Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup to Try from Slow Cooker Dump Dinners Book

1 (19 oz) package frozen cheese tortellini
1 (16 oz) frozen spinach
4 cups chicken broth
2 (15 oz) can  diced tomato
1 block low fat cream cheese

Add them all together. Cook on low for three hours


Green Lentil Curry
2 cups green lentil, rinsed
1 cup chopped frozen onion
3.5 cups coconut milk
1 (5oz) can tomato paste
1 cup sliced frozen carrots
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp curry powder

Place them all in slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. Garnish with chopped tomato or cilantro
(If check and seems low on liquid add 1 cup of hot water to pot)

https://www.tasteslovely.com/vanilla-almond-overnight-oatmeal-with-blueberries/

Tried this a couple of times, it's quite a bit of sugar and the ratio with the almond milk was never to my preference.

Vegan Slow Cooker: Spaghetti Marinara

It was alright. Not anything exciting, but not bad.

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Lentil Chili

https://www.budgetbytes.com/slow-cooker-vegetarian-lentil-chili/

Perfectly good. Wasn't amazing, but other than onion it was dump and go soooo

Curried Tofu Salad

This was fast to make and delicious, an easy addition to the fast vegetarian egg salad like things that I make. I didn't like the taste as much until several days in, then it was delicious -- favorite way to serve-- over salad, with some pepitas and crackers and some extra salt and pepper on top.

Recipes to Try

Breakfast

https://www.budgetbytes.com/golden-milk-overnight-oats/
https://www.tasteslovely.com/vanilla-almond-overnight-oatmeal-with-blueberries/
https://homecookingmemories.com/easy-breakfast-roll-ups/
https://kristineskitchenblog.com/carrot-cake-breakfast-cookies/



Freezer Foods
https://www.budgetbytes.com/make-ahead-bean-and-cheese-burritos/



https://www.budgetbytes.com/homemade-freezer-garlic-bread/


Salad -- some effort
https://www.budgetbytes.com/parsley-salad-almonds-apricots/

Super Fast/No Cook/Lunch instant


https://www.budgetbytes.com/vinaigrette-slaw-with-feta/  (also a salad)
https://www.budgetbytes.com/make-ahead-kale-white-bean-and-pesto-salad/


Dinner
https://www.budgetbytes.com/spiced-chickpea-tostadas/

Egg Muffins

https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/breakfast-egg-muffins/

This isn't really the recipe that I followed. The recipe that I followed was spray some non-stick, crack some eggs in there and add some cheese and salsa and shove it in at 375 for a while until firm. I think it would taste better blended up like this, but anything goes.

Keeper: Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

https://www.budgetbytes.com/slow-cooker-black-bean-soup/

Easy, delicious, nutritious. It's a winner.

Creamy Spinach Orzo

From the budget bytes book, meh, not creamy enough. Won't make again

Greek Orzo Lemon Soup from Budget Bytes Book

Soooo good. Make this again Edited 2024: Removed the keeper--I've tried it a few times over the years and it hasn't grabbed me the same.

Keeper: Microwave Breakfast Scramble

https://www.budgetbytes.com/2018/04/make-ahead-microwave-breakfast-scrambles/

You can put anything in it and it's done in minutes and I don't have to set up the ktichen!

Slow Cooker Taco Chicken Bowls

https://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/07/taco-chicken-bowls/

Sweet Chili Chicken

https://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/07/sweet-chili-chicken-bowls/

Instant Pot: Lentil and Black Bean Chili

https://www.hippressurecooking.com/black-bean-lentil-chili-pcs/


Used pepperjack melted into it and it was amazing. Also bet it's really good with the pickled jalapenos that are suggested. Track those down next time.

Light Thousand Island Recipe

http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/thousand-island-dressing-low-fat-low-calorie-152154

Haven't tried it yet, also added onion powder because of another one I'd come across

Low Calorie Tomato Sauce Dressing

Not bad! Definitely great for using up tomato sauce when not going to make more pasta. Could use a little spiffying up and could be great.


http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/low-calorie-tomato-herb-salad-dressing-291881

Ingredients:

• 8ounces low-sodium tomato sauce
• 2tablespoons tarragon vinegar   (REPLACED WITH RED WINE VINEGAR)
• 1teaspoon onion juice   REPLACED WITH SOME HORSERADISH SAUCE (one squeeze of bottle)
• 1teaspoonWorcestershire sauce, vegetarian Worcestershire sauce is available   
• 1⁄2teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2teaspoon dill weed  REPLACED WITH ITALIAN SEASONING because didn't have dill
• 1⁄2teaspoon dried basil, crushed

Pesto Chickpea Salad

This was delicious and easy and a different flavor than my normal because it has pesto.

