Dump It & Forget It

I am all about some coziness this time of year.  I've got the Christmas lights on, the fire going, Christmas music playing...or "mo moobie" (Elmo movie), I'm drinking at least two cups of hot chocolate every day, & dinner is in the crock pot!  We've been eating a ton of one pot meals lately.  I love crock pot meals this time of year.  I made these two over the past week & they both turned out really good.  They both came from magazines.

Chuck Wagon Pot Roast

2-2.5 lbs beef chuck roast

salt & pepper

1 26oz jar pasta sauce

1 cup water

2 cups mini wagon wheel pasta (I couldn't find it anywhere, so I just used whole wheat rotini)

1 cup baby carrots, halved diagonally

1 cup fresh or frozen cut green beans

Coat crock pot with cooking spray; set aside.  Season beef with salt & pepper.  Place in crock pot (I cut mine up first into bite size pieces).  Add sauce & water.  Cover; cook on low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 4 hours.  Add pasta, carrots & beans, stirring into liquid.  Increase to high heat, & cook 45 minutes more.  Makes 8 servings. *I added about 2-3 more cups of water at the end.

275 calories, 29g protein, 7g fat, 23g carbohydrates, 3g fiber

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes

(Nick did not miss the meat at all)

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 medium bell pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Kosher salt & black pepper

2 14oz cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes

1 15oz can black beans, rinsed

1 15oz can kidney beans, rinsed

1 medium sweet potato, peeled & cut into 1/2 in. pieces

Sour cream

Tortilla chips

In a crock pot, combine the onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, & 1/4 tsp black pepper.  Add the tomatoes (& their liquid), beans, sweet potato, & 1 cup water.

Cover & cook until the sweet potatoes are tender & the chili has thickened, on low for 7 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours.  Serve with sour cream & tortilla chips.

241 calories, 2g fat, 11g protein, 47g carbohydrates, 13g fiber