Skinny Chicken Fajita Soup

Found this online - someone sent it to me. HEALTHY RECIPE
Those of you on Plan: salt, beans, rice and the garnish are not on the weight-loss phase of the plan.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Ingredients:

    18 ounces chicken

    1 teaspoon olive oil

    1 ½ cups bell peppers

    ½ cup green onions

    2 garlic cloves

    1 cup diced tomatoes

    8 cups chicken broth

    1-2 teaspoon fajita seasoning

   1/2 teaspoon salt - optional

    15 oz. can black beans, drained

   ½ cup brown rice, optional - optional

  

Instructions:                                                                    NOTE: This works well in a crockpot. Allow about 5 hours for chicken to cook.                                       

1. Place a large sauce 6-8 quart pot over medium heat. Add the oil, chopped bell peppers, onions, and garlic. Saute for 3-5 minutes to soften.
2. Add whole chicken breasts, black beans, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, fajita seasoning, and salt. If adding rice, stir it in with an additional 2 cups of water. Bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Use tongs to remove the cooked chicken breasts. Allow the soup to continue simmering to fully cook the rice, another 10-15 minutes. Allow the chicken to cool for a few minutes, then shred with two forks or in a mixer.
4. Once the rice is tender, add the shredded chicken back to the soup. Taste, and salt and pepper as needed.
5. GARNISH with reduced fat cheese.

ITALIAN CHICKEN

This recipe was given to me by my friend Ellie Tauaika.

Place in crockpot:

      4 Chicken Breasts (cut in large pieces or use whole)

         OR 8-12 chicken tenders

      8 oz. cream cheese

      1 can cream of chicken soup

      1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing

      3/4-1/2 cup milk (to thin)

Cook 4 or more hours.

Serve with rice.

WINTER CARNIVAL STEW

This recipe was given to me by a friend in Montana.  Great comfort food for winter!

Place in crockpot in order given:

     1 lb. stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces

     4 medium carrots, cut into 1" chunks 

     4-5 medium potatoes, cut in large chunks

     1 medium onion, sliced

     1 Tbsp. salt

     1/2 tsp. pepper

     1 - 15 1/2 oz. can regular green beans, drained

     1 - 4 oz. can mushroom stems and pieces, undrained

           OR fresh mushrooms plus about 1/4 cup water

     1 1/2 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) Campbell's Tomato Soup, undiluted

Cook on low for about 6-8 hours.

Optional:  Stir in a lime to mix flavors as the day goes by.

                Use chicken chunks instead of stew meat.

Serves 6

CLAM CHOWDER - CROCKPOT

SEE CLAM CHOWDER RECIPE UNDER SOUPS.

CROCKPOT METHOD IS AT THE END OF THE RECIPE.

EASY CHICKEN CACCIATORE

We invented this favorite when we had our fried chicken franchise.  It was easy to grab a bucket of frozen chicken and dump it into the crockpot along with the rest of the ingredients.

Cover bottom of crockpot about 1/4” deep with your favorite spaghetti sauce.

Alternate in crockpot:

        Chicken pieces*

        Onion slices

        Bell pepper strips

Cover generously with spaghetti sauce.

Heat on high until mixture begins to bubble (1-2 hours). Turn to low and continue cooking about an hour until chicken is heated through.

*For chicken, use leftover breaded and fried chicken pieces. Some fried chicken restaurants sell leftover frozen chicken at a reduced price. You can also purchase it at the grocery store. If you use frozen chicken, no need to defrost. Just let it cook a little longer.

GRANDMA'S OLD FASHIONED CHILI

Yield: About 4 quarts

BEANS:

      2 1/2 cups cooked beans (use one of the following):

A. 3-4 cans red, pinto or kidney beans (mix or match).

B. Rinse and soak 1 lb. mixed dry beans (red, pinto, kidney) overnight in ample water in refrigerator. Drain, rinse, and add more water. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook several hours until beans are tender.

Note: 1 lb. dry beans equals 2 ½ cups cooked beans.

C. Place rack with small holes in bottom of 4 quart pressure cooker. Rinse 1 lb. mixed dry beans and place in pot. Add water to about 3/4” below fill line (about 2/3 full). Add 2 Tbsp. cooking oil (keeps steam hole clear.) Heat on high until weight jiggles. Lower heat to just less than medium heat(weight will jiggle nicely, but not too hard.) Cook 45 minutes, then cool 5 minutes. Place under cool running water until pan is cool (about 10 minutes.) Remove weight, then remove lid. Drain beans.

