Super Sloppy Turkey Joes

So I never really liked sloppy joes all too much. My mom used to make them with the manwich sauce (ew). But suddenly I got a craving for a tangy,yummy sloppy joe, but I did not want to use the canned sauce. So I took a few ingredients from some sloppy joe recipes online, and added my own ingredients, modified some and we have some super delicious sloppy joes for the crock pot!

• 2 lbs ground turkey


• 1 medium onion (chopped)


• 1 teaspoon garlic powder


• 1 1/4 cup ketchup


• 1 bell pepper, any color (chopped)


• 5 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce


• 1/4 cup Splenda brown sugar


• 3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar


• 3 Tablespoons yellow mustard


• 2 teaspoons chili powder


• ground black pepper


• wheat buns, wheat tortillas or whole wheat bread (to put them on) Or the meat is truly good enough by itself.

Usually a crock pot recipe will tell you to brown the meat before adding so you can drain the fat, but turkey has barley any excess fat. And I am lazy. I put the turkey in raw, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Then add all the ingredients, except the buns of course, and mix up thoroughly. Cook on high for 4-5 hours, on low for 6-8 hours. I stirred mine every couple of hours, but you don't have to. These are soooo good.

And yes I am aware I was eating my sloppy joe on a regular bun. Don't tar and feather me, I barley everrrr eat bread, but occasionally I let myself.

Easy Crock Pot Veggie Soup

My husband and I are both sick, in May... What gives??? So one night I threw this together, and it is very good and low in fat and calories. Not a super amount of protein, but if you want something warm and light to fill you up, this is it.

• 1 can Campbell's low sodium condensed tomato soup


• 3 cups beef broth


• 1/2 cup water


• 1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onions (undrained)


• 1 box frozen veggies (with corn, peas, greenbeans and carrots)


• I also added extra frozen veggies, like 1/2 a box frozen corn and 1/2 box frozen peas


• Garlic powder (a dash)


• 1 Tablespoon of Tabasco sauce (this changes the flavor dramatically, it's very good)


• 1/2 cup wheat pasta

Add all the ingredients, except the pasta, in the crock pot on low. Mix Well. Cook on low for about 4 hours, then about an hour before you want to serve, add the pasta. Cook for another hour. Eat. Yummy. I suppose you can add beans into this to make it more protein friendly. I liked it like this when I was sick.

Crock Pot Summer Chicken and Veggies

I'm on a chicken kick recently. I think it's because for so long I had issues with chicken, but now I know how to cook it well so it goes down just fine, and its been on sale a lot recently LOL. You can really experiment a lot with the recipe because it's so easy and versatile.

• 1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used breast tenders)



• 1 large green squash-cut in large chunks (or zucchini, which I prefer, but there were none at the market that day)



• 1 large white or yellow onion-cut in large pieces



• 1 lb carrots-cut in bite sized pieces, I used baby carrots



• 1 bottle of zesty Italian dressing



• Parmesan cheese



• salt and pepper

Add all the chopped veggies on the bottom of the crock pot. Pour half the dressing on top of the veggies, add some salt, pepper and parm cheese and mix. Place the raw chicken breasts on top of the veggies, pour the remaining dressing on top of the chicken, add parm cheese on top. Turn crock pot on low for 3-4 hours, or on high for about 2 hours.

Crock Pot Turkey Chili

It's been a crock pot week at my house. The weather is getting nice and I just don't feel like spending a lot of time cooking. Also, I am graduating college in December and I am taking a night course this summer (from 5-9:30) to get my GPA up some more and so I have an easy last semester. So the crock pot has been my best friend this passed week. My mom has been making this recipe for years, only with beef instead. But I kicked it up a notch with more spices! You can use lean ground beef but I prefer turkey.

• 1lb ground turkey (or beef)



• 2 24oz cans Hunt's tomato sauce (or one 40oz jar of tomato sauce, the sauce amount is not an exact science just make sure there is enough to cover the meat and beans and make sure it is NOT one of those "meat flavored" or "cheese flavored" sauces, just plain tomato sauce please)



• 1 can pink beans (drained)



• 1 can kidney beans (drained--or you can use two kidney beans, I just like the pink and red combo)



• 1/2 a box frozen corn (or one can drained)



• 1 envelope McCormick chili seasoning



• 1 Tablespoon chili powder



• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder



• 1 teaspoon cumin powder

Add all the ingredients in the crock pot except the turkey and turn on low. Brown the turkey in a large skillet with cooking spray. Drain if there is any fat, but I usually have none. Add turkey into the crock pot, stir and that's it! Wait about 6 hours then serve with cheddar cheese and sour cream on top. This is SO good, I could eat it every day and LOADED with protein. This recipe makes a good amount, but I freeze individual portions and eat for lunch.