Simple Pico de Gallo

We needed salsa with the tacos for lunch, so I wiped it up quickly

Can't find the recipe, it had diced grape tomatoes, some diced yellow onion, a minced garlic clove, lime juice, and some parsley because mom doesn't really like cilantro

Toasted Almonds in the Microwave UNL

https://food.unl.edu/toasting-nuts-and-seeds-using-microwave-oven-or-stove-top

This was soooo easy and so good. Not burning it instead like last time

Ginger Salmon

This is one of my first budget bytes fails. It's probably my own fault-- I didn't have toasted sesame oil and I made modifications to accomodate another fillet and the internet's advice to cut the ginger, but it was thoroughly disappointing, I will not be making again.

On, the plus side, the frozen salmon was fantastic and I will be making it again. 

Slow Cooker Fajitas.. that became hybrid with Slow Cooker Black Beans

Hmmmm. Not bothering to put the recipe, just added a frozen bag of peppers and onions.

Instant Pot Frozen Veggie Stew

So, it's not the world's most exiting recipe, but it's pantry-ready, it's super easy and it's reasonably fast. You'll find your favorite combos.

https://www.hippressurecooking.com/frozen-veggie-stew-pcs/

Curried Lentils

Pretty good at first. Used half tumeric and half curry to go better for mom's spice levels.

Budget bytes suggests using it on rice or naan, using it like a sloppy joe, or usingit on salads or whatever. lots of options

Sriracha Egg Salad

A reasonable alternative, needs more sriracha!

Keeper: Lemon Herb Egg Salad

SOOOOO GOOOD Budget Bytes, of course

Black Bean Burger

Budget bytes!

Left out the sriracha for mother, so was bland, but only 1 point when make them small and can eat alone or crumble over things. Versatile!

Oil- Free Avocado Chimichurri

https://simpleveganblog.com/oil-free-chimichurri-sauce/

ADD LEMON JUICE!

This is pretty good after sitting for a few days.

Chana Saag

https://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/05/chana-saag/

Made it and just had a bite but it was delicious. Dinner tomorrow!  Supposedly freezes well.

Slow Cooker Morroccan Veggie Lentil

Put it on high for four hours (well three actually and one on low, but whatever)
Could only fit five cups of broth
And replaced the tumeric with curry and something because I couldn't find the tumeric. Tumeric is WAY better, but still good.

Own Recipe: Gourmet hot chocolate

Swiss Miss light hot chocolate
skim milk instead of water
cardamom
cinnamon
vanilla

Not sure which parts are essential

WW Zero Point Ranch Dressing -- Not bad!

https://drizzlemeskinny.com/zero-smart-point-ranch-dressing/

Mushroom and Onion Roasted

I just used the kerthunker and chopped up all of the spare mushrooms we had about-- one portobello and a box and a half of white mushrooms and then two yellow onions. Put them on foil wrapped baking pans. Drizzled olive oil and some spices and salt and pepper and mushed it around at random. Put it in at 400 degrees and checked on it in 17 minutes.

Throw it in the Salad Recipe (Can't remember if I'm repeating myself)

Catherine’s Throw-it-in-the-salad Salad Recipe

Basically all you’re going to do is throw the salad together by finding something that fits these categories. You won’t always hit them all, and often one ingredient will fill multiple roles when you’re trying to keep it simple, but it’s an easy checklist.

1.     Green Base

a.     Lettuce, Spinach, Arugula, Parsley, Kale, Coleslaw, etc.

2.     Something sweet

a.     Fruit: apples, berries, mango, dried cherries, clementine, etc.

3.     Something crunchy

a.     Nuts, seeds, celery, carrots, onions, wontons/tortillas, croutons

4.     Something salty

a.     Nuts, seeds, cheese, dash of salt

5.     Something creamy

a.     Salad dressing, avocado, some cheeses or soft fruits

6.     (more optional) Something with a punch of flavor

a.     Salad dressing, herbs, chili lime cashews, blue cheese, roasted veggies, etc.

7.     (more optional) Protein         

a.     Eggs, chickpeas, chicken, etc.

Examples

Spinach Berry Salad

            Those are the base then consider: walnuts, pepitas, blue cheese or feta, Bolthouse dressing, avocado etc.

