CROCK POT TERIYAKI CHICKEN

This was one of the very first recipes I ever tried making. It is the quintessential recipe for the "Bachelor Series" because you should already have all five of these ingredients in your kitchen right now! And just like the other recipes in this series, all you have to do is dump the ingredients into a crock pot and wait just a few hours. 

I would like to point out that when I post the cooking times for crock pot recipes, I write down the time that I use for my own personal crock pot. Depending on the brand of crock pot you use and the thickness of your meat, cooking times will vary. Remember though that until you find the cooking time that works best for your crock pot make sure to always go lower than higher. You can always cook your meat longer, but you can't reverse overdone meat.

CROCK POT TERIYAKI CHICKEN

Yield: 4 servings

Calories per serving: Approximately 175 calories

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 pounds chicken breast or thighs

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour soy sauce, honey, ketchup, and garlic powder into crockpot and stir 
2. Place chicken into crockpot and stir again
3. Turn the crock pot on low and cook meat for about 4 hours
4. Once meat is cooked through, remove from crockpot and serve 

The chicken should be throughly covered in the sauce

Serve with rice and vegetables for a healthy meal

FAT-FREE PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Each year the official start of "Pumpkin Season" begins when Starbucks debuts their Pumpkin Spice Lattes. And thanks to the coffee company, Pumpkin Season is beginning a week earlier this year. 

I try not to be a total "girly girl" and squeal with excitement over the thought of those warm, frothy drinks, but truth be told I like pumpkin just as much as the next person.

So in honor of the beginning of the most glorious time of the year, I'm sharing with you my favorite pumpkin muffin recipe. Believe it or not -- it's FAT-FREE! The fat free vanilla yogurt is the perfect healthy substitute for the butter and oil normally found in muffin recipes. Additionally, the yogurt and the pumpkin filling make these muffins incredibly moist!

So try this recipe as the perfect sidekick to your first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the year!

FAT-FREE PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Yield: 18 muffins

Calories per serving: 115 calories

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

·      1 and 1/2 cup flour

·      1 teaspoon cinnamon

·      1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

·      1/2 teaspoon baking soda

·      1/2 teaspoon baking powder

·      3 egg whites

·      1 and 1/2 cup sugar

·      1/2 cup fat free vanilla yogurt

·      1 cup pumpkin

DIRECTIONS

1.     Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit

2.     Pour flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and baking powder into bowl and set aside

3.     Whisk together egg whites, sugar and yogurt in large bowl

4.     Stir in 1 cup pumpkin

5.     Slowly add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and stir just enough to combine

6.     Line a muffin tin with liners

7.     Pour mixture into liner 2/3 full

8.     Place muffin tin in oven and bake for 5 minutes

9.     Then while muffins are still in the oven, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 8 minutes

10. Remove from oven and let cool

The batter will be very thick.

Try to fill each tin with the same amount of batter

The muffins even look like little pumpkins!

By starting the oven temperature high and then reducing it, you get the perfect bakery-style muffin tops

I can't get over how moist and dense these muffins are!

3-INGREDIENT CROCK POT BEEF TACO MEAT

I want to preface this blog post recipe by saying EVERYONE should own a crock pot! I don’t care what your cooking skill level is; crock pots are one of the single most useful kitchen appliances out there.

Why?

1.      Anyone can use it; if you can put ingredients into a bowl you’re already a crock pot master

2.      You come home to an already-prepared home-cooked meal

3.      There’s only one dish to clean (or there’s no cleaning if you use a crock pot liner)

As of lately, I've been trying to come up with recipes that have five ingredients or less as part of my Bachelor Series (more info on why I started that here). So I had the idea of making ground beef taco meat. Taco meat is great because of its versatility – serve it with tortillas as a taco, over lettuce as a salad, or even with eggs in an omelet. And of course, what better way to make it than in a crock pot – slow-cooked in seasonings for hours until it’s exploding with flavor!

And of course, I stayed true to my goal of five ingredients or less. All you need for this recipe is ground beef, taco seasoning, and salsa. I know most cooking blogs frown upon using pre-packaged taco seasoning, but it serves its purpose well in this recipe (it’s quick, easy, and cheap).

Additionally, you could make this same recipe and substitute chicken, pork or even turkey for the ground beef! 

3-INGREDIENT CROCK POT BEEF TACO MEAT

Yield: Makes about 6 (2.5 ounce) tacos

Calories: 148 calories

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

·      1 pound 95% lean ground beef

·      1 (1.25 ounce) taco seasoning packet

·      2 cups salsa

·      Tortillas, lettuce, cheese, salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, avocado, or any other additions you may want to serve with the meat

DIRECTIONS

1.     Place ground beef in crock pot

2.     Pour taco seasoning on top of ground beef

3.     Pour salsa on top of ground beef

4.     Mix it up with a spoon, breaking the ground beef up into smaller chunks

5.     Turn the crock pot on low and cook meat for about 4 hours, may need more or less time depending on your crock pot model / amount of ground beef

Mix taco seasoning, salsa, and ground beef together in crock pot - breaking it up into smaller chunks

TIP: If you use a crock pot liner there is literally NO clean up! Just remove the liner and throw it away!

My favorite way to serve the taco meat is on corn tortillas with pico de gallo and avocado.

Serve the meat with guacamole and brown rice! Both are very healthy options and make for a meal rich in whole grains and healthy fats 

HAPPY NATIONAL LEMONADE DAY

Happy National Lemonade Day! Lemonade is a classic drink that I think just about everyone enjoys. There's nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day. My favorite has always been pink lemonade, primarily because of the color! However, I've found that many mixes are either too sweet or too tart. That's why I started making my own lemonade. This way I know exactly what's going into it - no artificial chemicals or sweeteners! My goal for coming up with a lemonade recipe was finding something that didn't take much effort. Additionally, I wanted to make it even more "summery" with the addition of fresh fruit! I used raspberries in this recipe, but you can easily substitute strawberries or blueberries. 

PINK RASPBERRY LEMONADE

Yield: 9 cups

Calories: 57 calories per 1 cup

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

·      1 cup lemon juice (you can either fresh squeeze 4 lemons or buy lemon juice)

·      1/2 cup sugar

·      1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

·      5 cups cold water

·      3 cups ice

INSTRUCTIONS

1.     Combine lemon juice, sugar, and raspberries in a blender.

2.     Blend until sugar has dissolved.

3.     Place mixture in a large pitcher

4.     Add water and ice to pitcher and stir

Recipe adapted from Dawn’s Recipes