Made an amazing Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken. I threw all the ingredients in a stew pot and set the oven to 200. I was able to run errands all day, and come home to an amazing meal! Plus it really makes the home smell wonderful! :) 
I changed the recipe to make it my own!

Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken


4 boneless Chicken Breasts (I used 5)
1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup Salsa 
1 packet of Taco Seasoning
2 tsps Garlic


Place chicken in the pan, and pour the taco seasoning over.
In a separate bowl mix together the salsa, cream of chicken soup, and garlic. Place over chicken.
I heated the oven to 200, and let the chicken slow cook all day. Around 4-5 hours.
Take 2 forks, and shred.
You can serve with tortillas, or over a salad.
Enjoy!


**Next time I would like to make my own creamy sauce and use my own spices instead of the packet of taco seasoning! :) I love experimenting in the kitchen! and of course I froze half of the left-overs in single serving bags so I can take them to lunch or for fast suppers later in the month!


-sunshine






Here is the calorie count (the original recipe had sour cream, so you can minus a couple of calories!)
Spark Recipes 

Crispy Potato Roast

Crispy Potato Roast, otherwise known as accordion potatoes!

Crispy Potato Roast
Serves 8

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
4 shallots, thickly sliced lengthwise
You can use salt, red pepper flakes and thyme, I used a Pampered Chef Southwestern seasoning on top of the potatoes.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine butter and oil. Brush bottom of a round 9-inch baking dish with some butter mixture. With a sharp knife or mandoline, slice potatoes very thinly crosswise. I used a vegetable slicer...worked wonders and cut my time in half!

2. Arrange potato slices vertically in dish. Wedge shallots throughout. Sprinkle with salt and red-pepper flakes (if using) or with the Southwestern Seasoning; brush with remaining butter mixture. Bake 1 1/2 hours. 

couple of Recipes!

It has been really busy since coming back to Houston after Christmas. I haven't had much time to cook, but when I do cook, I try and cook in bulk and freeze half of it for later. It is nice to have the meal the night I make it, and also a month later, let it thaw, reheat and ahhhhhh awesome again! So here is a couple of recipes that I want to share with you!

I got some of these recipes from Biggest Loser 6 Weeks to a Better You, and put my own spin on them!

 Cheesy Stuffed Chicken and Mock Mashed Potatoes made with Cauliflower! Mouth watering awesomeness!!!

 I cannot stop eating this...... extra miles tomorrow!!!! so worth it and soooooo good
Fluffernutter Caramel Popcorn

 Try new things...REFUSE to eat bland oatmeal!!! :o)
Fruity Oatmeal Recipe

Ohhhh this is soooo good! and it makes enough for 8 1-cup servings! So I was able to freeze most of it for school lunches or suppers after a long day of work!!!

Tortilla Free Burrito Recipe

Tortilla-Free Burrito

I love Mexican food! and if you tell me its healthy...I am there!!! Have I told you how much I LOVE my Biggest Loser Cookbook?!?! This recipe is a definitely do again! and can you believe that every serving is only 140 calories?!!
Heres the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs Lean ground Turkey (Jenni-o)

1 Medium yellow onion

1 cup diced green pepper

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

1 Teaspoon Cumin

1 Teaspoon ground mustard

1 Teaspoon oregano

Red Chili flakes

1 15 ounce can black or kidney beans

1 can diced tomatoes (Rotel with Chilis)

Cook turkey with onion, and bell pepper and simmer for 5 minutes

Add chili powder, cumin, mustard, oregano, and chili flakes. Stir well. Add the beans and tomatoes. Garnich with cilantro

I served my "tortilla-free burrito" with salsa, over a bed of spinach....I still can't believe that this meal is so filling and under 200 calories...this means I can have my Skinny Cow fudgesicle with NO guilt! :o)

Biggest Loser Style Meal! Cheesy Chicken and Mock Mashed Potatoes

I love love love my Biggest Loser Cookbook! I have used it soooo often and there are so many post-its of recipes I LOVE, recipes I want to try again, and recipes I want to change. The 2 I tried were Cheesy stuffed Chicken Breast and Mock Mashed Potatoes made with Cauliflower. Here are both recipes!!! and they are definitely recipes I will make again.
(Notice I put Hot Sauce on my mock mashed potatoes!!) Love my food spicy!

