Chicken and Broccoli Cheese Dip (Grain-Free)

Memorial Day weekend recipe! Perfect for dipping at BBQs and parties 🙂 

Chicken and Broccoli Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked and thickly shredded chicken

1 head of broccoli, stem and florets chopped into small pieces

1 small onion, chopped

1 and 2/3 cup plain, greek yogurt

4oz cream cheese

2 tbsp spicy mustard

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on LOW for 1-2 hours. Switch to KEEP WARM and start dipping!

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Crock-Pot Apple, Butternut, and Kielbasa Soup (Paleo)

Today is definitely a crockpot soup day. Chilly and rainy. Ewww. It’s the one downside of autumn  

So, I think I’m going to remake a pot of this today to keep me warm as I study for the delightful midterms that are (already!) descending upon me.

Crock-Pot Apple, Butternut, and Kielbasa Soup

Ingredients:  

3 apples, peeled and chopped

1 butternut squash, chopped

1 onion, chopped 

4 cups chicken broth 

2 cups water

1 tsp thyme 

1 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 

pepper, to taste 

1 lb kielbasa 

4 cups fresh spinach 

Directions: 

Place apples, butternut squash, onion, broth, water, thyme, salt, pepper flakes, and pepper in a crock pot. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Turn off slow cooker and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Add in kielbasa and spinach, turn crock pot back to low, and continue to let cook for at least 1 more hour. Adjust taste with salt and pepper and serve.  

Slow Cooker Apple and Onion BBQ Chicken

To keep costs at a relatively reasonable rate, my family and I try to eat in while on vacation. This can be hard when we all have different plans and guests over and whatnot. Especially when we’re on the beach all day. 

So, this recipe was put to use this week to feed a bunch of people as they came and went. Since it’s a slow cooker, I was able to start it up before I headed down to the beach and come back with it almost complete. 

Plus, it wasn’t too laborious on my arm (still getting used to the cast!)

Oh, and another thing I loved about this? You get a side dish of BBQ apples and onions, a combination that tastes surprising good together!

Slow Cooker Apple and Onion BBQ Chicken

Ingredients: 

4 lbs organic chicken drumsticks 

2 cup BBQ sauce (I used Bill’s Best Organic BBQ Sauce) 

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 onions, chopped 

2 apples, peeled and cut into 1 inch-cubed pieces

4 garlic cloves, minced 

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker (don’t worry if it’s filled to the top- it’ll shrink as it cooks.) Put on low and let cook for 5 hours. Remove chicken. With a slotted spoon, scoop up remaining onions and apples, drain of excess sauce, and place in its own bowl to serve as a side dish. 

Stuffed Cabbage in the Crock Pot (Paleo)

Crock pot recipes have always intimidated me. I don’t know why since most of the recipes are just “throw everything in and walk away.”

I guess images of coming home to my house burned down have just got in the way.

So, I’ve been taking it in baby steps. Following recipes to the T (which was an accomplishment in itself) and waiting for days I was home all day to make sure the house didn’t catch flame.

And, since I wait for days when I’m home, I’ve been starting to play around with recipes. Literally. Play around. As in the case of this stuffed cabbage. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed playing “doctor” and “mending up” cabbage leaves that had rips and holes in them.

Don’t ask.

So, in conclusion, I’ve become more at ease with my crock pot. Now, I just need to practice leaving the house while it’s on. Maybe I’ll drive around the block or something for practice…

Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Side note: since Dr. Seuss’s  birthday is tomorrow and green eggs are suddenly all the rage, I’ve reposted my green egg recipes at the bottom of this post 🙂

Stuffed Cabbage (Paleo) 

Ingredients:

1 head of cabbage

1.5 lbs organic, uncooked ground turkey (or beef)

1 cup raw cauliflower rice*

1/2 cup carrots, coined

1 onion

1 (28oz) can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes

2 tbsp dried basil, divided

1 tbsp dried oregano, divided

1 tbsp garlic powder, divided

salt and pepper

*To make cauliflower rice, place raw cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until it resembles rice. For this recipe, don’t cook/steam the rice

Directions: 

Bring a pot of water to a boil, cover with a colander, and add in whole cabbage. Cover with a lid and let steam for 15-20 minutes. Afterwards, remove and let cool. Carefully remove the cabbage leaves (I find that cutting off the stem helps). If cabbage leaves are still stiff, place in the pot of boiling water in bunches for about 30 seconds. Set leaves aside. (Note: Don’t panic if the leaves rip or have holes- it’s easily repairable.)

Place uncooked meat and cauliflower rice in a large bowl and set aside. Place the carrots and onion in a food processor and pulse into small pieces. Add this to the meat and cauliflower.  Mix altogether and set aside.

Pour HALF of the tomatoes into the crock pot. Add in 1 tbsp basil, 1/2 tbsp oregano, 1/2 tbsp garlic powder, salt and pepper and stir. With the leftover seasonings, add this to the remaining can of tomatoes and stir. Set the can aside for later.

Now, Spread out cabbage leaves. If there are rips or holes, use extra leaves to cover and “patch up” the area. Place some of meat mixture onto a leaf and roll it on up, tucking in the sides once finished. The amount of meat you use depends on the leaf size- I just kinda eyeballed it. Place stuffed cabbage in the crock pot. Repeat until all meat is gone (I got 14 rolls out of this).

Once all rolled up and placed in the crock pot, top with the remaining crushed tomatoes. Cook in the crock pot on HIGH for 6 hours.

Dr. Seuss Recipes:

Natural-Colored Green Eggs (and Ham)

Avocado Deviled Eggs