Clean Crockpot Turkey Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Even though it hasn't been cold out, it has been nasty and rainy the last two days.  After searching for some easy slow cooker recipes I ended up combining a few ideas and came up with something a little different.  I saw the sweet potato and black bean combination in a couple of recipes and thought it was an odd combination, but it turned out to be hearty and delicious!

I ate and cleaned up so fast that I forgot to take a picture, but it's chili, not that exciting anyhow!

Clean Crockpot Turkey Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili


Ingredients:

• 1.25 lb lean ground turkey breast
• 2 sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed
• 1 large can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 can raw pumpkin
• 1.5 c water
• 2 tsp roasted garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

• Put sweet potatoes, onions, and beans in the bottom of the crockpot. 
• Add lean ground turkey breast, pumpkin, spices/seasonings and water to the pot. 
• Cook on low for 8 hours.
• Stir and adjust any seasonings. 
• Serve with brown rice! 

Chicken Noodle Soup

What else is there to do on a cold cloudy day off of work than to throw together a batch of soup in the crockpot and sit back and wait for dinner? I searched the the fridge and pantry for anything that looked good and then dumped everything into the crockpot!

I added cornbread to mine which made it a little sweeter.

Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 large chicken breasts
• 1 can of peas and carrots, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of carrots, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/3 cup of frozen corn
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 4 cups of water
• 1 chopped yellow onion  
• 1 cup of canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of green beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 stalks of chopped celery (I didn't have any this time)
• 2 cups of whole grain noodles or whole grain brown rice (I had to mix them b/c I didn't have enough noodles.)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Place all ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for 5 hours.  Shred the chicken if it has not fallen apart on its own and then add the noodles.  Cook for one hour on low.  Serve with whole wheat toast or corn bread!