Tag Archives: pasta

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

The sweet aroma of bell peppers simmering slowly all day long with onions and chicken in crushed tomatoes will make you a very happy person when you get home from work. Serve this over your favorite pasta, rice or polenta and enjoy!

Cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian, often the chicken is dusted with flour and fried in oil before simmering in tomatoes with onions and peppers. This skinny version removes the skin and skips the deep frying, but you won’t miss it.

When using your crock pot, I always recommend browning the meat and vegetables first for deeper flavors and a thicker sauce because liquids don’t evaporate in the slow cooker.

But for those of you who don’t want to dirty a pan, or don’t have that extra time to brown first I tested this out using the quick method of dumping it all in the slow cookers.

Verdict: The sauce wasn’t as thick as I would have liked, so my easy fix: I set the crock pot to high with the cover off for one additional hour to let it simmer and thicken and that worked fine. Perhaps adding a little flour would also help i thicken. If you want to add mushrooms to the sauce, this would also be a great time to do so.

If you are a white meat girl, you can certainly use chicken breast but I highly recommend keeping the chicken on the bone. The bone is what gives you such great flavor, you can always remove it after.

Cooking on the stove differs from the crock pot, liquids evaporate quickly on the stove where as in the slow cooker nothing evaporates. When you add all the elements to your crock, you may be tempted to add broth but don’t. There will be plenty of liquid once it starts cooking. Also, flavors tend to get muted in the slow cooker, so I always adjust my herbs and seasoning in the end to get it where I want it.

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore
www.skinnytaste.com
Servings: 8 • Size: 1 thigh, 1/2 cup sauce, veggies • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts*
Calories: 126.2 • Fat: 2.8 g • Protein: 13.9 g • Carb: 9.2 g • Fiber: 0.6 g • Sugar: 4.1 g
Sodium: 271.6 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:

8 chicken thighs, with the bone, skin removed
28 oz can crushed tomatoes (Tuttorosso my favorite!)
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced into strips
1/2 large onion, sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
salt and fresh pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh herbs such as basil or parsley for topping

Directions:

Quick method: Season chicken with salt and black pepper and place in the slow cooker. Pour tomatoes over the chicken, top with onions and peppers, add oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper, give it a quick stir and cover. Set crock pot to LOW 8 hours or HIGH 4 hours. When the timer beeps, remove lid and keep the crock pot on HIGH one hour to help it thicken.

Better method but requires more prep: Heat a large skillet over medium-high, lightly spray with oil (I use my Misto) and brown chicken on both sides a few minutes, season with salt and pepper. Add to the slow cooker. To the skillet, spray with a little more oil and add onions and peppers. Sauté until juices release and the vegetables become golden, a few minutes.

Add to the slow cooker. Pour tomatoes over the chicken and vegetables, add oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper, give it a quick stir and cover. Set crock pot to LOW 8 hours or HIGH 4 hours.

Remove bay leaf, adjust salt and pepper and enjoy!
* Pasta not included in nutritional info.

Low Fat Baked Ziti with Spinach

A perfect week night meal the whole family will enjoy. Baked ziti is a favorite in my home, sneaking spinach into it is a great way to get your picky kids to eat more leafy greens without any complaints. Perfect with a garden salad on the side.

This makes enough for eight, so if you have a small family, you’ll probably have leftovers for lunch or freeze the rest for convenient freezer meals. This can be made a day ahead if you are planning on serving this for a party, keep it refrigerated then pop it in the oven when it’s ready. Enjoy!

Note: I made slight adjustments to the original recipe to make it better, if you have an old printout of this, you may want to re-print it.

Low Fat Baked Pasta with Spinach
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 8 • Size: 1/8th portion • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 296 • Fat: 7 g • Protein: 16 g • Carb: 44 g • Fiber: 5.5 g • Sugar: 5 g
Sodium: 524 mg

Ingredients:

12 oz uncooked pasta such as ziti
28 oz crushed tomatoes (I recommend: Tuttorosso)
1 tsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed
1 tsp oregano
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
salt and fresh pepper to taste
8 oz fat-free ricotta
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups (8 oz) shredded part skim mozzarella (I recommend: Polly-O)
olive oil cooking spray (I used my Misto)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with oil spray.

In a large pot of salted water, cook pasta according to instructions until al dente. Drain and return to pot.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, add olive oil and sauté garlic. Add chopped spinach, salt pepper and crushed tomatoes. Season with basil, oregano, salt and pepper.

Add sauce to the pasta and combine the ziti. Add half of the mozzarella, Parmesan cheese and ricotta. Mix well then transfer to the baking pan.

Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Top with the remaining mozzarella.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until mozzarella is melted and the edges are lightly browned. Let it cool 5 minutes, then cut it into 8 equal portions.

This can be made up to a day in advance and stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.