Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Calico Beans

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This Calico Beans recipe packs a punch when it comes to protein. In my household of men, this is much appreciated. Oh, who am I kidding? I may be the only girl in my household, but give me a bowl of beans, beef, and bacon, and I’m a happy camper. I love me a high protein meal! If all the boys in the house enjoy it too, well now, that’s just a huge perk. :)

Add some chopped sweet green peppers, or even a few chunks of spicy peppers to this recipe if your family enjoys a little “kick”.

Calico BeansYum

Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Calico Beans
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 8 ounces turkey bacon, cut into one-inch pieces
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • ½ cup chopped onion (or 4 Tablespoons minced onion)
  • 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 2 - 15 ounce cans baked beans (I use Eden Organics, full of healthy ingredients)
  • 1 - 15 ounce can kidney beans
  • ¾ cup ketchup (I recommend homemade ketchup or an organic variety that does not contain high fructose corn syrup)
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 Tablespoon vinegar (I use either red wine or balsamic)
Instructions
  1. In a skillet, brown bacon, ground beef, and onions together.
  2. Drain and dump into a crock pot.
  3. Add remaining ingredients, stirring until mixed.
  4. Cover and cook on low for six hours or on high for three hours.
  5. Or, skip the crock pot and bake this in a covered casserole dish at 350° for an hour.

Of course, you’ll save even more money if you soak and cook your own beans. Read more about this process here.

Calico Beans

I know everyone is different when it comes to craving meat and high protein meals.  Are you like me and feel like you could eat a half a cow sometimes? Or are you content with a small bowl of beans and the occasional peanut? 

Interested in more Crock Pot recipes? You’ll find several to look through here!

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Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

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I couldn’t decide. Should I tell my kids what was in this Spinach and Artichoke dip…or should I not?

Turns out, I didn’t have much choice, because they came into the kitchen and asked what I was making and what was in it. I wasn’t going to lie, obviously, but shucks, I was just sure that once Elias, our 10 year old, heard that there were artichokes and spinach in the dip, he’d suddenly be, “not very hungry right now.”

Thankfully, there were chips involved. ;)  Chips are always a good motivator for eating artichokes, right?

All of the boys decided to “give it a try”, which in Elias’ case, means putting a teeny bit of dip onto his chip. Much to my surprise, all of the boys loved the dip. And Elias was the one who raved about it the most.

The moral of this story? I give up on ever being able to predict which of my kids will like which foods, because about the time I think for sure my pickiest child will rebel against artichokes, I will be wrong.

Just a note:  When picking out Marinated Artichoke Hearts at the store, watch out! Many of them contain partially hydrogenated oils. Ick.  I was happy to find a healthier version at Vitacost which contains only artichoke hearts, water, salt and citric acid. Sweet!

As for chips, I recommend an organic variety of corn chips so you will be avoiding bad fats and GMO corn. Or, this dip also tastes great with carrot sticks and other veggies.

Hot Spinach and Artichoke DipYum

Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 - 14 ounce can marinated artichoke hearts, drained
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup fresh, torn spinach leaves
  • 1 - 4 ounce can diced green chiles
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients and place in a crock pot.
  2. Cook on low for 2-3 hours.
  3. Serve with tortilla chips.
  4. Alternate Cooking Method:
  5. Mix ingredients and spread in a pie dish or 8x8 inch baking pan.
  6. Bake in a 400° for 30 minutes and serve.

Crock Pot or Oven Friendly Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Share with us: Are you a fan of artichokes? I dare you to try this dip whether you are or not. If Elias likes it, I’m pretty sure you will too. :)

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Creamy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

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Hey, check it out! This is a chicken recipe AND a crock pot recipe! It’s as if the best of both worlds just came together for a lovely party, don’t you think? I mean, there is not much more exciting than combining the Week of the Chicken with a Crock Pot Recipes post, I’m pretty sure. (This makes it clearly obvious that I don’t get out much.)

