Slow it Down Slow Cooker Week

Wow! What a Thanksgiving we had! My sister, Erin, and her sister-in-law really out did themselves. This was the first Stephenson-Duree-Owen-Nickel Family Thanksgiving the Bear and I had the pleasure to experience. It was actually pretty awesome because it not only included my sister's in-laws, but also my mom, youngest sister Amy, the Bear and myself. Later my dad and Brenda stopped by with Gavin, Sylvie, and Veda, my stepbrother's kiddos. Quite the blended family, quite the good times. Everyone remained peaceful, the food was AMAZING, and we got to visit everyone in one easy trip. With a 22 lb. turkey, my in-laws could have even joined in on the fun. Maybe next year Doug and Marilyn? Tee hee!

Now on to this week's menu post. Since we've been going warp 10 speed since about July, I am ready to slow things down for the year. Sure there is work which never ceases to slow down, but at least I can slow things down in the kitchen a little so we can finish decorating and get some shopping done for Christmas. Hence, my use of the slow cooker. As the Bear was inspecting the menu he asked, "Is this for real? You're using the Crock Pot three times next week!" Yes Bear, this is for real. The beauty of the Crock Pot is that I can prep all of the meals ahead of time, drop them in the Crock Pot on the day I intend to serve them, set that puppy on low, and come home to a meal that is practically done without me having to do too much. The sun is starting to set before I even get home. On top of all that needs to get done, I also need to add some walking activity to my evening routine while the weather continues to cooperate. Bring on the slow cooked meals my friends!! I'm sure you're already on the edge of your seats:)

Sunday 12/1            Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Sandwiches with Salad

Monday 12/2           Make Ahead Kale & Sweet Corn Penne Bake with Tomato Salad

Tuesday 12/3           Leftovers

Wednesday 12/4     Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken with Brown Rice & Broccoli

Thursday 12/5         Leftovers

Friday 12/6             Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff with Gluten-Free Tagliatelle and Green Beans

Here is what you will need:

1 lb. beef stew meat
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1 small red onion
1 bulb garlic
1 1-inch knob ginger root
1 bag washed, pre-cut kale
1 bag salad
1 bunch fresh basil (this will be the first I've bought at the store since March)
1 large box sliced mushrooms
1 loaf gluten-free French bread (1 regular demi loaf for the Bear)
1 bag or box gluten-free penne noodles
1 bag or box gluten-free tagliatelle noodles (or other wide noodles similar to an egg noodle)
1 container grated Parmesan cheese
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 jar roasted red peppers
1 jar sliced banana peppers
1 jar capers
1 box gluten-free beef broth
1 bag frozen corn (I will be using some frozen sweet corn I got from a friend this summer)
1 bag frozen broccoli florets
1 bag frozen green beans
1 bag shredded 2% mozzarella cheese
1 bag shredded Parmesan cheese
1 8 oz. box 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 container fat-free or light sour cream
16 oz. 2% milk

Pantry items you will need:

Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Sesame oil
Low sodium, gluten-free soy sauce
Ketchup
Corn starch
Brown sugar
Dried brown rice
Dried minced onion
Salt and pepper

Enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving weekend! Let the holiday season begin!!

Turkey Potato Gratin

I've been so excited to share this recipe with you. This is the recipe I have made twice, yes twice, in the last week. The Bear and I are major potato fans. Yeah, sorry low-carby folks. I may be gluten-free, but I love me some potato. You see, going gluten-free is not always about being "low carb." It's about no gluten or at least doing your best to keep what you can out of your life. There is always the risk for contamination or for those moments when the gluten-free ingredients stated on the box are not so gluten-free and you discover this after the fact. And I must say, it can be hard to diet while being gluten-free as you already have so many things you cut out of your life. I'm not going to cut out potatoes. They are a great gluten-free source for carbohydrates. Fortunately on Weight Watchers, potatoes are not off limits. No food is "off limits." It is about balance. Something I strive to find in not only my life, but also my diet. So, bring on the potatoes! Just not in mass quantity portions like we would typically like to enjoy them.

