It’s great to have a crock pot mac and cheese recipe – it’s a side dish that can be paired with just about anything and sometimes a crock pot recipe with a long cook time is just so convenient !

Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

7 servings
170 calories per serving

2 ½ c skim milk
¼ c Egg Beaters
1 t salt
½ t pepper
3 c shredded low fat cheddar cheese
8 oz. macaroni, cooked al dente

Combine all except macaroni and cook on high 1 hour. Add macaroni and cook on low 4 hours.

This is best done in an oval 5 quart crock so the meat fits well. The meat becomes so, so tender, you can cut it with a fork. This is a great meal for busy weekdays – it takes on 10 minutes to prep and then you can be out all day and come home to a great hot meal. To make it a more complete meal, throw in some baby carrots to cook along with the potatoes and onions. Like many crock pot recipes, the potatoes can come out looking a bit rough – but let me tell you, they taste GREAT and they melt in your mouth !

8 servings
320 calories per serving

3 lb lean London broil
2 T flour
1 T mustard
1 T chili sauce
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 t cider vinegar
4 potatoes, sliced
2 onions, sliced
½ c water

Place meat in crock. Pour water around meat. Make a paste of the flour, mustard, chili sauce, Worcestershire and vinegar and rub over the meat. Add potatoes and onions. Cover and cook on low 8-9 hours.

Once again, without FiberGourmet pasta, this meal would not have been near as substantial for the low amount of calories – I can’t live without FiberGourmet Pasta !

I was a bit heavy handed on the crushed red pepper and this came out just fantastic tasting – spicy and hot with a nice deep flavor from having simmered all day long.

Pasta and Lentils (Crock Pot)

4 servings
230 calories per serving

½ c chopped onions
½ c chopped carrots
½ c chopped celery
2 c canned diced tomatoes, undrained
1 c tomato sauce
4 oz. dried lentils, rinsed and drained
½ t oregano flakes
½ t basil flakes
½ t garlic powder
¼ t crushed red pepper
4 c FiberGourmet pasta (cooked)
Up to a cup of hot water

Mix all except pasta in the crock and cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or high 3-5 hours. If your crock pot gets hot and this mix is drying out too much, add up to a cup of hot water. Cook pasta according to package directions. Add cooked, drained pasta to crock and serve immediately.

Start it in the morning before you leave for work and come home to a great piping hot meal. This is definitely a crowd-pleaser and also makes a great dish when guests are coming – just add a salad on the side and you’re all set !

Ham and Scalloped Potatoes

8 servings
310 calories per serving

1 ½ lb. 98% fat free ham cut into 8 pieces
9 medium potatoes peeled and sliced thinly
1 large onion sliced thinly
½ t salt
½ t pepper
1 c shredded fat free cheddar cheese
1 can low fat cream of celery soup

Layer in this manner:
½ the potatoes
½ the onion
½ the salt and pepper
½ the cheese
½ the ham
½ the potatoes
½ the onion
½ the salt and pepper
½ the cheese
All the soup
½ the ham

Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or on high 4 hours.

This is a very hearty meal – and like so many crock pot meals, a great way to put something together, be able to run errands for a few hours – - and then come home to a hot cooked meal. This is reminiscent of a stew with the nice mushroom gravy flavor

10 Layer Beef Hash (Crock Pot)

8 servings
370 calories per serving

1 ½ lb. lean ground beef
6 medium potatoes thinly sliced
1 medium onion thinly sliced
½ t salt
½ t pepper
15 oz. can of corn, undrained
15 oz. can of peas, undrained
¼ c water
1 can fat free cream of mushroom soup.

Brown the meat in a skillet and drain. Layer the ingredients in the crock in this order:
¼ of the potatoes
¼ the onions
¼ the salt and pepper
½ the corn
¼ the potatoes
½ the peas
¼ the potatoes
¼ the onions
¼ the salt and pepper
½ the corn
¼ the potatoes
½ the peas
All the water
All the meat
All the soup

Cover and cook on high 4 hours. Be sure to give each person a serving that contains some of each layer.

I love to make things earlier in the day and then come home to a nice hot meal. The rich sauce makes you barely notice that the meatballs are done with turkey instead of beef.