And guess what else? Many of you have asked that I try to experiment and come up with some healthy alternatives to boxes of Rice-a-Roni – and I think this recipe might just meet that need for some of you. When it was all said and done, I thought this dish kind of looked and tasted rice-a-roni-ish. Try it and see what you think.

If you haven’t tried making my homemade Onion Soup Mix, I recommend throwing it together to use for this recipe. Store bought onion soup mixes typically have not-so-good for you ingredients in them that I avoid. The homemade mix is super easy and very inexpensive.

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken and RiceYum

2 cups brown rice (uncooked)
Sea salt
3 cups water or chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 Tablespoons Onion Soup Mix

Place rice in the bottom of a crock pot, and sprinkle it generously with salt. Pour water or broth and cream over the rice. Cut chicken breasts into serving sized portions and place on top of the rice and liquid. Sprinkle Onion Soup Mix over the top.

Cook on a low setting for 4-5 hours. Serves 6-8.

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

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Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Hamburger Sauerkraut Dip

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Yum

All I have to say about this recipe is:  Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it.

I completely understand if you read the name of this recipe and your initial reaction was to make a face of disgust. I’m with ya. I don’t like sauerkraut. I don’t like the way it smells. I don’t like the way it tastes. I don’t even like the way it looks.

But I promise you, this dip tastes so good that you really might just pass out from the delicious flavor. It doesn’t taste like sauerkraut at all – but instead is a wonderful mix of flavor that is completely addicting. The first time I tried it, I stuffed myself so full, I could barely walk out of the kitchen. It was not cute.

I got the recipe from my friend Jen, who, for the record, does not like to cook. That may tell you something about how easy this dip is to put together. We prepped all the ingredients together one evening, then I threw everything into my crock pot the next morning for us to chow on that night. And did I mention that I stuffed myself? Seriously, whether you like sauerkraut or not, you must try this dip.

Hamburger Sauerkraut Dip

1 pound ground beef
4 tomatoes, chopped
2-3 green peppers, chopped
27 ounce can of sauerkraut, drained
12 ounces sour cream

Brown ground beef until thoroughly cooked. Stir browned meat, chopped tomatoes and peppers, sauerkraut, and sour cream into a crock pot. Cook on low for 5-8 hours. Stir occasionally. Sneak bites often. Try not to eat the entire pot. Good luck.

Hamburger Sauerkraut Dip

I’m very happy to point out the fact that I have posted all kinds of different cheese dip recipes on this site, so you must surely be very impressed that I have climbed out of my cheese dip lovin’ box to post a dip that is significantly different and exciting. See, here they are:  Healthier Cheese Dip; Super Simple Chip Dip; Cream Cheese Salsa Dip; Hamburger Cream Cheese Dip. And here I am posting a dip recipe that does not include cheese – but sauerkraut. How about that?

So, are you a sauerkraut fan, or do you tend to avoid it? Any chance that if you aren’t a fan, I could convince you to try this dip anyway? I promise you won’t regret it. :)

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Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Hamburger Cream Cheese Dip

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When I think of New Year’s Eve, I think of chip dip. Of course, I also think of playing games, and spending time with friends and loved ones…just so long as none of those dear friends and loved ones get in the way of me and my chip dip. I have been known to greedily reach across serving lines and yank chip dip ladles out of people’s hands before.

Not really. I only picture doing that in my head. On the outside, I’m smiling sweetly and waiting patiently in line for my turn with the dip. I would never really grab a chip dip ladle from someone or push my way to the front of the line to get my dip. (Except for in my head.)

In case you need a tasty and easy chip dip recipe for a gathering this weekend, you may be interested in trying this Hamburger Cream Cheese Dip recipe. And then, you will want to take care and not invite me to your New Year’s  Eve gathering. If I see this dip at your table, there’s no telling what I might do.

