Crockpot Queso Chicken Chili

Everyone NEEDS to make this on Sunday. Buy the ingredients, throw them in your crockpot, run errands/go to the gym/go to brunch/etc., then come home to a delicious meal you can eat all week. This chili is a little spicy, a little creamy, and absolutely delicious!

This recipe is only slightly modified from Pinch of Yum:

Crock Pot Queso Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 cups salsa, divided
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bell peppers, minced
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 14-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 ounces fat free cream cheese
4 ounces lite cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese
Cilantro for topping

Directions:

1. Place the chicken breasts, 1 1/2 cups salsa, water, cumin, chili powder, and salt in the crockpot. Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-7 hours. When the chicken is done, shred the meat directly in the crockpot using two forks.

2. Pat the minced peppers dry with a paper towel. Place the bell peppers in a large nonstick skillet high heat WITHOUT oil. This creates the browned, roasted look on the outside of the peppers. Stir once and repeat until the peppers are nice and browned.

3. After the chicken has been shredded, add the peppers, corn, black beans, remaining salsa and cream cheese to the crockpot. Stir and replace cover, allowing the cream cheese to the crockpot. Let the soup simmer for another 15-20 minutes until everything is smooth and melted. Just before serving, stir in the cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese.

Serves 6

Nutrition Information Per Serving: 354 calories, 6 grams fat, 40 g carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 35 grams protein

Slow Cooker Bluberry Muffin Oats

Hi I've never really prepped a few days worth of breakfast before- if I needed something to grab and go, I'd just throw together some overnight oats like this or this. But, as my schedule has gotten busier and busier I decided it would be really convenient to just have everything ready to go.

I came across this recipe and decided to give it a try. It uses a mixture of steel coat oats and quinoa which adds some protein and omega-3 fatty acids to an otherwise carbohydrate based meal.

If you've never bought steel cut oats, you can find them right near the regular oatmeal. Both rolled oats and steel cut oats start as oat groats. The groats are roasted and can then be further processed and rolled into flakes (rolled oats) or cut into several pieces (steel cut oats). For this reason, steel cut oats take longer to cook, but provide a chewier texture and nuttier taste. As far as nutrition, they are pretty much identical.

The end result? Really delicious (and makes your kitchen smell amazing)! This is a really nourishing, filling breakfast that you can further customize with various toppings. I've topped mine with yogurt (for extra protein) and peanut butter (to add healthy fat).

You can find the original recipe here!

Slow Cooker Blueberry Muffin Oats 

Serves 6

Recipe by Jamie

Ingredients: 

1 cup steel cut oats
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
5 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 lemon (about 1-2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons flaxseed
1 tablespoon coconut oil
3-4 tablespoons stevia (or pure maple syrup or honey)
3/4-1 cup cup fresh or frozen blueberries (I used 3/4 cup frozen)

Directions:

1. Spray the inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Add all ingredients and stir. Cook for 7-8 hours on low (overnight if you'd like).

2. Spoon oats into a bowl and add a splash of milk (optional) and other desired toppings. Store in the fridge.

*To reheat a serving, add 1/3 cup milk or water and cook for 1 minute on high in the microwave. Stir, then cook again another minute or so or until hot. It's also good cold- stir in some yogurt and it's just like overnight oats!

Nutrition Information per serving:  206 calories, 6 grams Fat, 32 g Carbs, 6 grams Protein

Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken (Only 2 Ingredients!)

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken - say that 10 times fast.

I've made this recipe for three weeks straight. I like my Crock Pot recipes simple- no cooking beforehand and just a couple of ingredients. The purpose of the Crock Pot is to make your life easier. I don't want to be cooking the food beforehand! More dishes to clean.

Well, it doesn't get easier than this recipe.

Sorry to say, this was not my idea. Jazzy found the recipe somewhere and posted it on IG, and then I tried it. And I loved it. And kept making it. The end.

Everyone will love this recipe. The chicken just falls apart!!

Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken breast
1 8-ounce tub fat free cream cheese

Directions:

Place your chicken in your crockpot. Add the cream cheese. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours. Shred chicken apart with a fork. Donezo. 

Slow Cooked BBQ Cranberry Chicken

Another delicious crockpot recipe! You might have all the ingredients sitting around in your pantry and fridge right now. Literally dump them all in, then set it and forget it. Best solution for people who want homemade meals, but don't have a lot of time to cook!

Found this recipe on www.whoneedsacape.com and just modified the amount of chicken used.

Slow Cooker BBQ Cranberry Chicken 

2lbs chicken breast

1 can whole cranberry sauce 

1 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 cup chopped onion

1. Sprays our crockpot with cooking spray. Add all ingredients. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.