chicken breasts
4-6 frozen chicken breasts
2 15oz cans of Mexican diced or stewed tomatoes
or my favorite option 2 cans of the tomatoes with a can of Rotel
2 15 oz cans of black beans- don't drain these, pour it all in!1 c salsa =1/2 a jar of salsa
15 oz can of tomato sauce
If I could find any crockpot liners I'd use those- I haven't found any since we lived in Iowa 3 years ago!
Put the chicken on the bottom, pour in the rest of the ingredients and let cook on low for 8 hours. If you have the luxury of going home at lunch you can cook it on high for 4 or 5 hours.
You can also add in some frozen "Mexican blend" veggies or some corn for a tasty twist. This would alter the calorie count listed above. And for an extra 5 minutes in the morning isn't it worth it to have dinner waiting on you when you get home?!
Italian Chicken: 156 calories
4-6 frozen chicken breasts
1 c. chicken broth
1 can of Cream of Chicken soup 98% fat free
1 packet of italian salad dressing mix
Put the chicken in first, then broth then soup then sprinkle dry dressing mix and let cook 8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high.
Serve with broccoli, green beans or salad. You can serve it over a 1/4c of brown rice or whole wheat egg noodles.
When you're looking for recipes, steer clear of recipes containing the word "creamy". It will most likely add on 100 additional calories per serving when you can easily make something delicious without being creamy.