I found this on Skinny Chef and fell in love! Crockpot and apples? Oh yeah! Easy and yum!

Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes

Yield: 6 apples

Serving Size: 1 apple

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 2 tablespoons trans-fat free margarine or butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 Gala or Macintosh apples, cored
• 1/2 cup apple juice or apple cider
• 2 tablespoons orange liquor (optional)

Instructions

• In a large bowl, mix brown sugar, walnuts, margarine or butter, and cinnamon. If you don’t want to use walnuts, you could use pecans or go nut-free by substituting with ¼ cup chopped raisins, prunes, or granola! Another great substitution is ¼ cup of rolled quick oats moistened with a tablespoon of water before stuffing the apples.
• Use a grapefruit spoon that has the sharp edges (or a melon baller or small pairing knife) and core most of the way through, I leave about ½ inch apple left at the bottom. You could remove the skin but I find that it helps to hold the apple together as it bakes – it also adds extra fiber which is always a plus.
• Fill the apples with the filling and place them in the crock-pot.
• Pour the apple juice or cider (and the liquor, if using) into the crock-pot, around the apples. If you don’t have apple juice or cider, you can use apple lime juice or apple vinegar (diluted with water and a little sugar).
• Set the crock-pot on high heat and cook 2½ to 3 hours until the apples are soft and begin to collapse.
• If you don’t have a crockpot, you can use a 7×11 casserole dish or stock pot. Preheat the oven to 350F and cover the pan with aluminum foil. They’ll take about 45 minutes to one hour. A glass baking dish is also an option, just be sure to lower the heat slightly 5-10 degrees since glass can cause food to burn.
• If you’re making this recipe for a large crowd, you could do these in the oven in a large disposable roasting pan and just double the recipe. They also taste delish with a scoop of low-fat frozen vanilla yogurt.
• You can refrigerate these for up to 3 days, but store them in an air-tight container so they don’t pick up odors from the fridge.

Nutritional Stats Per Serving (1 apple): 214 calories, 1 g protein, 34g carbohydrates, 7 g fat (1 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 2g fiber, 50 mg sodium.

Weight Watchers® Points Plus: 5

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Crockpot Pinto Beans

Southerners love pinto beans! This is a different way to make them than how I was taught. It’s a little more frou-frou, but I think Mama and Daddy would approve.

1 pound dried pinto beans
10 each pearl onions (I use frozen onions)
4 cloves garlic, whole
4 cups water
1 cup chicken broth
1 each bay leaf
1 tablespoon sea salt
pepper, to taste

1. Soak beans in enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches for 6 hours or overnight. (Alternatively, use the quick-soak method: Place beans in a large pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour.)

2. When ready to cook, put beans and rest of ingredients except salt in crockpot. Cook on high for 3 1/2 hours or until beans are tender.

3. Add salt and stir. Turn crock pot off. Wait 30 minutes to serve. Pull bay leaf out before serving.

Servings: 6

Notes: If you want, you can fish the garlic and onions out.

You can also put beans in a large Dutch oven and boil vigorously to reduce liquid and then use stick mixer to mash beans with onions and garlic coarsely.

You can also use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth to make it vegetarian.

Make sure to do the soak and boil in step one! This will help make them less gassy!

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 305 Calories; 1g Fat (3.7% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 58g Carbohydrate; 21g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 1413mg Sodium.

Exchanges: 3 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable.

Related articles

• What’s for Dinner: Pinto Beans (faithfulprovisions.com)
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Hungarian Beef Goulash

2 pounds beef stew meat, (such as chuck), trimmed and cubed

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

1 1/2-2 tablespoons sweet or hot paprika, (or a mixture of the two), preferably Hungarian (see Ingredient Note)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

 

Place beef in a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Crush caraway seeds with the bottom of a saucepan. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in paprika, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the beef with the spice mixture and toss to coat well. Top with onion and bell pepper.

Combine tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire sauce and garlic in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer. Pour over the beef and vegetables. Place bay leaves on top. Cover and cook until the beef is very tender, 4 to 4 1/2 hours on high or 7 to 7 1/2 hours on low.

Discard the bay leaves; skim or blot any visible fat from the surface of the stew. Add the cornstarch mixture to the stew and cook on high, stirring 2 or 3 times, until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

 

8 servings (1 cup each).

TIPS & NOTES

• Serving suggestion: Serve over a serving of rice or noodles.
• Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 4 months. | Prep ahead: Trim beef and coat with spice mixture. Prepare vegetables. Combine tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Refrigerate in separate covered containers for up to 1 day.
• Ingredient Note: Paprika specifically labeled as “Hungarian” is worth seeking out for this dish because it delivers a fuller, richer flavor than regular or Spanish paprika. Find it at specialty-foods store or online at HungarianDeli.com and penzeys.com.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 180 calories; 5 g fat ( 2 g sat , 2 g mono ); 48 mg cholesterol; 6 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 25 g protein; 1 g fiber; 250 mg sodium; 298 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Zinc (40% daily value), Vitamin C (35% dv), Vitamin A (25% dv), Iron (15% dv).

Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 3 lean meat

 

Amy’s Vegetable Beef Soup

3/4 pound beef tips

28 ounces crushed tomatoes

14 ounces beef broth

1 cup baby carrots

1 cup frozen corn kernels

1 can green beans, canned, drained

1 large onion, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 tablespoons Italian seasoning

salt and pepper, to taste

 

Brown beef tips in a nonstick skillet that has been sprayed with olive oil spray.

In a large crockpot add all the ingredients.

Cook on high for 7 hours.

6 servings. 149 calories per serving.

1 Starch/Bread, 3 Vegetables, ½ Lean Meat

Serve with crackers or cornbread.

*If you want a thicker broth, mix a slurry of cornstarch and water and add right before serving. Just use a little because a little goes a LONG way.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

1 lb ground sirloin

1 c. chopped onions

1 16 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 c frozen corn kernels

8 oz. canned tomato sauce

2 c. water

2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes

1 bell pepper, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

14 oz can diced green chilies

1 oz. packet taco seasoning mix

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 c. light sour cream

In a medium skillet, cook the ground beef over medium heat until browned. Drain, and set aside. Place the ground meat, onion, pinto beans, kidney beans, corn, tomato sauce, water, diced tomatoes, green chile peppers, and taco seasoning mix in a slow cooker. Mix to blend, and cook on Low setting for 8 hours. Ladle into individual serving bowls, and top each with 1/8 cup shredded cheese and a tablespoon of sour cream.

Serves 8.

Calories per serving: 360

Carbs per serving: 34g

Protein per serving: 23g

Food Exchanges:

1.5 Starches/Bread, 1.5 Vegetables, 2.5 Lean Meats, 1.5 Fats