EASIEST CROCK POT STEW

5 Qt. Crock Pot for Easiest Crock Pot Stew

Here's the easiest crock pot stew you will ever make and it's great for any night of the week. Did you see this on Twinformation on YouTube? Let us know in the comments if you did. 
This crock pot recipe makes A LOT of food so you'll be able to freeze it, pull it out, defrost it and eat it whenever you don't have time to make something.

You can make this stew with things you probably already have in your pantry and fridge.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED (TOOLS):
CROCK POT - 3 OR 5 QT. VOLUME
CUTTING BOARD, KNIVES, OR FOOD PROCESSOR

Packages of lentils & brown rice will cost about $1 a pop

INGREDIENTS:
(all of these are really up to your discretion - what you like, what you have lying around, you get the idea)
4 carrots (peeled & diced)
4 celery stalks (diced)
1 onion (chopped finely)
4 garlic cloves (chopped finely)
1 red bell pepper (seeded & diced)
1 cup uncooked lentils (rinsed & sorted)
1/2 cup brown uncooked brown rice
Water
Vegetable or chicken boullion
Spices to taste (sage, rosemary, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper are all nice choices with this stew)

For the "meat" of the meal:
1 pkg tofu (drained & pressed and cut into cubes)
OR
1 lb chicken (cut into bite size pieces)
OR
1 lb ground beef

METHOD:
Put all veggie, meat, starch & legume ingredients into crock pot. Fill nearly to top with cool water and put in a few teaspoons or cubes of boullion. Add other spices to taste.

Turn crock pot on high and let stew cook for at least 6 hours. Mix crock pot contents thoroughly following cooking. You can add spices such as salt, pepper, sage, thyme, or anything else you may like to taste at this point.... or, you can allow stew to cool and package it into single-serving, freezable containers. Freeze the containers and the contents and thaw when you need a quick go-to meal.

Single Serving Container of Crock Pot Stew Ready to Freeze

You can spice the stew up to your desire after thawing and heating. Blend the stew for a creamy consistency or keep it as is to enjoy all the ingredients and the wonderful flavors.

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Awesome Asian Slaw

When you think of cole slaw, what comes to mind? Mayonnaise? Oil? Fast food chicken restaurants?
All of those may be the case...BUT...there are lots of other ways to make slaw. Slaw that won't give you your entire daily calorie intake in one sitting.

I got the latest issue of Vegetarian Times magazine in the mail, found this recipe for Asian slaw and decided to try it. It is delicious...AND...healthy. Yay!

Asian Slaw

Here's what your finished product will look like.

Prep only takes a few minutes and this recipe uses ingredients you probably have in your pantry. If you don't have some of these items, buy them and you'll find yourself using them again and again.





Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 Tbs. no-salt-added creamy natural peanut butter (I only had chunky PB and it was fine)
• 5 tsp. natural cane sugar (most dark brown sugar is this)
• 2 Tbs. rice vinegar (you'll use this a lot if you make sushi rice)
• 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil 
• 1 clove garlic minced
• pinch of black pepper
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 4 medium carrots, julienned (mandolin slicer with julienne attachment works amazing for this)
• 2 medium zucchini, julienned (use mandolin slicer if you have one)
• 1/4 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts (these are totally optional)

Natural Peanut Butter going into soy sauce mixture

Whisk together soy sauce, peanut butter (warm it for a few secs in the microwave if it's too tough to mix), sugar, vinegar, oil, garlic, pepper and cayenne in a bowl. Stir in carrots, zucchini and peanuts. Chill in fridge for about 1 hr.

This tasty slaw makes a wonderful and delectable side dish, or an alternative to your traditional salad.

Grilled Flatbread Pizza

If you like pizza, this is a sure bet. As far as pizza goes, it's healthy as it uses a flatbread, whole wheat crust, lots of veggies, not an overwhelming amount of cheese and no oil. This is nothing like pizza from a delivery restaurant. This pizza is light, crispy and may leave you wanting more. Make two if you and the people you're sharing it with are really hungry!

Here's a picture of all the ingredients I used for the flatbread pizza. 

• Flat, whole wheat lavash bread - got these from Trader Joe's. They come in a pkg of 6 for about $2.49
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese - not from a can - grated
• 1/4 cup Feta cheese - regular or flavored is fine
• Veggies - I used green bell pepper, garlic, yellow onion, zuchinni, mushrooms and tomatoes. Slice all of them. 
• 5 oz. Marinara sauce - Fresh & Easy has some in jars for $1.79 that do not have any chemicals or preservatives 

I used one flatbread for two people. First, lay your flatbread on your grilling pan or surface. It's much easier than having to transport the flatbread with all your pizza ingredients later.

 Spread marinara sauce on the flatbread very sparingly, leaving about a 1/4" around the edges for a crust. Too much sauce will make the flatbread soggy and you won't get a nice, crisp crust. (see photo on the left) Then evenly sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the sauce.

Flatbread Pizza Before Going Under Grill

Sprinkle on the chopped garlic. Place slices of onion, bell pepper, zuchinni, mushrooms and lastly tomatoes. Finally, sprinke on the feta cheese.





Grill for about 5 to 6 mins at medium, then check the bottom of the crust. It should not be darkening too quickly. Grill for about 2 more minutes. To give the veggies on top of the pizza a nice, grilled look, put grill pan under the broiler for no more than 2 minutes.

Flatbread Pizza Just Off the Grill

These slices don't stay on the plate very long!

Use a big spatula to remove the pizza from the grill pan. If you have fresh basil, wash about 10 leaves, rip them up and spread the pieces over the cooked pizza. Slice, serve and enjoy!