'Olé

So prior to this blog I searched high and low on pinterest for some good looking recipes. Some already were pretty low calories- others were not. This weekend I made one of the low calorie crock pot recipes. I want to say before I say anymore about this recipe that not all my recipes will be crock pot based, however crock pot season has officially arrived and I am taking full advantage of that! Back to the yummy meal! 
I made a dish called Chicken Taco Soup (not sure why its called soup because it was more like a stew). 
The recipe calls for chili peppers which I did not use- it also calls for chili powder which i forgot to add- i will say you should def. add the chili powder- it really needs a bit of a bite to it. In the recipe the women said you could make it over rice or tortilla chips- I did neither and honestly it didn't need it.
I added 1/4 cup shredded taco seasoned cheese blend and 1 tbsp of chobani plain Greek yogurt. 

This was one of the easiest dishes I have ever made and it was so delicious. I have a picture I will post below- I had to take a picture of Joey's because i'm too impatient and mixed mine before realizing I should snap a picture! 


Below is the recipe, picture and calorie information. 

• 1 can black beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 onion
• 2 chili peppers
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 10 oz package of frozen corn
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with chilies
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 pack low sodium taco seasoning
• 24 oz boneless, skinless, chicken
• 1/4 cup cilantro

Chop your onion and chili and place in crock pot

In a small bowl mix together tomato sauce, chili powder and taco seasoning

Add beans, corn, cilantro tomatoes to crock pot

Mix in sauce mixture with all the items in the crock pot

Add chicken to the top of the mixture

Put lid on set crock pot to 6-8 hours and let cook

Serving size is around 1 cup- Recipe makes for about 8-10 people

(calorie information taken from My Fitness Pal)

Ingredients	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Bush's Reduced Sodium - Black Beans - 1/2 Can, 1 can	314	68	2	20	720	3
Kroger- Per Can Label - Dark Red Kidney Beans , 1 container (1 4/5 cup (130g) ea.)	385	70	0	21	840	7
Onions - Raw, 1 medium (2-1/2" dia)	46	11	0	1	3	5
Tomato products - Canned, sauce, 100 g	32	7	0	1	524	4
Corn - Frozen Veggie Values Corn, 1 cup	160	34	2	6	20	10
Tomato, Fresh - Tomato Medium Size Raw, 2 whole medium	38	9	0	2	318	5
Spices - Chili powder, 1 tbsp	24	4	1	1	76	1
Ortega - Low Sodium Taco Seasoning Mix, 1 packet	120	24	0	0	1,557	0
Protein - Chicken Breast Skinless Boneless, 24 oz	660	0	6	150	1,200	0
Cilantro - 1 Cup, 0.25 Cup	1	0	0	0	2	0
Lime - 1 Tbsp, 1 tbsp	8	3	0	0	1	0
Add Ingredient

Total:	1,788	230	11	202	5,261	35
Per Serving:	179	23	1	20	526	4

Venison Stew

Eating venison has been something that I grew up with. There was a point in my childhood I refused to eat venison because "how could anyone kill Bambi". Little did I know anytime my mom made spaghetti and meat sauce it was always deer meat (I guess she won that battle). As I got older I have embraced my love for venison.
When making venison stew I learned a extremely tasty way to make it from my brother. It involved a cream based (specifically cream of mushroom) soup. Not only did this recipe completely get rid of the gamy taste, but it gave it a comfort food type of appeal. The biggest problem I've encountered is for just 1 cup of this delicious stew it was almost 500 calories.
So when I found venison steaks in the freezer the other day I knew instantly I was going to make a stew but I knew a new healthier recipe was going to be needed- Que recipe below.

My 411 on the recipe
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this recipe.  I doubled the recipe as I wanted a few days worth of meals since my week was packed. I would also recommend cutting back the wine just a bit. The wine had a very prominent flavor in the meat (it may have also been the type of wine I used as well).


Venison Stew  (Serves 8-10)
Serving Size 1 Cup
(The recipe below is the doubled recipe)

16 oz Venison Steak- cut into cubes
2 Cups (16oz) Tomato Sauce
6 large celery stalks- chopped into bit sized pieces
8 fl. oz of a Dry Red Wine ( i used Chianti)
1 large yellow onion- chopped into small pieces
2 cloves fresh garlic minced
Salt & Pepper to taste


Chop up all celery, yellow onion and garlic and place on the bottom of the crock pot. Place cubed venison on top of vegetables. In a small bowl mix wine and tomato sauce. Salt and Pepper steak to taste (I did about 1-2 teaspoons of both). Add wine/sauce mixture to top.
Put lid on crock pot and set for 8-10 hours ( I set for 10 and meat was practically falling apart at touch).


Calorie Information for Recipe (All items were Scanned in from the label off of the product- Venison calorie information was verified by several sites)

Ingredients	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Cento - Tomato Sauce, Sauce Italiano, 2 cup	160	32	0	8	2,400	16
Superior Celery Hearts - Celery, Fresh, Raw, 6 large stalks (4.25 oz.)	75	15	0	3	375	3
Gourmet Garden - Parsley Herb Blend, 4 tsp (4 g)	53	5	0	0	560	5
Generic Italian Wine - Chianti , 8 fl oz	198	6	0	0	11	2
Generic - Venison Steak 50g, 18 oz	465	0	6	96	138	0
Onions - Raw, 1 cup, chopped	67	16	0	1	5	7
Garlic - Garlic (1 Clove, Raw) Net Carbs, 2 clove (3g)	9	2	0	0	2	0

Total Calories per serving: 86 calories!!!

I served my stew over 1 cup of red potatoes- If you do that it will add 110 calories to your meal, but honestly you don't even need the potatoes!

Happy Cooking!