Crockpot Cooking

Since we did the Daniel Fast at the beginning of the year, I've been trying to cook at home more.  But with me going to water aerobics on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and not getting home until around 8:00 p.m., who wants to cook that late?  So I've been using the crockpot on those nights so that when I get home, supper is already ready. 

Growing up, the only thing my mom used a crockpot for was a meal we called "crockpot".  "Crockpot" for us was stew meat, carrots, potatoes, onions and celery.  I thought that's all you used a crockpot for!  I lived such a sheltered life!  HAHA!!

Obviously now I know that you can cook practically anything in a crockpot.  The other day I was online looking for some new recipes to use in the crockpot.  I came across one for sausage, green beans and potatoes.   You can find the original recipe at Recipes that Crock.  

For mine, I used:

2 packages of turkey sausage

1 large onion

3 cans of green beans

3 cans of whole peeled potatoes (cause they are delicious, and it's alot easier to open up the cans with an electric can opener versus manually peeling potatoes!)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

I put the green beans and onion in the bottom and seasoned them well with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  I put them in first so they can cook all day in the seasoned juices.  Added the potatoes and then the sausage.  Next time I think I'm going to used canned diced potatoes, and will cut the sausage up into smaller pieces.  I set it on low for about 8 hours.  

I'm telling you what, this meal was delicious and made alot of food, which was good cause I took it for lunch two days this week too!

And if I remember correctly, I got 12 cups of food out of this and they came to around 199 calories a cup!  

Chicken Pot Pockets

I found this website called http://www.hungry-girl.com/ and she has some yummy looking recipes on her website that are WW point-friendly.  I tried a new one Monday night called Chicken Pot Pockets.  It's basically a chicken pot pie but the crust is egg roll wrappers.  They were good, however when using the egg roll wrappers, make sure you are only working with one wrapper and not two, they are very, very thin.  Those little boogers tricked me until the very end.  LOL!!  They were very simple to make and I think you could do a variety of things with those wrappers too - fruit pies come to mind!  Here is a picture of them and the recipe that I copied from her website.

Chicken Pot Pockets

PER SERVING (1 pocket): 88 calories, 1g fat, 242mg sodium, 16g carbs, 1g fiber, 1.5g sugars, 4g protein -- POINTS® value 2*

Ingredients:
12 large square egg roll wrappers (found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket with the other Asian items)
One 10.75-oz. can 98% fat-free cream of celery condensed soup
2 cups frozen bite-sized mixed veggies (like diced carrots, peas, corn, etc.)
2 oz. cooked skinless lean chicken breast, finely chopped
1 tsp. cornstarch
Optional: salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small dish, mix cornstarch thoroughly with 1 tsp. cold water. In a large bowl, combine cornstarch mixture with soup, and mix thoroughly. Add veggies and chicken, mix well, and then season to taste with salt and pepper, if you like. This is your filling. Set aside.
On a large dry surface, lay out three egg roll wrappers. Set out a small dish of water, dip your finger into it, and then run your finger along all of the wrapper edges -- repeat this as needed while preparing your pockets, as it will help keep them sealed.

Starting about 1/2 inch from the bottom, place 2 - 3 tbsp. of filling along the bottom half of each wrapper, leaving a 1/2-inch border on both sides. Fold the top half of each wrapper over, so that the top edge meets the bottom -- the mixture should be completely encased with a 1/2-inch border on three sides. Dab each border with water, and fold each inward about 1/4 inch to lightly seal all sides. Press firmly along the borders with the prongs of a fork to seal completely.

Line a large baking pan with foil and/or spray with nonstick spray. Using a large spatula, carefully transfer the pockets to the baking pan. Repeat the entire process 3 more times, so that you have 12 pockets on the baking sheet. If needed, prepare and use an additional baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Then dig in!

MAKES 12 SERVINGS