Crock Pot Hamburger Cream Cheese Dip

Hamburger Cream Cheese DipYum

2 pounds ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can (4 ounces) mild green chili peppers
Sea salt to taste
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
16 ounces cream cheese, softened and cubed

Brown ground beef in a skillet with the onion. Place cooked meat into a crock pot and add remaining ingredients. Set crock pot on low for two hours. Stir, taste, and add additional seasonings if desired. Serve with tortilla chips. We prefer these organic corn chips.

Do you have any exciting New Year’s Eve plans? Except for eating dip, I’m not really sure what we’ve got going on. But then again, I don’t suppose it really matters, just so long as there’s dip.

I think I need to join a chip dip support group.

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Healthy Crock Pot Recipe: Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

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You’re about to learn about my amazing Italian Cream Cheese Chicken recipe – one of my family’s favorite meals!

If you didn’t know it already, after reading this recipe it will be very clear to you that I am not afraid to cook with, serve my family, or eat high fat foods. Welcome to a recipe that includes butter, cream and cream cheese. Oh yes, that’s why it tastes so good.

If you are afraid of fats, I’d love to assure you of how healthy it is to eat these whole, natural foods. There’s a big difference in the fat you consume at McGreasies and fat which is whole and natural. Our bodies, skin and hair need healthy fats in order to thrive. Here is a post I wrote a while ago regarding butter and cream – and if you’d like to read through my entire series of Getting Real with Food posts, you can do that here.

Ah, and I have to laugh at myself because while this recipe calls for butter, cream and cream cheese – it also calls for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which always makes me think of low-fat cooking. I’m not afraid of the fat in the skin of a chicken, nor am I afraid of cooking a chicken with bones – but I don’t really prefer pieces of bone or skin in my pasta dishes. Therefore, I find that boneless, skinless chicken works best in this recipe. ;)

Italian Cream Cheese ChickenYum

Healthy Crock Pot Recipe: Italian Cream Cheese Chicken
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 Tablespoons dry Italian Dressing Mix
  • ½ cup butter
  • 1½ cups cream
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
Instructions
  1. Place chicken, dressing mix and butter in a crock pot. (I used my homemade Italian Dressing Mix to make this dish.)
  2. Cook for 6 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
  3. Shred chicken with a knife and fork. Add cream and cream cheese to the chicken and stir.
  4. Cook for ½ hour longer on low.
  5. Serve with whole grain noodles or brown rice.

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

What are the fats you include in your healthy diet?

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Healthy Crockpot Recipes: Apple Butter

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Many of you offered suggestions as to how to make Apple Butter – thank you!

My house smelled wonderful for hours, thanks to all of you! I decided to experiment with my friend Leesa’s apple butter method, and found it to be very simple and delicious. I only made a small amount this time, since I was experimenting – so you’ll want to double or triple this recipe if you want a larger amount. When I started with one quart of applesauce, I ended up with two and a half – half pints of apple butter. However, it is very clear to me that writing half – half just looks weird and confusing. It may make more sense for me to say that one quart of applesauce resulted in 2.5 half-pint jars.

Or we could say that I ended up with one full pint plus a half of a half pint of apple butter. This is, of course, the same as two and a half cups of apple butter, which is otherwise known as five half cup portions of apple butter, better known as ten – 1/4 cup portions, which we all know is precisely 20 – half of a half of a half of a half of a half pints of apple butter. Give or take a half of a half of a pint.

I’m done now.

Homemade Apple ButterYum

Healthy Crockpot Recipes: Apple Butter
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 quart homemade apple sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons sucanat
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Stir ingredients into a crock pot.
  2. Cook on low for about six hours on low setting, with LID OFF, stirring occasionally.
  3. Store the apple butter in the refrigerator - or process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes to seal.
  4. If the jars are sealed properly, you can store your apple butter in the pantry until you're ready to serve.