Swedish Meatballs (Crock Pot)

4 servings
228 calories per serving

3 slices bread, cubed
1 c evaporated skim milk, divided
1 T buttery spread
¼ c shallots, minced
½ lb. ground turkey
¼ – ½ c bread crumbs (optional – to bring mix to a dry enough consistency)
¼ c Egg Beaters
½ t salt
½ t pepper
¼ c plus 2 T flour
3/4 c chicken broth
1 T Worcestershire sauce

Mix bread cubes and ½ of the milk and let stand 5 minutes. Melt margarine in a pan and add shallots. Cook 2-3 minutes. Add shallots, meat, egg, salt and pepper to bread. Mix well and if you need it to be drier, add the optional bread crumbs, then make equally sized meatballs. Place ¼ c flour in a bowl and roll meatballs in flour to coat. Place in crock and add broth and Worcestershire. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours. Mix rest of the flour with the rest of the milk. Remove meatballs to plate and keep warm. Stir milk and flour mix into cooking juices and cover and cook on high 10-15 minutes. Put meatballs back in the pot and serve immediately.

This is a wonderfully rich chowder that can easily be changed up just by changing some of the veggies you include. I just suggest keeping the corn – to me, it’s not chowder if it does not have corn ! Today I added some frozen broccoli florets.

Chicken and Vegetable Chowder

6 servings
168 calories per serving

9 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes (Perdue Shortcuts work great here!)
1 c carrots, sliced
½ c chopped onion
1 c corn
4.5 oz. sliced mushrooms, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ t thyme leaves
14.5 oz. chicken broth
1 can cream of potato soup
1/3 c half and half
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except the half and half in a crock pot. Cover and cook on low 5 hours or until chicken is done and vegetables are tender. Then stir in half and half and cook covered on high another 15-20 minutes.

This one is so easy to do and produces great results consistently (I have been making it for years). And there is nothing like throwing the meal in the crock pot in the morning and then not having to worry about it all afternoon!

Pork Stew

6 servings
380 calories per serving

1 T oil
1 ½ lb. boneless pork cut into bite sized pieces
¼ t salt
1/8 t pepper
8 small red potatoes, unpeeled and quartered
2 c fresh baby carrots cut in half lengthwise
12 oz. jar fat free pork gravy
¼ c ketchup
¼ t pepper
¼ t onion powder
¼ t garlic powder
1 ½ c frozen cut green beans, thawed

Heat oil in a large skillet and on high heat cool pork with salt and 1/8 t pepper. Cook 5 minutes or so, or until browned. Mix pork and the rest of the ingredients other than the green beans in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. About 20 minutes before serving, stir in green beans and increase heat to high and continue cooking 20 minutes.

It may have no meat, but it does not skimp on the flavor. And at only 240 calories for a heaping serving, it gets my full seal of approval ! The ingredient list is long, but don’t let it fool you – this comes together very quickly.

No Meat Chili

5 servings
240 calories per serving

1 large 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 15.5 oz. can diced tomatoes (with green chilies or garlic if you like)
1 small can zesty tomato sauce
3/4 c black beans
3/4 c kidney beans
1 4.25 oz. can jalapeno peppers, rinsed and diced
1 7 oz. can corn
1 1/2 c chopped onions
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 3/4 c chopped celery
1 13.25 oz. can button mushrooms (each mushroom halved)
2 T chili powder (or more !)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t cumin
½ t garlic powder
½ t onion powder
¾ t oregano flakes
¾ t parsley flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Pam

Put sauce, tomatoes, beans, corn, jalapenos, mushrooms, chili powder and cumin in crock pot. Add chili powder, Worcestershire and cumin and stir well.

Spray a skillet with Pam and bring to medium high heat. Saute bell peppers, onion, garlic and celery for 5-7 minutes to soften. Add garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, parsley and mix well. Then stir this mix into the crock with the tomato mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on low heat 4-6 hours

You could skip the step of sauting the pepper and onion mix, but I feel the texture is a whole lot better if you don’t ! If you don’t have a crock pot, you can use a regular pot on the stove, just add the onion mix to the pot with the tomatoes, bring all to a boil, and then simmer partially covered for 1-2 hours.

Can you say ooey gooey chocolate? This recipe sure does ! This is definitely a 4 star keeper

Crock Pot Brownies

12 servings
198 calories per serving

2/3 c flour
2/3 c sugar
1/3 c cocoa powder
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2/3 c fat free evaporated milk
1/3 c margarine, melted and cooled
1/4 c Egg Beaters
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 c semi sweet baking chips
Pam
Powdered Sugar

Spray a 4 qt crock pot with Pam. Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Combine milk, margarine, egg and vanilla in another bowl. Mix the dry mix into the wet mix until smooth. Finally stir in the chips. Spread batter in the crock pot and cook on low 2-3 hours or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool 30 minutes and then invert over a plate and cut into 12 pieces. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.