Southwest Salad

            Put things you’d traditionally put on a taco into this salad, options: black beans, fire roasted corn, taco filling, salsa, tortilla chips, avocado, etc.

Mango Arugula Salad

            Arugula (1 and 6), Mango (2), Red Onion (3), Feta (4 and 5), Avocado (5), Balsamic and Olive oil (6)

Roasted Veggie Salad

            Lettuce, grapes, pepitas, avocado, roasted veggies.

Salad Dressings

Bolthouse (2 points per tbsp.)

Lemony Goodness (see recipe for Rainbow Kale Salad)

Olive Oil and spices

Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

Keeper: Spanish Chickpea and Rice

https://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/06/spanish-chickpeas-and-rice/

Had to substitute the artichokes with peas and celery--worked great. 

Ahem Grape Wafer Grapefruit Mocktail

-- La Croix Pamplemousse! (aka sparkling water grapefruit flavor)
--Lemon juice
-- grapes cut in half and muddled--makes them look like wafers
-- fresh dried thyme

Keeeper: Mushroom French Dip Sandwiches

https://www.budgetbytes.com/2016/12/vegetarian-french-dip-sandwiches/

Sooooo yummy

FIlling is 3
Cheese is 4
Bread is 3-4


14 total

4 for the bread
3 for the filling
2 for the cheese

= 9

Butternut Squash Kale Slow Cooker Lasagna

https://karalydon.com/recipes/butternut-squash-kale-slow-cooker-lasagna/

So, this was pretty delicious. The butternut squash is a different flavor in the lasagna, but overall I think I liked it-- I'd like to do something a little different iwth the spices maybe? I don't know, I used the Hunt's garlic and herb sauce because it was what was available that was WW friendly.

I'm going to count it on my keeper list for now because it was easy and different from my other stuff and I need slow cooker recipes, but it's got some room for fiddling.

8 WW points if there are 8 servings.

Keeper: Spinach Mushroom Feta Crustless Quiche

https://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/11/spinach-mushroom-feta-crustless-quiche/

Good god, yes. Sooooo delicious. Cheesy, easy,

Next time just make real sure you squeeze enough water out of the spinach and repeat what you did to get the moisture out of the mushrooms. Yuuuummmm.

Easiest ever Oven Butternut Squash

Put the whole damn thing in there like a baked potato (stab it a few times with a knife and everything) 375 for 45-60 mintues.

Not thrilled, but effective. I had it in at 350 though becaues I got confused by another recipe and I think 375 would have been better.

Keeper: Kale Rainbow Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2014/01/kale-rainbow-detox-salad-with-lemon-vinaigrette-vegan-gluten-free/


It's pretty good! Good enough to get added to my feed myself list. It's way better with the almonds and avocado, but it's zero points the rest of the time, so both are worthwhile. Breaks things up well!

Toasted almonds

https://www.momskitchenhandbook.com/recipes/condimentslittle-extras/grandmas-killer-pan-toasted-almonds/

Didn't follow instructions well, used a smaller pan and too much olive oil for the reduced number of almonds I was toasting. Still pretty tasty. Next time, remember less is more ont he oil.

First instant pot recipe: "Black" (Pinto) Bean Soup!

So, I just followed the first recipe in the book provided. It was a challenge just figuring out how to fit the lid on, but I did it. Not sure yet how the instant pot is going to live up to the hype. It worked okay and I'm definitely going to be using it in my plan to use excessive amounts of kitchen instruments at once, but the whole "it's only ten minutes!' is like... well yeah... once it gets up to pressure and then comes down from pressure...I'm sure it works incredible on things like chilis or meats and things that simmer for a long time, but a lot of mine are pretty fast soooooo we'll see.

Anyway, the recipe was alright, broth was yum but a bit bland, beans were okay. Not bad for a first one, but not even going to bother to make sure I can access it again.

Own Recipe: Stocked Kitchen Breakfast Burrito (7)

1 tortilla factory lo carb tortilla
1 slice of cheddar cheese split into triangles
1/4 of an avocado
1 poached egg (done in the microwave thing and waiting in fridge)
black bean taco filling (waiting in fridge)
salsa
sriracha

= 7 WW

Keeper Own Recipe: Perrier Mocktail/Cocktail

Wine glass (has to be the pretty glass or loses too much ritual!)
Perrier Watermelon Water
Lemon juice
Muddled blueberries

Optional: 1 oz of vodka or something. I've done the tequila, but I'm not sure about it.