*Note- you can cook this on high for 2-3 hours also.

Not a good week...

Sorry this week has been pretty crappy for me, just getting over a cold and found out my brand new kitty has leukemia. I do have 2 new recipes to put up with in the next day or two! So hang tight, I'm getting back into the swing of things!

Karen

French Onion Soup Chicken!

OK I promise to move on to another protein soon, just trying to use up the 5lbs of chicken I bought last week! The inspiration for this dish was a trip to Atlantic City this weekend. We went to the restaurant "Contential" for dinner and my girl friends ordered "french onion soup dumplings" as an appetizer. I ate one, and holy moly it was awesome! Hence the inspiration for this chicken.

• 1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, thin sliced



• 1 envelope onion soup mix



• 1 8oz package fresh mushrooms chopped



• 1/2 white onion, diced



• cheese (I used low fat feta, but next time I think I'm going to use a few slices of provolone)



• salt and pepper



• cooking spray

Spray a large skillet over medium heat. Add in chopped mushrooms and onions, salt and pepper them. Cook for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place chicken breasts on a foil lined baking dish. Sprinkle each breast with about a teaspoon, or less of onion soup powder. Spoon the mushroom and onion mixture on top of each chicken breast and top with cheese. The feta was good but I wanted it more gooey, so provolone next time. Bake for 13-15 minutes in the oven on 350.

As a side I made asparagus, its so easy to do. Just wash the asparagus, cut off the ends and add olive oil, salt and pepper on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Yum

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

This recipe I came up with one weekend while the husband was away at work. I had it two days in a row, once on a salad, once with tomato sauce on top, either way it's delish!

• 1 or 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts-- thin sliced


• 1 egg


• 1/2-3/4 parm cheese, grated


• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley


• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil


• ground black pepper


• cooking spray


• large skillet

Heat the skillet over medium heat. Beat egg and dip chicken pieces into it, fully coat. Then mix Parmesan cheese, a few grids black pepper, parsley and basil and mix together. Coat the egg dipped chicken in the parm mixture. Spray skillet and cook chicken 3-4 minutes each side.

The taste of the crispy cheese on the outside kinda reminds me of a crispy grilled cheese sandwich. You can also use this chicken as a base for baked chicken parm. Just cook the chicken as per the directions, lay in a baking sheet, add sauce and mozzarella cheese on top and bake on 350 for 10 minutes. Be creative!

Chicken Stir Fry

I love stir fry, I usually get it out of the frozen food section, but I bought 5 lbs of chicken the other day because it was on sale and I am trying to think of different ways to use it.

• 1lb chicken tenders cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 cup carrots chopped
• 1 8oz package fresh mushrooms sliced
• 2 cups greenbeans
• 1 cup frozen broccoli
• cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 3/4 cup teriyaki sauce marinade
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

In a large skillet or wok (I used a skillet this time, but I have used a wok before), spray with cooking spray. Add chunks of chicken and salt and pepper them in the pan. Cook until no longer pink, take out of pan and add to plate. Add more spray and add onions and soy sauce to pan. Wait until onions are almost fully cooked and add carrots, greenbeans and broccoli. Cook until everything is soft but still tender. Add mushrooms and garlic. When everything is soft add the chicken back in and add the teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds. Let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every so often. Serve over brown rice or quinoa. This is good and filling.

Cinco de Mayo Casserole

I didn't get to post this yesterday but here it is today! This is too easy to even be called a recipe LOL. Here ya go

• 1lb boneless skinless thin sliced chicken breasts


• 1 16oz jar salsa


• 1/2 box frozen corn


• 1 can catellini beans (or kidney beans, drained)


• shredded cheddar cheese


• 1 teaspoon cumin


• 1 teaspoon chili powder


• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• cooking spray, salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet, spray down pan with cooking spray. Salt and pepper chicken and place on skillet. Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Set on a plate. In a casserole dish, add salsa, corn, drained beans, cumin, chili powder, and garlic. Mix. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and mix into the salsa mixture. Add shredded cheddar on top, enough to cover the surface. Bake for 15 minutes. Yum. I usually make this in the crock pot, so its easily convertible. Just be sure to still cook the chicken first.