THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013
PAGE 7A
Save time this winter by preparing meals in a slow cooker
CASSIDY RITTER
critter@kansan.com
With a drop in temperature and steady pileup of assignments and tests to finish off the semester, time seems to be running short, and slow cooker meals are becoming ideal for busy students.
Slow cookers are generally around $15 to $80 depending on the size. These meals are easy 5 to 10 minute meals that are warm and ready to be served upon walking through the door.
Chicken Stuffing
One of the easiest recipes is the slow cooker version of chicken stuffing. Plus, this recipe only requires five ingredients, one of which is water.
Ingredients:
ingredients:
4 frozen chicken breasts
6 oz. package stuffing mix
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup water
First, mix the sour cream, water,
cream of chicken soup and stuffing
mix in bowl. Put a thin layer
of this mixture in the bottom of the
slow cooker. Then place the frozen
chicken in the slow cooker. To top it off, cover the chicken with the rest of the sour cream and stuffing mixture. Make sure the chicken is not resting on the bottom or sticking to the sides of the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for five hours or until the chicken is falling apart and has no pink in the middle. Turn the slow cooker off and dinner is served.
Fluff up the stuffing a bit for a better look.
Cheesy spaghetti with turkey sausage
Not in the mood for something so heavy? Try this low-fat version of spaghetti. While this recipe requires more prep time than most, the homemade turkey sausage can be substituted for pre-packaged sausage.
Turkey sausage ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground turkey
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried sage
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
Pasta ingredients:
1 (24 oz.) jar of spaghetti sauce
8 oz. uncooked 100% whole-wheat
spaghetti (about 2/3 of a 13.25 oz. box)
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 cup skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. chopped basil
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
Kosher salt (to taste)
The first step is making the turkey sausage (these steps can be skipped if you choose to use pre-packaged sausage). Add all of the ingredients for the sausage into a large mixing bowl and mix completely. Cook the ground turkey sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking into small pieces. After it loses its pink color, remove the skillet from the heat, drain the skillet of any fat then set aside. Break the uncooked spaghetti into pieces. After, combine the jar of spaghetti
sauce, meat and uncooked spaghetti pieces in a medium bowl. Add the remaining pasta ingredients to the medium bowl and stir. Last, add everything in the medium bowl to the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker and allow it to cook on low for 2-3 hours or until the spaghetti is cooked and the cheese is bubbly. Bon appétit, you are ready to serve and enjoy.
Enchilada tacos with chili-lime sour cream
If Mexican food is on the mind, try this recipe for enchilada tacos with chili-lime sour cream. This recipe has endless options and can be made with pork or chicken.
INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. sour cream
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika or smoked paprika
1 lime
2 lbs. frozen chicken (thighs or breasts)
1 can enchilada sauce
Corn tortillas
Shredded lettuce (optional)
Shredded queso quesadilla cheese, or
crumbled queso fresco (optional)
10 prep, start with the chili-lime sour cream sauce. Add the sour cream, chili powder, cumin, and paprika into a small bowl. Then cut up the lime and squeeze the juice into the bowl as well. Mix all these ingredients together, cover and refrigerate. Place the chicken or pork into the slow cooker and cover with the can of enchilada sauce. Here is where you can add a little variety by adding chopped onions, diced green chiles or jalapenos to the
These enchilada tacos with chili-lime sour cream can be made with chicken or pork.
CASSIDY RITTER/KANSAN
slow cooker. Either way, make sure the chicken is not sticking to the sides or bottom of the slow cooker— it will burn if it is. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for six hours or until the meat is thoroughly cooked. When the meat is
done, place it into a bowl and shred it. Add a few tablespoons of the enchilada sauce to the shredded meat to make it moist. Heat up a few tortillas, place the shredded meat on the tortilla, and add lettuce and cheese if desired, as well as sour
cream.
With a busy schedule, it's nice to come home to a warm, ready-to-eat meal and slow cookers do just that. Enjoy!
— Edited by Sarah Kramer
POLITICS
Socialist candidate takes lead in Seattle City Council race
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE — Voters in left-leaning Seattle, where police recently handed out snacks at a large marijuana festival and politicians often try to out liberal each other, are close to electing a Socialist candidate to the City Council.
In this photo taken Nov. 4, 2013, a supporter of Socialist candidate for Seattle City Council Kshama Sawant, holds campaign materials outside a City Council meeting in Seattle. Sawant is challenging four-term Councilman Richard Conlin.
Following the latest ballot count Tuesday night, Kshama Sawant had a 402-vote lead over 16-year incumbent Richard Conlin.
Given Washington state's mail-in voting system, a winner won't be named for days or even weeks after the Nov. 4 election.
Still, the strong showing by
Still, the st SWawant, a college economics professor and prominent figure in Seattle's Occupy Wall street movement, has surprised many people.
eral electorate, but you haven't seen someone who calls themselves a socialist win."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sawant, 41, drew attention as part of local Occupy Wall Street protests that included taking over a downtown park and a junior college campus in late 2011. She then ran for legislative office in 2012, challenging the powerful speaker of the state House, a Democrat. She was easily defeated.
Scott Cline the city's archivist, said research showed
This year, she ran against Conlin, pushing a platform that appeared to resonate with the city. She backed efforts to raise the minimum wage to $15; called for rent control in the city where rental prices keep climb-
"You think Seattle has a pretty liberal electorate, but you haven't seen someone who calls themselves a socialist win."
no Socialist candidate had won a citywide office in the past 100 years. "This is new territory. There really isn't any precedent," said Stuart Elway, a longtime political pollster. "You think Seattle has a pretty lib-
STUART ELWAY Political pollster
--ing; and supports a tax on millionaires to help fund a public transit system and other services.
"I think we have shown the strongest skeptics that the Socialist label is not a bad one for a grassroots campaign to succeed," said Sawant, who is on leave from
her job as an professor at Seattle Central Community College.
During her campaign, she condemned economic inequality, contending that some people aren't benefiting from the city's declining jobless rate, ongoing recovery from the recession, and downtown building boom.
"This is one of wealthiest cities in the wealthiest country in the world," she said. "For people to struggle for basic needs is absurd."
City Council races are technically non-partisan in Seattle. Sawant, however, made sure people knew she was running as a Socialist, a label that would ensure defeat in many areas of the country.
Socialists have run for office in
Seattle before Before Sawant, the most successful candidate was Yolanda Alaniz, who in 1991 emerged from the primary in second place but was easily defeated in the general election.
"There were certainly populist
candidates," said Cline, the city archivist. "I don't think any of them you could remotely call Socialist. Certainly there has never been anybody who has run as strongly as Sawant has."
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