CHILI:

1. Fry 1 1/2 lb. hamburger. Drain and place in crockpot.
2. Saute 1 medium onion, chopped, in about 2 Tbsp. oil in heavy fry pan on medium high until lightly brown to carmelize. Add to hamburger.
3. Add 2 quarts or 5 cans (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes (if using home-canned tomatoes, use a potato masher to gently mash tomatoes.) If preferred, use tomato juice or puree tomatoes.
4. Add: 2 1/2 cups cooked beans.
5. Add: 1 1/2 – 2 tsp. Chili powder (more if you like it hotter.
           1 large bay leaf
           1/2- 1 tsp. garlic powder 
           Salt and pepper to taste

6. Cook on high in crockpot until chili begins to simmer.

7. Turn to low and cook about 1-2 hours to blend flavors.

8. Remove bay leaf and serve chili.

Note: If you need to hold the chili, it can cook on low for several hours, or if your crockpot has a warm setting, use that after cooking 1-2 hours.

POT ROAST AND MORE

STEP 1:

Fill crockpot with inexpensive roasts.*

Sprinkle each roast with: 
       Lipton's Onion Soup Mix 
       Salt and Pepper to taste 

Pour 1-2 cups beef broth, depending on how big and how full the crockpot is. (I like to use Tone's Beef Base mixed with water – 1 tsp. base to 1 cup water.)

Cook until almost tender.**

*Option: Sear roast in heavy frying pan on all sides before placing in crockpot.

This is not necessary, but sometimes I like to do it.

**I like to put the roast in the crockpot just before going to bed. If you have a pot that has an automatic setting that will let you cook it on high for a couple of hours, then turn to low, that is the best. Otherwise, set pot on high for two hours, then manually turn to low setting. Let cook overnight. A full pot takes 6-8 hours.

STEP 2:

Remove all meat. Drain broth and let cool. Remove hardened fat from broth and discard.

MEAL 1 – POT ROAST

Place in crockpot the amount of meat you will need for your meal.

Add: cut up potatoes and carrots (or baby carrots,) and sliced or diced onion.

Pour beef broth over top.

Cook until meat is tender and veggies are done – about 2-4 hours.

MEAL 2 - SWISS STEAK

Place enough spaghetti sauce (use your favorite – mine is Prego Meat) in bottom of crockpot to cover lightly.

Add a layer of cooked pot roast cut into chunks (about 2” x 3” each, more or less.)

Add sliced or diced onions.

Repeat layers as needed, making the last layer a generous portion of spaghetti sauce.

Heat until all ingredients are fully heated and onion is tender – about 1-2 hours on high or 2-4 hours on low.

MEAL 3 – KABOBS

Soak wooden skewers in water (this prevents them from burning.)

Place chunks of meat on skewers along with any of the following: mushrooms, onion pieces, bell peppers, shrimp, zucchini slices, pineapple chunks, cherry tomatoes, or anything else that sounds good.

Please note that kabobs really come out better if you put the meat on a separate stick from the veggies, as they finish grilling at different times.

MEAL 4 – STEW OR VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP

This can be done in the crockpot or on top of the stove.

Peel and cut into chunks: 4 medium potatoes

Peel and slice or dice 2 cups carrots (or use mini carrots)

Cover with water and cook until not quite tender

Add: 2 lb. pre-cooked roast cut into chunks

1 onion chopped

Lipton's onion soup mix to taste

Beef broth mix or boullion to taste

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook until ingredients are tender.

For Stew, add 2Tbsp. flour or cornstarch to thicken (whisk in separate bowl with some juice from soup, then add to soup.)

OPTIONS - Add any of these:

chopped celery

1/2 tsp. rosemary or sage

garlic to taste

mushrooms

pearl onions instead of chopped onions

OTHER MEALS:

1. See SHRIMP/STEAK SKILLET MEAL Recipe - Use chunks of pre-cooked roast in place of steak.
2.  See BEEF STROGANOFF recipe and substitute small pieces and strips of meat for steak.

3.   Use pre-cooked roast in any of your favorite recipes that call for beef.

HINTS:

1. If you are in a hurry, you can start a meal in the crockpot liner in the microwave. Heat it until ingredients are just warm, then place liner in crockpot heating unit. It is important to not heat it too high in the microwave, as the meat will come out tough.

2. Save on the cost of meat by using inexpensive cuts of roast, such as a chuck roast.

3. The reason for cooking all this meat at once is that it saves energy and time to do it all at once.

4. Store extra meat in refrigerator for a short time or in the freezer for later (cut up first.)