Saturday, January 31, 2015

Slowcooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Loaded Baked Potato Soup
6 large potatoes
1 large onion
4 cups chicken stock
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 cup half and half cream
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup fresh chives
8 slices bacon

sour cream
shredded cheddar


Peel potatoes and cut in 1/2 inch cubes.

Chop onions and mince the garlic.

Fry the bacon until crisp and crumble.

Combine the first seven ingredients in your slowcooker.
Cook on high for four hours.
Mash potatoes.
Stir in the half and half cream, the cheese and chives.

Garnish with sour cream, bacon and shredded cheddar.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Slowcooker Taco Soup

2 pounds ground beef
2 medium onions, diced
1 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can red beans, drained and rinsed
1 can light kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can stewed tomatoes
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans diced green chilies
1 can black olives, drained and sliced
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 pkg. ranch salad dressing mix


Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet. Drain. Place in the lined slowcooker.  Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chilies, olives, and seasonings. 


Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, 
cheese, green onions and jalapenos.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Baked Ziti and Veggies

Baked Ziti and Veggies

Ingredients

4 oz. uncooked ziti (I used Rice Shells as shown in the photo)
1 TBS olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow squash
1 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups chopped tomato
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
2 TBS chopped fresh basil
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup part-skim ricottta cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray


Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Rinse. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In an 8-inch baking dish, spray with cooking spray.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to pan. Add squash, zucchini and onion; saute 5 minutes.


Add tomato and garlic; saute 3 minutes.


Remove from heat; stir in pasta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, herbs, 1/2 tsp salt and crushed red pepper.

Combine ricotta, remaining salt and egg. Stir into pasta mixture. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.


Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until bubbly and browned.

Serves 4. (Serving size: approx. 1 1/2 cups)

Nutritional Information:

Calories 301
Fat 312.1 g
Sat Fat 5.3 g
Monofat 5 g
Polyfat 0.9 g
Protein 16.5 g
Carbohydrate 32.8 g (if using regular pasta)
Fiber 4.1 g
Cholesterol 65 mg
Iron 1.9 mg
Sodium 640 mg
Calcium 291 mg

(Recipe and nutrititional information taken from www.cookinglight.com)