You could really make this with or without the turkey. If you were making it without the turkey it would be a lovely vegetarian entree or a great side dish for your holiday feast. We just happened to have a lot of leftover turkey and I thought it would be a fantastic main dish. The trick to making this gratin Weight Watcher's friendly is through the use of low-fat milk and Parmesan cheese in place of whole milk and cheddar. Hard cheeses pack a lot of flavor for fewer calories and fat. This is one dish you will want to make again and again!

Turkey Potato Gratin
Makes 4 large servings, 6 points per serving

Nonstick cooking spray
4 small russet potatoes, washed and cut into 1/4-inch disks
1 cup shredded cooked turkey
1 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 1/4 cup 2% milk
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons minced dried onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard powder

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. In a small dish, whisk together the milk, corn starch, dried onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and mustard powder until smooth and combine. Set aside. Layer 1/4 of the potatoes into the bottom of your casserole dish. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the turkey over the potatoes, then 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat the potato, turkey, and cheese layers two more times. Top with the remaining potatoes. Pour the milk mixture over the potatoes. Top with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the cheese begins to bubble and brown and the potatoes are fork tender when a fork is inserted into the middle of the dish. Let set for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Sunday Soup- Spicy Turkey & Vegetable Soup

Sven the II has provided us with amazing 6 meals. I cannot reiterate it enough, smoked turkey is a gourmet savvy friend! One meal was so good, I've made it twice in the last week. That doesn't happen much when you have a food blog. So, I can't wait to share tomorrow's recipe. Given it is Sunday and this will be the last of the Sunday Soups for November, however, I have to share this spicy, veggie packed meal in a bowl with you. Don't be sad about the end to Sunday Soups! I've got another great Sunday series starting next month that I am so excited about!

For the last of the Sunday Soup 2013 series, I leave you with this Spicy Turkey and Vegetable Soup. I normally do not like to use poultry in tomato based recipes because it does not stand up to tomato's acidity. Smoked turkey and tomato based recipes work amazingly well due to turkey's rich flavors. If you do not have smoked turkey, but a ton of leftover Thanksgiving turkey, no problems! The smoked paprika will add plenty of the smoky flavor that works so incredibly well with the tomato. Adapted from Weight Watcher's zero point vegetable soup, I've amped up the flavors and added some unique spices and more tomato goodness with a can of tomato paste. This soup clocks in at about 3 points per 1 1/2 cups serving, but will not leave you starving. It is amazing and tastes even better the next day!

Spicy Turkey and Vegetable Soup
inspired by Weight Watcher's Zero Point Vegetable Soup
Makes 6 1 1/2 cup servings, 3 points per serving

4 cups fat-free, gluten-free reduced sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
1 can no salt added diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 small can salsa Verde
1 cup leftover smoked or cooked turkey, shredded
1 small yellow or white onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup carrot, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup cilantro
1 avocado, chopped

In a slow cooker, stir together the chicken broth, water, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, salsa Verde, turkey, onion, garlic, jalapeno, celery, carrot, cumin, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Set your slow cooker on low. Cook for 4 hours. Top with cilantro and avocado before serving.

GF Deep Dish Cheeseburger Pizza

Hello! The long break from blogging was not intentional. After last weekend's super sister weekend, I could feel myself coming down with a bug while traveling to Wichita this weekend. It has been non-stop around the Nickel house, but know that some well needed downtime is on the way. I cannot wait for Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, as I catch up on blogging from The Very Thankful Menu Post today, I plan to share some great uses for all of that leftover turkey. We smoked Sven the II last weekend with no regrets and have been enjoying the leftovers ever since. It was hard to beat last year's Lean and Mean Smoked Turkey Chili  and my BBQ Smoked Turkey Enchiladas. This year's leftovers are not only geared towards a gluten-free lifestyle, but also will be Weight Watchers friendly. The Weight Watchers plan is going fabulously and I am down 7 lbs! Not a shabby way to start the holidays eh? 

Now onto The Very Thankful Menu Post's final recipe, Gluten Free Deep Dish Cheeseburger Pizza. In honor of the blog hitting over 30,000+ page views and our wedding anniversary, the Bear purchased me a huge cast iron skillet. Once I seasoned that puppy up, the first thing I made was an awesome gluten-free deep dish pizza. Then, the next weekend I made another. Don't worry, I will share these little gems with you very soon. It took a little fine tuning to get the crust just right. For my super sister weekend, I knew I had to come up with yet another fun, deep dish recipe, but wanted to also make it somewhat Weight Watchers friendly and not too overly indulgent. I think I nailed this one folks! Check out this little beaut. 

