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. 

Bison Bolognese

If using ground turkey or ground chicken is a bit of a stretch for you when replacing beef, you should definitely give ground bison a try. Not only does bison taste great, but it has less fat and more iron than beef.

This bolognese is super easy. I served it over spaghetti squash for a take on "Pasta Bolognese".

Bison Bolognese

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb lean bison meat
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil

Directions:

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and coat with cooking spray. Add the garlic and onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the bison meat. Cook until no longer pink, stirring and crumbling occasionally.

3. Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano and basil. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat. Simmer 30-40 minutes. Serve!

Beefed-Up Veggie Lentil Stew

Perfect comfort food for the snow storm that's about to hit NYC (whomp, whomp). I used lean ground sirloin, lots of veggies, and fiber-packed lentils for hearty, filling, and nutritious stew.

Beefed-Up Veggie Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked lentils (1 cup dry)
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 handfuls chopped kale
1 lb 90% lean ground sirloin (can use ground turkey too)
1 cup tomato sauce (I used Hunt's)
2 cups water
Dash of salt
Tumeric
Cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Heat a large non-stick pot over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Saute until soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Add ground sirloin to the pot. Cook until brown on all sides. Next, add lentils, tomato sauce, water, salt, tumeric, and cayenne (I didn't measure, just sprinkle a little and taste test to your liking). Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Add kale to the pot. Cover and cook an additional 5 minutes. Turn off heat and serve!

Makes 6 cups (4-6 servings)

Nutrition Information (1 cup): 216 Calories, 4 grams Fat, 21 grams Carbohydrates, 7 grams Fiber, 24 grams Protein