Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken

This is a modified/simplified version of a sparkrecipes.com dish.

Also a super-quick meal to start on the way out in the morning.

The cheddar cheese soup is optional if you are looking to reduce the sodium content; just add a little more sour cream if you desire a creamier texture.

Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (approx. 1.5-2.0 lbs.)
• 1 jar salsa (recommend black bean and corn salsa)
• 2 TBSP sour cream
• 1 can cheddar cheese soup (optional)

Directions

1. Coat bottom of crock pot with salsa
2. Mix remaining salsa with soup (optional)
3. Place chicken in crock pot and cover with remaining salsa (or salsa/soup mix)
4. Cook on low 6-7 hours or on high for 4 hours
5. Stir in sour cream and serve.

Approximately 6 one cup servings.

Recommend serving with rice, in burritos, or as an ingredients for loaded nachos.

Nutrition info: Calories=180, Fat=4g, Carbs=8g, Protein=24g

Slow-Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken

Here is another favorite dish from sparkrecipes.com

It's great over rice, but we've never tried it over pasta...but the picture looks good. This is one of those dishes you can throw together in 2 minutes before you head out the door in the morning!

Creamy Italian Chicken

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 pkg Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 8oz pkg low fat cream cheese (softened)
• 1 TBSP minced garlic
• 1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
• 3 cups cooked white, long grain rice

Directions

1. Place chicken in crock pot.
2. Mix together Italian dressing mix and water. Pour over chicken.
3. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours OR low for 6-8 hours.
4. Mix together cream cheese, garlic and soup in separate bowl.
5. Carefully remove chicken from crock pot to plate.
6. Pour cream cheese/soup mixture into crock pot and mix together with dressing in bottom.
7. Return chicken to crock pot and mix gently to shred the chicken.
8. Cook on LOW until heated through.
9. Serve with rice or noodles.

You may add skim or low fat milk in very small quantities to thin the sauce a little if you wish. It does not significantly affect the nutritional value if you use up to 2 tablespoons.

Makes 6 servings. Approximately 2/3 cup mixture with 1/2 cup rice.

Recipe by SparkPeople user ORANGECOWCAT.
Nutritional info: Calories=327, Fat=10g, Carbohydrates=24g, Protein=33g

Slow-Cooker Moroccan Chicken

This is the first in a series of crock-pot meals we've come to love and make weekly thanks to the collection of user-submitted recipes at sparkrecipes.com

So dust off that slow-cooker and get ready for some wonderful fall cooking!

Slow-Cooker Moroccan Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. chicken breasts
• 4 tsp Moroccan Spice Blend (see recipe below)
• 2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes with onion and garlic
• 5 small or 2 large yellow summer squash
• .5 c golden raisins
• .5 c. dried apricots
• 1.5 c. chicken stock
• 1 tbsp quick-cooking tapioca (optional)

Directions

1. Remove skin from chicken; rub with Morrocan Spice Blend (see below) and place in slow cooker.
2. Cut squash into .25 inch rounds.
3. Snip apricots into small pieces.
4. Combine apricots, tomatoes (undrained), raisins, squash, stock, and 2 tsp of the spice blend. Pour over chicken, and stir a bit to get some juice under the chicken.
5. Cook in slow cooker for 3 hours on high, or 6 hours on low.

Makes 6 one cup servings.

Recommend serving over 1/2 servings of couscous or jasmine rice.

Moroccan Spice Blend (Ras el Hanout) (makes 2 tbsp)

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Nutritional info: Calories=210, Fat=4g, Carbohydrates=26g, Protein=19g

Recipe by SparkPeople user QUIXOTICKATE

Guinness Chocolate Cake

I have yet to try this recipe yet, but it is next on my short list! Beer and chocolate may seem like an odd combo, but this isn't just any beer, it's Guinness stout—from roasted barley—adding smoky notes to complement chocolate perfectly.

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup Guinness (or other stout)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted Butter
• ¾ cup unsweetened Dutch-process Cocoa powder
• 2¼ cups all-purpose Flour (King Arthur, preferred)
• 2 cups Sugar
• 1½ tsp Baking Soda (preferably less than 6 mos. old)
• ¾ tsp Salt
• 2 large Eggs
• 2/3 cup Sour Cream

Icing

• 8 oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup Confectioners' Sugar
• ½ cup Heavy Cream
• ½ tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, place a round of parchment paper on the bottom and butter it, then flour the pan.

Cake

1. Place the stout and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
2. Whisk in cocoa powder until mixture is smooth.
3. Thoroughly combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
4. In another bowl, beat together eggs and sour cream until well-blended.
5. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed.
6. Finish mixing by folding batter with a spatula until completely combined.
7. Pour batter in the springform pan and bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
8. Place cake on a rack and cool for 10 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan and cool completely.

Icing

1. Beat together the cream cheese and sugar.
2. Add cream and vanilla and mix.
3. Spread icing on top of cake to echo the appearance of a glass of Guinness and its head of foam.

Recipe and photo courtesy of NPR