Slow Cooker Greek Chicken

"I don't like food that's too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture I'd buy a painting." - Andy Rooney 

I had my parents over for dinner on Saturday night and adapted a recipe I found on Slender Kitchen. The flavors melded together perfectly to create this amazing dish.

Nutritional Information (calculated on myfitnesspal.com): 6 servings, 6 weight watchers points plus. 244 calories, 6g carbs, 9g fat, 37g protein.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs Chicken Breast
• 3 T Roasted Red Peppers, Chopped
• 1/4 c Sliced Black Olives
• 1.5 c Artichoke Hearts, Cut in Half
• 1/4 c Capers
• 6 oz Fat Free Feta
• 1.5 t Dried Oregano
• 1 t Garlic Powder
• 2 C Fat Free Chicken Stock
• Salt and Pepper, to Taste

Instructions:

1. Combine Red Peppers, Black Olives, Artichokes, Capers, Oregano and Garlic Powder in a bowl.
2. Place half of the mixture on the bottom of a slow cooker.
3. Top with Half of the Fat Free Feta.
4. Season Chicken with Salt and Pepper and place on top of the mixture in the crock pot.
5. Add Remaining Fat Free Feta.
6. Top with remaining mixture.
7. Pour Chicken Broth over the chicken.
8. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours until chicken is cooked through.
9. Serve with 1 chicken breast and 1/6 of the mixture.
10. Enjoy!

After adding 1st layer, Chicken and Feta

Ready to cook

Giuliana waited patiently for it to finish cooking.

60 Garlic Chicken

I have seen quite a few different 40 garlic chicken recipes but they never seem to feed more than 4 people. So I adapted a recipe from SlenderKitchen to create 60 Garlic Chicken!!!! (Their recipe states 6 servings but only includes two thirds of a chicken breast and dividing them up is not easy so this recipe serves 6 people with 6 chicken breasts. If you are planning on making this recipe I would recommend having a Garlic Peeler or purchasing Peeled Garlic. I did this by hand the first time and it was not fun. The dish was still worth it though. Many of my chicken dishes you can start with frozen chicken in the crock pot this is NOT one of them.

*Note: We make this dish the day before and reheat it in the oven and the flavors are even better!

Nutritional Information (calculated on myfitnesspal.com): 6 servings,  7 weight watchers points plus. 251 calories, 21g carbs, 4g fat, 38g protein

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs chicken Breasts (6 breasts, I user Perdue frozen, Boneless Skinless)
• 1.5 c Fat Free Chicken Stock
• 1 Chopped Onion, Divided
• 3 Chopped Leeks
• 3 t Paprika
• 60 cloves of Garlic
• 3 t salt
• 3 t black pepper
• 1/3 c Chopped Italian Parsley
• 1 Bay Leaf

Instructions:

1. Saute Leeks in cooking spray until they begin to soften. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Crock Pot Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili

I forgot that I left my car in the driveway last night instead of the insulated garage and it was completely frosted over this morning (brrrr!) I wish I had this in the crock pot for dinner tonight instead of a couple weeks ago. It would be great to come home to a nice warm and already made bowl of chili to warm me up. I found this on Skinny Taste a while back and waited for a cold day to make it.

Nutritional Information (calculated on myfitnesspal.com): 6 weight watchers points plus. 262 calories, 21g carbs, 3g fat, 37g protein.

Makes 9 - 1 cup servings!

Ingredients

2 lb 99% Fat Free Ground Turkey

1/2 t Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Small White Onion, Chopped

3 Garlic Cloves, Minced

1 t Chili Powder

2 Bay Leaves

2 t Ground Cumin

1 t Oregano

2 (15 oz cans) White Northern Beans, Drained and Rinsed

15 oz can Pumpkin Puree (Make sure it is not pumpkin Pie Filling!)

4.5 oz Can Chopped Green Chilis

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

It has definitely turned colder over the past week and it has finally become Chili Weather!!! I love how versatile chili is. You can add and subtract just about any ingredient to make it fit your taste. I made this last night and I think I am done tweaking it (for now at least.) This chili does have a little kick to it so if you do not like spicy food cut the red pepper flakes in half. The other great part about this recipe is it makes a TON of food it comes close to filling my 6qt crock pot. This makes 10 servings at only 7 points plus (including toppings!)

Nutritional Information (calculated on myfitnesspal.com): 7 weight watchers points plus. 314 calories, 45g carbs, 3g fat, 30g protein.
(To cut the carbs in half eliminate the beans and double the ground turkey.)

Ingredients

1.25 lbs 99% Fat Free Ground Turkey Breast

1 Medium Onion, Chopped

2 Small Red Peppers, Chopped

28 oz can Whole Plum Tomatoes (I use Tuttorosso)

1.5 c Frozen White Corn

2 - 10.75 oz cans Condensed Tomato Soup. (I used the Campbells Healthy Request.)

2 - 15 oz cans Kidney Beans, Drained

15 oz can Black Beans, Drained

2 T Chili Powder

1 t Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (Use half to cut the heat.)

1/2 T Garlic Powder

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

I love, love, love  Buffalo Sauce. So when I ran across this recipe for Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Meatballs on Emily Bites I couldn't pass it up. These meatballs were a great side for my Cheddar Beer Risotto which I will post soon. I am planning on creating a sandwich out of them soon but just wanted to try the flavors first! Makes 12 meatballs at 2 points plus per meatball.

Ingredients

1 lb Ground Chicken Breast (I generally put 1 lb of chicken breasts in the food processor and grind it up.)

1 Medium Carrot (shredded on a box grater.)

1 Medium Stalk of Celery (shredded on a box grater.)

1/2 cup Plain Dried Breadcrumbs

2 Eggs

2 T Skim Milk

1 t Garlic Powder

1/3 cup Crumbled Blue Cheese

12 oz bottle of Buffalo Wing Sauce

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients except wing sauce.

Easy Salsa Verde Chicken Tostadas

One of my main focuses when cooking is healthy foods. My wife is doing Weight Watchers and I have found that the best way that I can be supportive is by cooking meals that not only fit within the program but also are tasty because otherwise we both fall off the wagon and start eating more junk food. I have found that not only has it be a benefit to her program but I feel much better as well. For those of you who are also doing weight watchers, I will post the points for a recipe whenever I have them. (Which is most times.)

Recently, I have been really inspired to use Mexican flavors in my food. This recipe is one that I made from www.SkinnyTaste.com but Tammy and I both felt as if it was missing something so I made my own little addition that we both feel brings it all together and only adds one point per tostada. Black Bean Hummus inspired by Spark Recipes.

I need to work on my photography and presentation skills but I swear it tastes great!

6 ww points plus per tostada (we generally eat 2 for a meal.)

Ingredients and Directions:

Black Bean "Hummus"

2 Cans Black beans, Drained and rinsed

1 small onion, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

4 cloves garlic minced

2 T ground cumin

1 1/2 t olive oil

2 T chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 c salsa verde

1. Place drained and rinsed black beans in the food processor and pulse a few times to start to chop up the beans.