Pot full of chili for 5.00.

I didn't plan so well with the weather in mind, seeing as next week it's supposed to be cool, and today it was in the 80's. But nevertheless, we did a pot of Turkey Chili. My mom used to make this with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, but since I didn't have leftover Turkey (yet) I used ground Turkey. This chili is so great because it's so cheap and it will be at least 2 dinners and 2 lunches for both Michael and I. The only downside to this recipe is the dried beans, but all you have to do is pour 1/2 lb of dried beans into a pot, cover with water and cover with lid and then let sit overnight.

Ground Turkey Chili (Makes 16 cups)

WW pts: 2 pts a cup

1 lb. Ground Turkey (sale) .99 cents

2- 28 oz. can Diced Tomatoes, drained (BIGI free) 1.28

2 packages store brand Chili seasoning .59 cents each

1/2 lb. Dried Red Beans 1.68 for whole bag

Onion, diced .75 cents

3 stalks, celery diced.

1/2 green pepper, diced, (sale- sliced and frozen) .25

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup mustard

1-28 ounce can filled with water

Brown ground meat if you need to, if you are using leftover Thanksgiving Turkey dice it up into chunks. Drain beans from water. Pour beans and Tomatoes into crockpot. Pour the remaining ingredients, stir to mix. You may need to add more water if it seems thick. The beans will soak up some more of the water, so you can always add extra and it won't be runny in the end. Then turn on for low for 8 hours and go to work or leave it be.

We always serve it with Original fritos and shredded cheddar cheese. And you can always add a little Louisiana hot sauce.

Crock Pot Lasagna!!

I'm sitting here typing this with the smell of lasagna wafting through the house. And all I can think is... I still have hours before it's going to be ready. YUM and torture all rolled into one giant crockpot. I got this recipe from a coupon book from Proctor and Gamble a few years ago. Who would have thought that such a great recipe would come from a free coupon book. But hey, I got a great dinner recipe, and great coupons out of the deal. So I'll take it. Plus it's super easy to put together.

Crock Pot Lasagna: makes 6 servings

WW pts: 8 pts.

Cooking Spray (PAM)

1 lb ground lean turkey (or beef), cooked and drained

1 28 ounce can tomato sauce (you can use a jar of spaghetti sauce if you want instead of tomatoes)

2- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes no salt added

1/2 box no-boil lasagna noodles, gently broken in half

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 cup fat free ricotta cheese (or ff cottage cheese)

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/2 cup onion, diced

2 cups Mozzarella

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

Grease the inside of the crock pot with the PAM. Combine beef, sauce, garlic, spices and onion in a medium size bowl and mix well. Then combine the ricotta and mozzarella in a small bowl, stirring to combine well.

In the crock pot, layer sauce, noodles, then ricotta mixture, repeating. Your top layer should end up sauce. I think we had 2 full layers, then topped with sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours. then serve.

Crock pot Tilapia... who woulda thought.

I certainly wouldn't have thought of putting fish in aluminum foil and in the crock pot. But thanks to Eat at home cooks.com... we tried it. And it was surprisingly good. I did notice that 2 of the pieces sauce was a little thinner than mine, but the one I had was A.W.E.S.O.M.E. it was something different, but I'm thinking you could do it in the oven in the Aluminum foil quicker. But since I'm at home I put the fillets in there frozen and let them go. And a great point bargain! Our whole dinner was 4.5 pts... which if you can see from our plate, was a lot of food.

Crockpot Tilapia (makes 4 Tilapia fillets)

WW pt: 3 pts per Fillet

4 pieces Tilapia (thaw if your going to do oven, or you can do frozen for crockpot)

1/4 cup light mayo

1/3 cup Cheddar cheese

2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese

3 Tbsp Lemon Juice

sprinkle of salt and pepper

Mix everything but Tilapia in a bowl. Then get four sheets to place Tilapia in. Spread a spoonful of mixture on the A. foil, then place Tilapia, then another spoonful on top. Fold the A. foil up like a little pouch. Repeat with remaining fillets. Then if you are going to do it in the crockpot, place them in there, and turn on low for 3-4 hours. If you do it in the oven, I would think 375 degrees for 30 minutes would work.

We served it with Broccoli, Summer Squash (from our garden) and a small potato. Fresh, delicious meal. The only thing that would make that meal better... would be to have a scoop of ice cream for dessert.... Ho Hum.... probably a good thing I don't have any ice cream in the house.