Category — Slow-Cooker

Today’s recipe saved my you-know-what last week.  On Thursday, we chaperoned 16 Brownie Girl Scouts through the rainy woods of an Audubon Sanctuary until dusk.  I arrived home at dinnertime with a very damp, very tired bubba who was bordering on hypoglycemia.  Luckily, I had the foresight to take some chicken breasts out of the freezer, and because I’m sorta nuts, I had all these ingredients in my pantry/freezer . . . at noon I dumped it all in the Crockpot (the chicken breasts weren’t even fully thawed).  When we arrived home at 5:45 p.m., you could smell the warm, home-cooked spicy goodness when we opened the door.    

This is from a site called Gina’s WW Recipes, which, for all you Weight Watchers devotees, is a great resource.  Gina’s got lots of good recipes, and you can even search her recipes by points value.  Even if you’re not a WW devotee, if you’re interested in healthful recipes, she’s got a lot of inspiration for you. 

D. ate this over rice, which was great.  I spooned it over shredded romaine lettuce, which was also very good.  It’s delicious stuffed into a whole-wheat tortilla (I had that for lunch the next day), with or without cheese (I abstained, mostly because I was thinkin’ of making a cheesy dinner that night).  Any way you eat it, it’s a great dump-n-go slow-cooker meal to have in your arsenal.

Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken (adapted from Gina’s WW Recipes)

Combine all the ingredients except the chicken breasts and salt & pepper in the slow cooker. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and lay them on top. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Approximately one half-hour before serving, remove the chicken breasts and shred them. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker, stirring to combine. Taste the mixture and add additional salt & pepper to taste. 

Serves 8.

© 2010, Semi-Sweet. All rights reserved.

I’m not sick of soup yet, and I hope you aren’t either.  While D. did request a “solid meal” when he returns end of week, even he’s been digging the soup lately.  And who wouldn’t?  They’re hearty, healthy, flavorful, warm, cheap and easy.  D. gets dinner made for him, most nights, but easy on me is easy on him.  ‘Cause as we say in our house, “if mama ain’t happy, no one’s happy.” 

This soup takes a bit longer to prep than the Slow Cooker Taco Soup I made the other day – but not too long.  It’s about 40 minutes of your time, total – that includes rolling up the little meatballs, which are so cute, and so tasty, you’ll be glad you made the effort.

Slow Cooker Escarole Soup With Turkey Meatballs

 In a large (mine is 6-qt.) slow cooker, combine the carrots, escarole and chicken broth.  Cook on low for 4 hours, making sure your escarole gets submerged in the chicken broth.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the turkey, 1/3 c. cheese, breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, eggs and some salt & pepper (best way to do this is with your hands).  Rinse your hands and fashion the turkey mixture into 1-inch meatballs.  Place on a plate or cookie sheet and cover.  Keep in the refrigerator until it’s time to place the meatballs in the soup.  After your veggies have cooked for 4 hours, carefully put the meatballs in the soup, recover the slow cooker, and cook on high for another 3 hours, until the meatballs are cooked through.  Stir and taste for seasonings, adding more salt and pepper as needed.  Serve topped with additional Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled on top.

Serves 6.  You could add some small cooked pasta to this just before serving if you like.  Good with a crusty loaf of bread, and if you’re L., slather that with LOTS of butter.  Mmmmmmm.

© 2010, Semi-Sweet. All rights reserved.