Keeper Recipe: Curried Red Lentil and Pumpkin Soup

https://www.budgetbytes.com/2016/02/curried-red-lentil-and-pumpkin-soup/

Easy, delicious, and nutritious. Topped it with 1 tbsp pepitas and a slither of srirachi and it was divine.

In comments: Easy and good to freeze,  And "I cooked it in the instant pot on high pressure for 10 min, natural release."

Roasted Carrots

Two bags of baby Carrots 

Spices - garlic powder, salt, pepper, dried thyme, mrs. dash

4 tsp olive oil 

Mix it all up in a bowl

Put on foiled baking pan

35-40 minutes at 425

Keeper: Slow Cooker Black Bean Taco

Slow Cooker Black Bean Tacos

Author: Kelly Hutchinson

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2 cans(15 oz) black beans
• 8 oz can chopped green chiles (I used 2 cans, 4 oz each)
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• ¼ c water
• 12 taco taco shells (for a GF option use corn)
• Your favorite toppings (I always, always recommend sour cream)

Trrying it on low --- check in 6 hours: 8pm

Instructions

1. Spritz slow cooker with nonstick spray and add all ingredients. Mix well.
2. Cook on low for 6 – 8 hours or high 3 – 5 hours.
3. Once the beans are your desired level of falling apart, divide between the 8 shells and top.

Spinach Egg Pancake!

• 2 ¹⁄₂cup(s)fresh spinach, coarsely chopped, cleaned, (do not dry)

  00 Points
• 2largeegg(s)

  00 Points
• ¹⁄₄tsptable salt

  00 Points
• ¹⁄₄tspblack pepper, freshly ground

  00 Points
• 1Tbspwater

  00 Points
• ¹⁄₂tspolive oil

  11 Points
• 
  

Salsa

Hot Sauce

Instructions

• Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the spinach with just the water that clings to it; cook, stirring constantly, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain well, squeezing out all the liquid. Cool slightly, then chop finely.
• Beat the eggs, salt, pepper, and water in a small bowl until frothy.
• Heat the oil in a small omelette pan until a drop of water sizzles on it. Pour in the egg mixture and swirl to cover the pan. Reduce the heat and cook until the underside is set and the top is a little creamy, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the spinach and tomato evenly over half the omelette; fold the other half over the filling. Cook until the omelette is completely set, about 1 minute longer. To serve, slide the omelette onto a plate.

Notes

Recording the Shakshuka Recipe because it disappeared briefly off the internet

So, I can find this later. If the stove top thing doesn't work, or if you need to try the slow cooker version someday, here's a recipe: https://fitslowcookerqueen.com/easy-slow-cooker-shakshuka/


https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/shakshuka/

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion, peeled and diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 4 cups ripe diced tomatoes, or 2 cans (14 oz. each) diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp mild chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• Pinch of cayenne pepper, or more to taste (careful, it's spicy!)
• Pinch of sugar (optional, to taste)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (optional, for garnish)

Instructions

1. Heat a deep, large skillet or sauté pan on medium. Slowly warm olive oil in the pan. Add chopped onion, sauté for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add garlic and continue to sauté till mixture is fragrant.  
2. Add the diced bell pepper, sauté for 5-7 minutes over medium until softened.
3. Add tomatoes and tomato paste to pan, stir until blended. Add spices and sugar, stir, and allow mixture to simmer over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until it starts to reduce.
4. At this point, you can taste the mixture and spice it according to your preferences. Add salt and pepper to taste, more sugar for a sweeter sauce, or more cayenne pepper for a spicier shakshuka (be careful with the cayenne... it is extremely spicy!).
5. Crack the eggs, one at a time, directly over the tomato mixture, making sure to space them evenly over the sauce. I usually place 5 eggs around the outer edge and 1 in the center. The eggs will cook "over easy" style on top of the tomato sauce.
6. Cover the pan. Allow mixture to simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked and the sauce has slightly reduced. Keep an eye on the skillet to make sure that the sauce doesn't reduce too much, which can lead to burning.
7. Some people prefer their shakshuka eggs more runny. If this is your preference, let the sauce reduce for a few minutes before cracking the eggs on top-- then, cover the pan and cook the eggs to taste. Garnish with the chopped parsley, if desired
8. See the full post:https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/shakshuka/#Lb7xuRYuUiYwTquT.99