A perfectly golden and tender crust with amazingly cheesy burgery flavor. This may look incredibly un-Weight Watcher's friendly, but it is not. From my other deep dish recipes I made, I scaled down on the dough and used very lean ground beef. This made eight lovely servings for only 9 points per slice.

Gluten-Free Deep Dish Cheeseburger Pizza

Serves 8, 9 WW points per slice

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Bisquick

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 eggs, beaten

For the toppings:

1 lb. 93% lean ground beef

2 tablespoons dried chopped onion

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

2 tablespoons BBQ sauce

1/4 cup sliced pickles

1 cup shredded 2% cheddar cheese (divided)

Additional pickles, ketchup, and mustard for garnish (optional)

Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large dish, whisk together the water, olive oil, melted butter, and eggs until combined. Add the Bisquick and stir until thoroughly combined. Spread crust mixture into a 10-inch seasoned cast iron skillet. The crust may be a little sticky, but there is no need to worry. If you have a little trouble spreading the mixture into the skillet, just lightly wet your hands and use your fingers to press the mixture into the skillet to form a crush. If you do not have a cast iron skillet, simply spray a 9-10 inch pie tine with non-stick cooking spray and press the crust into the pie tin. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the shredded 2% cheddar onto the crust. Set aside.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and onions. Stirring occasionally to break up the meat, brown for 5-6 minutes or until the beef is no longer pink. Add the ketchup, mustard, and BBQ sauce. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Sprinkle the meat mixture over the cheese and crust. Arrange the pickles over the meat layer. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the cheese is melted and begins to bubble. Remove from oven. Let set for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. You can use additional pickles, ketchup, and mustard for garnish if you choose.

Spinach and Tomato Quinoa Bake

They say you learn something new everyday. A while back I my mom and I were talking. She said she had visited the blog and said she had searched every cooking store and couldn't find a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish. Well, I just remembered this after, say, a couple of months. I have two of these said baking dishes and decided to measure the clean one the quinoa bake was not in. Low and behold these are not 9-inch by 13-inch baking dishes! I've been wrong in all my recipes! Grr! They are in fact 8-inch by 12-inch baking dishes. So, if I've ever confused you, made you shop for a new baking dish, or if you're like me said, "Screw it! I'm using the 8-inch by 12-inch dish anyway," I apologize for my error. I hope you forgive me:) Pretty please?

This evening's meatless Monday meal is one I've been working on for a while now. The first time I made it, I used a whole jar of spaghetti sauce, totally drowning the quinoa. To make this recipe more points friendly, I only used one cup of sauce and added a can of no-salt added diced tomatoes. The results are spectacular and only 8 points per serving. As usual, you can make this dish ahead, store it, and pop it in the oven when you are ready to bake it and serve.

Spinach and Tomato Quinoa Bake
Makes 6 1 1/2 cup servings
8 points per 1 1/2 cup

1 cup dried quinoa
2 cups water
1 14.5 oz. can no salt added diced tomatoes
1 cup spaghetti sauce
16 oz. fat free sour cream
8 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1 box chopped frozen spinach, drained
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
2 cups shredded 2% mozzarella cheese

Spray an 8-inch by 12-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Bring the water and diced tomatoes to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan. Add the quinoa, stir, and lower the heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Cover with a lid and remove from heat. Let the quinoa set for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork. While the quinoa is resting, mix the sour cream, cream cheese, spinach, garlic powder, and onion powder together in a large bowl until smooth. Set aside. Spread the quinoa into the bottom of the baking dish. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the quinoa. Sprinkle the top with the cheese. If you are making this dish ahead, cover and store in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to bake and serve. If you freeze this dish, you will need to thaw before baking. When you are ready to bake, place the dish, uncovered, in the oven and set the heat to 375 degrees. Bake in the oven, uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese begins to bubble and brown around the edges. Remove from the oven. Let set for 5 minutes before serving.

