I love to cook in my crockpot (I think we’re supposed to call them “slow cookers” now). The hard part is that not a lot of crockpot meals fit my Weight Watchers points. One of my favorite cookbooks, however, is nothing but healthy and low fat recipes that you can make in your crockpot. It’s called Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly. They have a whole line of slow cooker cookbooks, but this is the one with the great low fat recipes.

What I do is go through and pick out a handful of recipes and run them through the Weight Watchers point counter. Then I write the point totals into the book so that the next time I cook, I don’t have to look them up again. I also write in any alterations that I have made.

Tonight we are having Taco Soup. It’s a lot like chili except a little more soup-like in consistency and includes a ranch dressing packet, which gives it an extra kick. It’s 5 points a serving and everyone in my family loves it. We also make the Chicken Soft Tacos regularly as well as the Chicken and Dumplings. The key is just testing things out and then leaving notes in your margins so you know what to go back to later. With hundreds of recipes, you will be cooking new healthy and light recipes in your crockpot for your family for months to come!

You can pick up Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly at Amazon or most book sellers.

I received an interesting recipe from The Crab Place in my email over the weekend and thought that I would pass it along. It looks like a great little appetizer!

Easy Crab Roll-Up Recipe

Ingredients:

1 package refrigerated crescent rolls (8)
1 pound lump crab meat
cheese of your choice
onion salt

Preparation Instructions:

Separate rolls from 1 pkg. refrigerated crescent rolls; sprinkle each with a little onion salt. Drain 1 can lump crab meat; fill each roll with crab meat and bits of cheese of your choice. Roll up starting from wide end. Place on baking sheet (point side down). Bake in moderate oven (375 degrees) for 12 to 15 minutes. Makes 8. Serve with green salad for lunch

» This recipe is credited to Miss Sue Lambden of Georgetown, DE and was the Junior Range Winner at the 1970 National Hard Crab Derby in Crisfield, MD.

Looking for the ultimate cooking contest for moms? Check out the French’s Cook-Off. They are looking for easy, original recipes that “smiles back to dinnertime.” The recipes must include at least one French’s product and have no more than 8 ingredients.

The process is a little bit complicated:

“During the Recipe Submission period (see below), 20 semi-finalists will be selected for advancement: 10 selected by a judging panel and 10 by popular online vote. The top 20 recipes will be featured on the FRENCH’S® website and advance to the Selection period (see below) for a chance to be named as one of the five finalists for the LIVE cook-off using your recipe. The finalists will consist of one “people’s choice” award winner selected by popular vote along with four other finalists chosen by the FRENCH’S® judging panel. These five finalists will advance to the final LIVE Cook-Off event in February or March 2010.”

The grand prize is $25,000! One of the other cool things is that you can browse through the site and read other recipes. If you submit yours, leave us a comment and we will go vote for you! Click here for the French’s Cook-Off 2009.

I’m reposting this recipe because summer is here and the Low Country Boil is one of our favorite things to do as a family. We originally had this at the Edmunds’ Family Low Country Boil at the Disney Vacation Club in Hilton Head a couple of years ago. These are not the exact recipes that we had at Disney, but they are really similar and delicious. We have started a new 4th of July tradition as a result of the Low Country Boil! We initially tried to cook it in a big outdoor pot, but it took too long. So we switched to a turkey fryer and it worked much better. (Click here to find Turkey Fryers at Amazon.com)

Low Country Shrimp Boil Recipe from Chef Rick

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. Keilbasa per person
1/2 lb. Raw shrimp in shell per person
3 Red bliss potatoes per person
1 Ear of corn per person
2 Lemons
Cayenne pepper
Cloves
Garlic
Bay leaves
Old Bay Seasoning
Black pepper
TabascoOptional:
2 Small onions per person
1 Carrot cut into 4ths per person
1-2 crabs per person

Boil water in a large kettle on stove or outdoor cooker. Season water with salt and your choice of above flavorings along with the juice of two lemons or 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Add potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Add carrots, sausage and onions. Bring back to a boil. When potatoes and carrots are almost tender, add corn and crabs. Bring to a boil, then add shrimp. Cook a few minutes until shrimp are just done – they will be pink in color. Drain and pour into a basket or onto platters. Have cocktail sauce and Dijon mustard at hand. This is a crowd pleaser!

Low Country Boil Recipe from Group Recipes

Ingredients: 

Directions:

We have been on vacation for the last week and that meant lots of fast food and processed foods. I’m ready to get back into the grind and start making family meals again. I set out to find some quick and easy recipes to add to my collection. I like to plan all of my meals at the beginning of the week and go grocery shopping one time for everything. This helps keep my grocery costs down plus lessens the chance that we will eat out because I can’t find anything to fix.

A big hit at our house is Lasagna. If you find the right Lasagna Recipe, you can even make some minor modifications to it like using low fat cheeses. Or make the pan the night before and put it in the fridge. Then pop it in the oven to bake about an hour before dinner time. We always serve our lasagna with salad and a loaf of multigrain bread. That ensures we get some extra fiber with the meal.

Although cooking for the family does take a little time, you will be so satisfied when you sit down to the meal. And with a dinner like lasagna, you are almost sure to have some leftovers–a perfect lunch the next day!