Today Is A Good Day For.....

.....Hot Cranberry Tea! I was just given a ton of fresh cranberries and need to make something quick. I found this tea recipe in my "Crock Pot Slow Cooker Cuisine Cookbook by Rival" and it sounded sooo good! I'm not sure how long fresh cranberries last, so I hope I can use all of them. Freezer space is at a minimum for me here in the Northwoods.

Let me tell you, the smell of this tea cooking in the crockpot is heaven. The aroma of the mix of cinnamon, red hots and cloves is fantastic! I'm a sucker for anything cinnamon.

It feels good on this cool day to be sitting with my feet up, surfing the net and sipping on a cup of this wonderful stuff. I hope you try it!

The recipe is below if you're interested. The only change I made was to use sugar substitute in place of regular sugar.

Hot Cranberry Tea

1 package (8 ounces) fresh cranberries
3 quarts water
2 cups sugar
1 cup cinnamon red hots
24 whole cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
3 oranges
2 lemons

Boil cranberries in 1 quart of water for 10 minutes; set aside. Mix in 4, 5 or 6 quart Crock-Pot, 2 quarts water, sugar, red hots, cloves, cinnamon sticks; cover and heat on high until red hots dissolve, approximately 1 hour. Strain cranberry mixture and stir into Crock-Pot. Mix in the juice from oranges and lemons. Cover and heat 2 hours on High, turn to Low to keep warm and serve directly from the Crock-Pot.

Hamburger Hot Pot

Colder weather and casserole comfort foods seem to go together. I've been reading this recipe for Hamburger Hot Pot over and over. I found it in "Crock-Pot Slow Cooker Cuisine by Rival". Today I finally tried it. The combination of the seasonings, ground beef, onions, potatoes and soup just sounded so good to me. Of course, I made the usual changes including extra lean ground beef, lower sodium salt and Mrs. Dash garlic & herb seasoning. I couldn't find a lower sodium or fat-free golden mushroom soup, so I just had to use the regular version. Ground turkey could also be used in place of the ground beef. We liked it, but next time I'll use round steak cut in cubes and cream of mushroom soup. The original recipe called for three onions, which I thought was excessive. I just used one and a half.

Hamburger Hot Pot

1-1/2 pounds ground chuck or lean ground beef
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
3 medium onions, sliced
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup water

In skillet, lightly brown ground beef; drain well. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper; set aside. Place half the potatoes and half the onions in greased Crock-Pot. Add browned beef. Top with remaining potatoes and onions. Combine mushroom soup and water; spread over top, being sure to moisten and cover evenly. Cover and cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours or on High for 3 to 4 hours. Serves 4 to 6.

Nutritional Value Per Serving: Calories 443, Fat 21 gm, Sodium 999 mg, Protein 28 gm, Carbohydrate 35 gm, Cholesterol 82 mg

Taco Bake

I made a recipe today called Taco Bake from the Crock-Pot Slow Cooker Cuisine Cookbook by Rival. In my opinion, if I had named the recipe I would have called it Crockpot Taco Casserole, but that's just me. It drove me crazy all afternoon cooking because it smelled so good! I made my usual changes by substituting extra lean ground beef, lower sodium taco seasoning, no-salt added tomato sauce and reduced fat cheese. Ground turkey could also be used in place of the ground beef. I loved it, my hubby thought it was okay. The nutritional values per serving for mine will be slightly lower than the original recipe.

Taco Bake

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup water
1 package (1-1/4 ounces) taco seasoning
1-15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 package (8 ounce) shell macaroni, uncooked
1-4 ounce can mild chopped green chilies
2 cups mild shredded cheddar cheese

In a skillet, brown ground beef and onion; drain fat. Add the water, taco seasoning and tomato sauce; mix. Simmer for 20 minutes. Transfer to Crock-Pot. Stir in macaroni and chopped green chilies. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or on High 3 to 4 hours. In the last 30 minutes of cooking top with shredded cheddar cheese. Serves 6 to 8. Add whatever toppings you desire.

Nutritional Value Per Serving: Calories 471, Fat 23 gm, Sodium 1,525 mg, Protein 25 gm, Carbohydrate 39 gm, Cholesterol 77 mg

Swiss Chicken Casserole

Have I said how much I love my crock-pot? Maybe you've already figured that out. My life is just soo much easier and I couldn't live without it! I've made this dish before in the oven and it's good either way..oven or crock-pot.

When you look at the nutritional values, I know that 524 calories seems high. If you factor in that it's the main part of the meal, I don't think it's bad. You can always pair it with other light items. I also "lightened" up the recipe by using a much lower fat cheese, soup, milk, and butter. The calories for my dish are a little lower than what the recipe specifies, but I don't know exactly what they are. It also comes in at 7 Weight Watchers points.

Swiss Chicken Casserole

6 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
6 slices (4 x 4-inch) Swiss cheese
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/4 cup milk
2 cups herb stuffing mix
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted

Spray crock-pot with cooking spray. Arrange chicken breasts in crock-pot. Top with cheese, layering cheese if necessary. Combine soup and milk; stir well. Spoon over cheese; sprinkle with stuffing mix. Drizzle melted margarine over stuffing mix. Cook on Low 8 to 10 hours or on High 4 to 6 hours. Serves 6.

Each Serving: Calories 524, Fat 30 gm, Sodium 1,083 mg, Protein 39 gm, Carbohydrate 23 gm, Cholesterol 96 mg