Light White Cheddar Cheese & Broccoli Soup

Well it has been day one on the Weight Watchers plan. So far things are going pretty good. From what I remember from the old points system, I was always starving the first few days. This usually sabotaged my plan unless I had jars of pickles, salsa, and celery around. This time around though, I am not nearly as hungry. Truthfully, I've felt quite satisfied. I know it is not going to be as easy on the weekends, but I think with some careful planning and budgeting it should not be as big a problem. I'm hoping this is going to be a good thing:) Especially when I have soup like this to enjoy.

I love foods that taste indulgent, but are still relatively good for you. Broccoli cheese soup is one of my favorites. This version I created utilizes bold cheddar flavors, but with fewer calories. Here I used light white cheddar cheese in the soup and garnished it with a sprinkle of regular shredded 2% cheddar. For only 4 points per 1 1/2 cups that is one heck of a bargain.

Light White Cheddar Cheese and Broccoli Soup
Makes 6 1 1/2 cup servings for 4 Weight Watchers Points

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
1 small yellow or white onion, chopped
1/4 cup carrot, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
4 cups reduced sodium, gluten-free chicken broth
1 box frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
2 cups 2% milk
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup shredded light white cheddar cheese

Melt the olive oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the chicken broth. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir constantly until the soup begins to thicken and serve.

The Very Thankful Menu Post

It is that time of year, Thanksgiving! I know it is a little early to be celebrating, but next weekend both my sisters will be coming to town. It is a tradition we started when the Bear and I moved into our home. There is shopping, lots of girly-girl time, decorating for the upcoming holiday season, and I usually serve a Thanksgiving meal to celebrate.

While I am thinking ahead to next weekend, we have one busy, busy week to get through before my sisters arrive. You could call it the week of never ending evening meetings for us both. I am using a lot of supplies I already have stockpiled, so there will not be a grocery list this week. It might overwhelm some of you anyway because it was a pretty expensive grocery week; but, something you might like to know is I joined Weight Watchers. Thus, I have to be more than prepared or my newly started Weight Watchers plan will end up being a week of never ending take out dinners.

Weight Watchers you ask? Yes. This may confuse you a little if you are a regular reader. To catch you up on a few things, here's the story. All the talk about fertility over the summer, my absence from regular postings, and the talk about healing has to do with some success on the fertility front and a major disappointment. We did in fact conceive in August and I was pregnant. All was going well until our 6 week appointment with the specialist. We were so very excited and hopeful to see that little flicker of a heart beat. Tragically, however, that was not the case. The baby was not developing and was a mass of cells that would eventually lead up to some pretty serious health problems for me if we did not get things taken care of. I had to have a D & C about a month ago. So, all the talk about healing has been about us working through some major disappointment. We still can have children. Good news we did conceive. I am grateful for that. It just did not work out and was due to natural causes that many people have when a pregnancy just isn't meant to be. We are coming to grips and are still hopeful, but for now we are taking a break on trying to have a baby. Long story short, I now would like to lose some of the weight I gained from the fertility drugs and actually getting pregnant. This is not out of vanity. I am doing this for my health and well being. I am overweight and when we do start seeing the specialist again, I need to be in tip top health. Being overweight does not increase your chances. I thought long and hard about how to go about all of this. I knew Weight Watchers is safe and effective. Low and behold a friend from work sent me a 50% off deal for a three month subscription, so I made my decision.

If you are on the Weight Watchers plan and are on a gluten-free diet, you are reading the right blog. I am going to try and start posting points values including portion sizes. I'm doing the online program which has a lot of really nice features such as recipe builder. I'm also excited because nothing is off limits. It's all about balance, something in which I believe. Here is the rundown:

Sunday 11/10            Light White Cheddar Cheese and Broccoli Soup

Monday 11/11           Spinach and Tomato Quinoa Bake with Chopped Salad

Tuesday 11/12           Leftovers

Wednesday 11/13      Leftovers

Thursday 11/14          Gluten-Free Deep Dish Cheeseburger Pizza

Friday 11/15              Leftovers

Saturday 11/16          The Very Thankful Thanksgiving- Smoked Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
                                  Corn, Gluten-Free Stuffing, and Mini Pumpkin Pecan Tarts

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any tips or suggestions for starting Weight Watchers. I formally used the old Points system many years ago and noticed there are a lot of changes. I would love to hear your feedback. Thanks for your support and continued reading! Have a super Sunday! I'll see you later tonight for my Sunday Soup recipe.