Cheesy Stuffed Chicken Breast

Ingredients:

1/4 cup low fat Monterrey Jack Cheese

1/2 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 (4 ounce) boneless chicken

3 Tablespoons whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons olive oil

In a small bowl combine with cheese, tomatoes, chili flakes, cilantro, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.

With your chicken, cut a horizontal pocket in the side of the breast making the pocket as large as you can without cutting through the other side. Spoon 1/4 of the cheese/tomato mixture into each pocket and close pocket with a toothpick.

In a shallow dish, combine the flour, pepper, and remaining salt. Dredge the stuffed chicken into the flour mixture, coating on all sides.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the chick and cook just until tender, about 4 minutes per side. Remove the toothpicks and garnish with cilantro. 

Calories 200

Protein 27 grams

Carbohydrates 7 grams

fat 7 grams

Mocked Mashed Potatoes (cauliflower)

Ingredients

• 1 medium head cauliflower
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic
• 1/8 teaspoon straight chicken base or bullion (may substitute 1/2 teaspoon salt)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry chives, for garnish
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

Set a stockpot of water to boil over high heat.

Clean and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or until well done. Drain well; do not let cool and pat cooked cauliflower very dry between several layers of paper towels.

In a bowl with an immersion blender, or in a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the cream cheese, Parmesan, garlic, chicken base, and pepper until almost smooth.

Garnish with chives, and serve hot with pats of butter.

Hint: Try roasting the garlic and adding a little fresh rosemary for a whole new taste.

Chicken Taco Chili

It was so nice to come home to an awesome smelling apartment!

I saw this recipe on pinterest and had to try it out!

I made my own changes...but I will give you the original recipe first!

<My changes are in purple>

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili
1 onion < I used a half onion, a whole one seemed too much>
1 16oz can Black Beans < I like to buy the dry beans and prep them myself>
1 16oz can Kidney Beans < I like to buy the dry beans and prep them myself>
1 8oz can tomato sauce
10 oz package corn <corn is high in calories, so I used a 8 oz can>
2 14.5 cans diced tomatoes <next time I will not drain and USE the tomato juice, wasn't thinking this morn!>
1 Packet taco Seasoning <Next time I am going to try and make my own taco seasoning>
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1 Tablespoon Chili powder
1 Tablespoon Garlic--this was my call...I LOVE cooking with garlic!
3 Chicken Breasts <shredded or cut in cubes> I baked, then and seasoned them with onion and garlic powder
The recipe does not call for this but I also added 16 oz of water <I just filled one of the tomato cans with water to pour it in!
It also does not call for carrots or celery but they were veggies in the fridge that weren't going fast enough and I was afraid they were going to spoil. It added more veggies, nutrients and color to my soup! Next time I may add zucchini or green pepper! I love tweaking recipes! 


It says to put it all in the crock pot on low for 8 hours. I do not own a crock pot so I put the oven on 200 and let it simmer all day. <10 hours>

I like to prep my food on the weekends so that when the weeknights come I have stuff ready to just throw it together! For example: This weekend I seasoned and baked the chicken, and cut it into chunks. I then chopped all the carrots, celery, and onion, and placed all the canned goods that I needed in the pot on the counter. It made it SO much easier, and it felt like I was just dumping and stirring this morning! :) and again, it was SO nice to come home after an awesome workout to an already cooked meal! and hardly any cleanup. Now for some Spanish and some Biggest Loser!

Like my soup HOT so I had to add some crushed red peppers!

I learned something really neat from my friend Todd.

Leading a single life, it is hard to make meals like this and not get tired of the leftovers- especially soup...it can last for a week or MORE!

So what I have started to do is after I eat and let it cool down, I place 1 cup servings into freezer bags, then I place them all in one BIG freezer bag and label it with name and calories <so I don't forget a month later what I made!>

I place 1-2 of the bags in the fridge for lunches or suppers this week. But if I plan my weekday meals I am able to pull a bag out of the freezer in the morning and let it thaw by nightfall.

I did this last week with my potato and veggie soup that I made and I have been able to ENJOY it rather then feel guilty about eating it so it doesn't go bad! 

Imagine the meals you could have....single servings of taco meat, soup, calzones, spaghetti sauce...the possibilities are endless... :)