Crockpot Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Crockpots are literally the best kitchen tool ever.

Well, next to the avocado slicer.

I mean what is easier than throwing everything in a pot and plugging it in?  Plus, your home smells amazing for hours.

This soup is super hearty and delicious and healthy.  I don't like to repeat meals so soon after each other but this one?  I'm on my second week.  It's THAT good.

I adapted this from my latest cookbook of the week - Crockpot Family Favorites.  To make it healthier and a bit more point friendly, and more to my liking, I made several changes, including upping the veggies significantly, using lean turkey sausages, and using tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes (totally a consistency thing for me).

The great thing about this soup is that it is totally customizable - whatever veggies you like or have on hand, throw them in!  You can also try different kinds of tortellini.  When I made this a second time, I used spinach and cheese tortellini and it was fabulous!

Crockpot Sausage and Tortellini Soup
6 servings (about 2 1/4 cups per serving) at 6 Smartpoints each

3 lean hot Italian turkey sausages, casings removed
3 lean sweet Italian turkey sausages, casings removed
6 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
1 29oz can tomato sauce
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 package (9 oz) refrigerated tortellini
3 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups chopped zucchini
2 1/2 cups spinach and kale mix

Cook sausages in a large skillet until cooked through.  Add cooked sausages, broth, tomato sauce, carrots, Italian seasoning, and pepper to Crockpot.  Cook on high for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, add broccoli and zucchini and cook for another hour.  Then, add in tortellini and spinach / kale mixture.  Cook for another 30-45 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Blog Bites: Pumpkin Parmesan Quinoa

And the pumpkin obsession continues.

However, this dish from ifoodreal is on the savory side of the pumpkin, and it's really really delicious.  A perfect fall dinner or lunch!

It's very simple to make - took about a half hour.  I will came out a little thinner sauce wise than hers (next time I might reduce the amount of broth a bit) but it was still absolutely amazing.

Makes about 4 servings so it's a perfect dish that will have plenty of leftovers for lunch!

Pumpkin Parmesan Quinoa

Avocado Chicken Salad

Straight up?  I hate mayonnaise.  Like really hate it.

So basically I've never liked chicken salad or egg salad.

Until I found a genius idea, of course, on Pinterest.

Avocado.

Because avocados?  I LOVE.

This chicken salad has zero mayo.  Instead, I use a combination of Greek yogurt and avocado and it is creamy and delicious, and added in some dried cherries for a burst of chewy sweetness.  I used a good amount of Greek yogurt (2% because it's less tart), you certainly could adjust the amount down if you would like!

Also, I used Trader Joe's pre-grilled chicken breast.  Because it was that kind of day.  And it was also delicious.

Avocado Chicken Salad

(3 servings - 1/2 cup each: 188 calories per serving per MyFitnessPal Recipe Builder)

1 medium ripe avocado
1 lime
1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt
6 oz. chopped up or shredded chicken breast
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup dried cherries

Scoop the avocado out of it's skin and into bowl.  Juice the lime over the avocado and mash with a fork until creamy.  Add in the greek yogurt, chicken, salt, pepper, and dried cherries and stir until well combined.

(Side note - it does make three servings, and even with the lime juice, the avocado still turns a bit brown in the fridge however it still tastes delicious!)

Serve on a wrap with some lettuce or just on a bed of lettuce, would even be delicious with pita or pita crips!

Meal Planning: What I'm Eating This Week!

So, after week 1 of meal planning, I'd say it was a rousing success.  Getting lunches together for work and having a plan for my late tutoring nights was a huge help!

So let's get to week 2!

I still have quite a few waffles in the freezer from last week's batch, so I'm planning on using those for breakfasts, along with an egg sandwich on alternating days (side note - I have to do a post on my breakfast sandwich maker because it is literally the best thing ever!)

I'm doing my Protein Packed Mason Jar salad twice this week, just changing it up a tad.  I ran out of quinoa and I'm in no mood to brave the grocery store the day before an ice storm, so I'm subbing an extra 1/4 cup of chickpeas for the quinoa.  Other lunches will be leftovers!