Find my Homemade Apple Sauce recipe here. Read information on how to process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes to seal your jars here.

apple_butter

Caution:  Contents cooking in crock pot are hot. Refrain from sticking a finger into the crock pot for a lick, even though the delicious smell will create a major temptation. Dipping in with a teaspoon is obviously a much better option. No double dipping allowed. In addition, be aware that partaking in too many licks from the crock pot will result in a smaller amount of finished product, which will mean that all of the math I labored over above, rounding carefully to the nearest half of a half pint, will be null and void.

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Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Turkey Sausage and Red Bean Stew

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This Turkey Sausage and Red Bean Stew is a pretty awesome comfort food!

How nice is it that I put this stew into my crock pot before a soccer game, then came home to dinner all ready and waiting for us to eat? In fact, my crock pot was so nice that as we walked in the door, it scooped the prepared stew into six serving bowls, poured milk for us to drink, set the table and sang us a song while we gathered around. Okay, not really. But still, having a hot meal ready and waiting made me feel like someone else had done all the work.

This stew is especially easy to make if you already have turkey sausage and red beans cooked up ahead of time. I typically make six pounds of the sausage at a time, then freeze it in one pound packages, making it easy to throw into a meal like this one.

Turkey Sausage and Red Bean StewYum

Healthy Crock Pot Recipes: Turkey Sausage and Red Bean Stew
 
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Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 1 pound turkey sausage (browned)
  • 2 cups cooked red beans or 1 can (15 ounces) small red beans
  • ½ cup brown rice (uncooked)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1½ cups corn (frozen or canned)
  • 2 cups tomato juice
  • ½ cup chopped sweet green pepper (more if you like)
  • salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker.
  2. Cook on low setting for 6 hours.
  3. This stew is great served with hot cornbread and a glass of milk.
  4. It is also gluten free - a bonus for those of you with GF needs!

You need this recipe: Turkey Sausage

Crock Pot Turkey Sausage and Red Bean Stew

With my crock pot cooking our dinner for us, now all I need is an appliance that will clean my kitchen for me. Oh wait – that’s what the kids are for. We make kitchen clean-up a family project – here’s a post explaining more, along with a free downloadable kitchen chore chart.

Is it stew weather where you live? (If it’s still warm and sunny at your house, break it to me gently.) ;)

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Introducing: Healthy Crock Pot Recipes at Heavenly Homemakers!

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I’ve decided that up until now, I may have had the most bored crock pot in the world. If all of the crock pots gathered for a convention, my crock pot would win the award for least exciting uses and most reasons to yawn while plugged into a wall. If there was such an award. Or convention. Or if crock pots really had feelings. It may actually be possible that I’ve taken the idea of “becoming one with my kitchen” a bit too far.

So many of the crock pot recipes I’ve seen call for Cream of Blechy Soup or MSG in a Jar. I think this is the main reason I’ve avoided much crock pot usage. But finally, I started doing a little bit of recipe research. While many of the recipes I’ve found do call for ingredients I don’t cook with, I’ve also discovered that I can make a few simple adaptations to make the recipe healthy. My crock pot and I are so excited about this! (If, in fact, crock pots do have feelings.)

And so, over the next few weeks or months or years or until I run out of healthy crock pot ideas, I’ll be occasionally sharing easy, healthy crock pot recipes. They will be recipes that contain real food ingredients and hopefully, they will be recipes that simplify your healthy cooking life.

Yum

I’m not sure how you’re feeling about this announcement, but I’m guessing your crock pot is going to be totally jazzed! (If, in fact, crock pots do have feelings.)

Regarding Lead Poisoning from Crock Pots: I’ve heard that this is a problem and am very frustrated with the lack of information I can find on this subject. Because I was concerned, I called the folks at Hamilton Beach, as I own this crock pot. They informed me that none of their crock pots contain lead. I think I believe them. Not that they would lie, but since the lady I talked to didn’t elaborate, I just had to assume she knew this information to be true. And, I’m going to go on faith and feel comfortable using my crock pot. What have you learned about this subject?

I’ve been working on crock pot ideas for main dishes, side dishes, dips, soups and even a few desserts. Which would you like me to sharing with first?

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