It's Crockpot Tuesday...Beef & Spinach Pasta 8 points

Okay so life is about to get really crazy for me.  Today I started school again (accounting major) and I told my husband I have dubbed Tuesday to be crockpot day for a while.  You see I now get off work at 4:00 (I leave work in the middle of the day to go to class and then go back to work) and by the time I get all the 3 from school/after school care and get home it's almost 5:00 and my son has to be at boy scouts by 7:00 so dinner has to be done by 6:00 at the latest (don't forget about homework and what not).  So to make my life easier I am going to be using my crockpot at least once a week now...So here is what we did today...



Beef & Spinach Noodle Bake (in the crockpot)
Serves 9

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef (I used 7%)
1 diced up onion
1 clove of garlic (I used a lot more since we like garlic)
1 15oz can of tomato sauce (next time I will use 2 cans)
1 can petite diced tomatoes (you can use regular diced, I like petite)
1 tbsp italian seasoning
S&P
10 oz frozen spinach, defrosted
16 oz shape pasta of choice (I used the Trader Joe's High Fiber penne I had in the pantry)
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup 2% shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
In the morning cook your ground beef with your onions and garlic.  Put the mixture in your crockpot (don't forget your Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner they are a lifesaver and my friend and save me lots of scrubbing, no this is not a paid advertisement LOL) with your tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and seasonings.  Cook on low for 6 hours (I use my x-mas light timer for my crockpot as I am usually gone for more than 6 hours and I don't want to overcook).

45 minutes prior to dinner cook your pasta (or if you are me cook it in the morning, drain and keep it in the pot until you are ready to add it and then just re-run it under water to separate). 

30 minutes prior to dinner being done add in your drained spinach (remember to squeeze it dry really well, a old rag does wonders with this step) pasta and cheese.  Cook for 30 minutes more and serve hot.

VERDICT: Now i have never done this in the slow cooker, it is a basic throw together I have done in the oven but I like it this way...next time I will change a few things...1) I will add another can of tomato sauce as it was a little bit dry with all that pasta and adding a can of sauce bumps it only up from 7.4 to 7.7 and 2) I will maybe decrease the pasta to 12oz or so...these were really big servings but my family is not complaining.

Calories: 372
Fat: 10
Fiber: 6
Weight Watchers Momentum Points: 7.5 (or 8 if you round)

Dreaming of Lemon Chicken...

So I love lemon chicken but I hate that when you order it from a Chinese restaurant it's deep fried and loaded with greasy calories and I usually end up with a total stomach ache because I ate all that plus fried rice.

So here's a good sub for that greasy craving.



Stir Fry Lemon Chicken
Serves 6

2 lbs chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
3 cups snow peas
1 cup bell peppers, sliced
1 bundle of green onions, diced
3/4 cup fat free reduced sodium chicken broth
2 lemons
4 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp pepper 

1. zest lemon and save 1 tsp for later (I used a little more)
2.  juice lemons, mix in broth, soy sauce, pepper & cornstarch, mix and set aside
3. spray a large skillet with cooking spray and sautee chicken until done.  Transfer to a plate
4. respray skillet, add in bell peppers & sliced carrots and saute for about 5 minutes (I usually add a little bit of water to steam/saute)
5. add snow peas, green onions, zest and garlic and saute a few more minutes until you can smell that lovely sell.
6. re-mix the sauce and add into the veggies until sauce thickens.
7. add chicken and rewarm and cook until done.  Serve with rice

VERDICT: this was good, my family loved it and it had a nice little tang to it.  There is quite a bit of prep for this but once it's all done putting it all together is easy.  I served this with rice that I added a bunch of herbs to and a little bit of butter in my rice cooker and roasted asparagus (add extra points of course)...

Calories: 214
Fat: 2
Fiber: 3
Momentum Points: 4