Aunt Lody's Crockpot Turkey

The idea behind this EASY dish is that you let the turkey cook overnight while you sleep and wake up to a wonderful meal - ready to eat the next day!

1 Large Crock Pot for cooking
1 Frozed Turkey Breast (5-7 pounds only - we tested Butterball)
2 tbsp Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning

Turn your Crock Pot on "high" temperature. Unwrap the frozen turkey and remove "gravy packet" if you can (if you can't remove it now, don't worry, once the turkey thaws slightly, you will be able to remove it and throw it away - I use gloves to do this because it grosses me out!!! ).

Wash off the turkey really well in the sink with water and paper towels and then place frozen turkey in the Crock Pot. Sprinkle generously with the seasoning.

Cover the turkey with the crock pot lid and let cook for one hour on high.
Once the hour has passed, turn the crock pot down to the "low" setting and let simmer for the next 12 hours, preferably while you sleep.

When you wake up the next morning, test the termperature of the turkey if you like with a meat thermometer until it reads in the "poultry" setting. I can pretty much guarantee you that the meat will be practically falling off the bone and moist.

Start to peel back the skin a little bit with a fork. If it looks a little pink, don't panic, the meat will begin to turn white after it cools. Turn off the Crock Pot and remove the turkey (I used 2 sets of big tongs) and place into a dish to cool. With a fork, you can begin to gently remove the skin by pulling it back. Once it cools for an hour - it is ready to cut and enjoy!

Your finished product should look like this:

Homestyle Mac n' Cheese

What You Will Need:

Non-Cooking Spray
1 pound Elbow Macaroni, uncooked
1/2 pound American Cheese, grated
1/2 pound Cheddar Cheese, grated
2 cans (12 oz.) evaporated milk
2 cups of water
3 eggs slightly beaten
2 t. ground mustard
1 1/2 t. salt
2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t hot sauce
3/4 c plain bread crumbs
1 t paprika

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, toss uncooked elbow noodles with 3 T. melted butter. Coat the noodles. Then stir in all of the cheese.





3.  Pour noodle mixture into casserole dish. Take a medium sized bowl and combine, evaporated milk, water, eggs, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Whisk together and pout oven noodle/cheese mixture in casserole, and stir slightly to make sure everything is evenly covered. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 60 min. (Time may vary slightly depending on the strength of your oven, mine cooks pretty fast and I cook it for 60 min.)

4. Combine bread crumbs, paprika and remaining 2 T melted butter. Sprinkle over the baked mac and cheese and return to the oven and broil on low for 1-2 min, or until golden brown. BE VERY CAREFUL, can burn quickly, really watch this step!

Makes 12 servings, so good for big families, second helpings or leftovers! And who doesn't love mac n' cheese left over? Great to serve with a veggie on the side.

** Add-ins: Diced ham or Broccoli

Barefoot Contessa's Italian Chicken with Lemon Dressing

What you will need (Serves 2): 

2 Chicken Breasts

2 Eggs

1 Cup of Italian Bread Crumbs

Field Greens

Parmesan Cheese (for topping)  

1 Lemon

1/2 tablespoon of Sea Salt

Ground Peppercorns

1/2 cup of Olive Oil

I make this dish using my George Foreman Grill - this makes it easy and delicious. If you don't have this grill - you can do this in a skillet.

Set the stage... 

Set up the following in a row: 1) Chicken on a plate, 2) Eggs in a shallow bowl (whip it up with a fork or a whisk), 3) Place Bread Crumbs in a Shallow Bowl

If the chicken breasts are thick, I cut each chicken breast in half - lengthwise - which will give you 4 pieces of chicken. Take the first piece of chicken and dredge it through the egg, coating well on each side. Next take that piece of chicken and coat in bread crumbs (the eggs make the bread crumbs stick well).

Then place each Chicken Breast on the Foreman Grill (or in a skillet if you chose to do it that way) and let cook on each side for about 4-5 minutes..Repeat these steps with each piece of chicken.

It should look like this when it's ready to come off of the grill.....

Next, you need to make Lemon Dressing: 

Cut one Lemon in half and squeeze out all of the juice (I use a lemon squeezer and it yeilds about 1/3 cup of lemon juice), next mix the lemon juice with 1/2 cup of Olive Oil, next add the Sea Salt and Pepper and stir well.

Now add your field greens onto a Dinner Plate, Place the Chicken atop of the greens, sprinkle the lemon dressing across the dish generously and sprinkle with a little shredded or shaved Parmesan cheese.

Here is what your final PRODUCT should look like and it's sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Super Healthy Pumpkin Pie Muffins

What you will need: 
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of ground flaxseed
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice
1 can of organic pumpkin puree
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
3 tablespoons of low fat vanilla yogurt
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 cup of apple juice concentrate


Set the Stage:
Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray your muffin pan with Floured Cooking Spray (PAM for Baking is my favorite).


Next, in a large bowl, mix together whole wheat flour, flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice - let's call this the "Flour Mix".

In a stand mixer (if you have one) - add pumpkin, eggs, yogurt, apple juice concentrate, and vanilla and blend well. Let's call this "the Pumpkin mix".

 Next add the Flour Mix to the Pumpkin Mix and mix well for about 2 minutes or until well blended.

I chose to use a fun shaped mini bundt pan for this recipe. 

Next drop your batter into your muffin pan or bundt pan...

Now bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and when they come out ... let them cool for a good 10 minutes or more before removing from pan... sprinkle with a little confectioners sugar if you want to dress it up (which will take away from some of the health benefits). 

This is what your finished product should look like: 

Chicken and Vegetable Stew

2 (32-ounce) containers fat-free chicken broth 
4 skinless chicken breasts, cooked, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped 
2 tsp Celery Salt 
1 package frozen mixed vegetables 
1 package frozen baby lima beans
1 package frozen butternut squash, chopped
1 can Cream of Potato Soup 
¼ cup ketchup 
1 tablespoon sugar 
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (you can substitute rice wine vinegar here and its very good) 
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 
½ teaspoon hot sauce  (more if you like it spicy)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic salt
½ cup water 


Bring broth to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 -45 minutes.


** Serve with warm bread or cornbread muffins for a delicious fall or winter treat.**