Food & Recipes

Easy Slow Cooker Recipes for Entertaining

Slow Cooker Recipe No. 2: BBQ Sausage Bites

Ingredients:

1 cup BBQ sauce

16 ounces reduced-fat sausage of your choice

Preparation:

1. Turn slow cooker on HIGH and pour the barbecue sauce into the crock.
2. If using large link sausage (like Hillshire Farms Turkey Polska Kielbasa), slice into 1/3-inch thick slices. If using smaller link sausage, cut into 1-inch long segments. Stir the sausage pieces into the barbecue sauce in the slow cooker, Heat about 45 minutes until hot.
3. Reduce heat to LOW for the party and keep it on low until the sausage bites are all gone. Serve the sausage bites with toothpicks, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings

WebMD Weight Loss Clinic members: Journal as 1/2 cup hearty stew

Nutrition Information: Per serving: 90 calories, 5 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 5 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 0 g fiber, 510 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 50%.

Slow Cooker Recipe No. 3: Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons light or regular mayonnaise

3 tablespoons fat-free sour cream

3 tablespoons Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs (panko crumbs can be substituted)

3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

1 can (6 1/2 ounces) crabmeat (or 1 cup fresh crabmeat), rinsed and drained well

Dash or two Tabasco

Black pepper to taste

18 medium sized mushrooms, stems removed

Preparation:

1. Preheat slow cooker to high heat.
2. In small bowl, combine mayonnaise, fat-free sour cream, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and garlic. Fold in the crabmeat. Add Tabasco and black pepper to taste.
3. Spoon heaping teaspoons full of crab filling into mushroom caps.
4. Arrange mushroom caps (crab side up) in the bottom of the preheated slow cooker. Add cover and cook on HIGH for about 2 hours. Reduce heat to LOW and serve the crab-stuffed mushrooms from the slow cooker, if desired.

Yield: 9 servings (2 mushrooms per serving)

WebMD Weight Loss Clinic members: Journal as 1/2 cup vegetables with 1 tsp fat maximum.

Nutrition Information: Per serving: 59 calories, 5 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 2.5 g fat, .6 g saturated fat, 16 mg cholesterol, .5 g fiber, 177 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 38%.

Slow Cooker Recipe No. 4: Chicken Sausage Cornbread Stuffing

Ingredients:

8 ounces reduced-fat, fully cooked chicken sausage (such as Aidell's Chicken Apple Sausage)

1 cup small diced onions

1 cup small diced celery

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage (or 1 teaspoon dried)

1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary (or 1 1/2 teaspoon dried)

1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)

3 cups crumbled prepared cornbread (see recipe below)

3 cups cubed whole-wheat bread (toasted in a toaster to stiffen)

1 cup chicken broth (double-strength, if possible)

1 large apple, cored and diced