And as for those leftovers, my two recipes I'm trying out this week:

Italian Escarole and White Bean Soup from the Skinnytaste cookbook (I'm actually using baby kale instead of escarole)
Skinny Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo from Celebrations

I also stocked up on some berries, pineapple, and sugar snap peas for snacks, as well as some more greek yogurt and granola, and some Vermont 10 grain bread for mini banana / peanut butter paninis.  I also have some Vegan Chocolate Shakeology that I'm using as snacks!

What are you planning for this week?

Protein Packed Mason Jar Salad

Confession.  I don't love salads.

I mean, I love salads at restaurants.  But of course, those aren't always the healthiest.

When I eat a salad, I want it to have a lot of different "stuff".  Not just lettuce and veggies. 

I have been watching YouTube videos for some healthy eating ideas and one that kept popping up was the salad in a mason jar.  The pluses include that they could be prepped 3-4 days in advance and stay fresh, easy grab and go, and you could really put anything them you want.

So in an effort to continue with the healthy start to the new year, I decided to give it a go.  I got 2 liter size mason jars at Michael's (those are the good size, it's a great size for a 'meal' salad), and I bought a nice big container at The Container Store to dump it into.  You can eat it right from the mason jar, however it's difficult to mix so you'd likely only get 1-2 ingredients at a time.

Then, I assembled the ingredients.  Side note - you can put your dressing right in the jar at the bottom (usually with the 'sturdiest' ingredients) but I had also bought tiny dressing containers at The Container Store so I decided to leave mine on the side.

I prepped 2 of these on Sunday and had them Monday and Wednesday.  The Wednesday one was fresh and delicious!

I started with about 2 oz. of chopped precooked roasted turkey breast from Trader Joe's.  Only turkey, salt and pepper so nice ingredient list, and precooked to save some time!

Then I threw in a 1/4 cup of rinsed and drained chickpeas.

After that, about a 1/2 cup of the steamed broccoli and cauliflower I had done for my meal prep.

Then a 1/4 cup of quinoa.

Then 1 chopped up hard boiled egg.

Then I basically stuffed it with baby arugula.  I really packed it in so that all of the ingredients would have a nice "bed" to fall out on.

And I topped it off with some sea salt pumpkin seeds for crunch!

I had mine with 1 tablespoon or Asian Sesame Ginger Dressing from Trader Joe's.

And here was the result!  I had this and some fresh pineapple and was totally satisfied!

I really love this concept and am looking forward to trying some different varieties!

Skinny Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese

Because who doesn't like comfort food in the winter time?  Okay, it's technically still fall, but it's cold!

I found this recipe on The Comfort of Cooking and really only made a few changes.  One big change I made was using coconut oil as a substitute for butter.

Now.

This didn't make the dish taste like coconut, but it did add a slight sweetness in the background that I felt worked well with the tangy sauce.  And oh yes, I added mustard.  Because you have to add mustard to mac and cheese!

 Skinny Baked Broccoli Mac and Cheese
(Makes 8 1 cup servings)
(Adapted from The Comfort of Cooking)

12 oz. pasta of choice (I used a gluten free which was delicious!)
12 oz. fresh or frozen broccoli spears
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cups skim milk
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. coconut oil
2 cups reduced fat cheddar cheese (I used a Mexican blend)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray 13x9 pan with cooking spray.

Cook the pasta and broccoli together in the same pot, according to the directions for the pasta.

Drain.

With the pasta and broccoli in the strainer, melt coconut oil.  Add flour and whisk for a minute to lose the raw flour taste.  Whisk in milk and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil over medium - high heat.  Then reduce the heat to about medium and cook for about five minutes, whisking often, until the sauce thickens.  Add mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.

Remove sauce from heat and add in the cheese.  Mix until cheese is blended in, then add pasta and broccoli and mix well.  Transfer the mixture to your baking pan and top with the 1/4 cup of panko.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Then broil for 2-4 to crisp up the top.

(P.S. - this is a great make on Sunday dish and have leftovers for lunch for a few days!)