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The Crock Pot - Part 1 of 2

© Tonja Brossette

Crock Pot cooking is ideal for families with busy lifestyles, including those whose leaders both work full time. Whether your schedule is full for the day, or you find you're running out of time to get dinner on the table after work, the ingredients in most crock pot recipes can be prepared the night before and arranged in the crock pot first thing in the morning. In the evening when you return...VOILA...Dinner's served!

Below are some crock pot recipes that are healthy, low in fat and satisfying enough to fill up your hungriest family members after a long day of work or play.

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts*
1 small onion, finely diced
3/4 cup of nonfat chicken broth
1/2 cup prepared BBQ sauce
Fresh buns or rolls
Red onion slice and lettuce for garnish

Combine chicken breasts and onions in a crockpot. Add chicken broth, cover and cook on low for 8 - 10 hours. When done, chicken will shred easily with a fork and will have absorbed most of the liquid. Add BBQ sauce and mix well. Serve shredded chicken on open faced bun with lettuce and red onion if desired. *NOTE: This recipe can also be made substituting the chicken breasts with 1 ½ lbs. of lean round steak and using defatted beef broth or wine in place of the chicken broth.

Spicy Three-Bean Soup
1 can northern beans
2 can Kidney beans
1 can pinto bean
2 tbs. parsley flakes
1 large chopped onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1 small chopped jalapeno pepper, seeded
1 lb. Healthy Choice smoked sausage (diced)
2 cups low fat cooked ham, chopped
Salt/pepper to taste
1 cup chopped celery
16 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 tspn. of dried oregano
1 tblspn. bottled hot pepper sauce

Combine all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low for approximately 8 hours. Stir every 2 or 3 hours.

Chicken Creole
4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 red bell pepper, sliced into rings
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 small Roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tspn. sugar
1 tspn. paprika
Louisiana hot sauce to taste
Cajun Seasoning to taste
Cooked white rice

Arrange chicken breasts in the bottom of crockpot. Combine remaining (except rice) in a large bowl and add to chicken. Cover and cook on high 5 hours or on low 8-10 hrs. Ladle hot chicken mixture over cooked rice and serve warm.

Cabbage Roll Casserole
5 cups shredded cabbage, and 1 cup shredded carrot, combined into a mixture
3/4 lb cooked extra lean ground turkey breast

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