Every Thanksgiving, I make the same dishes. I may try some variations on some of them, but for the most part I'm a traditionalist. I even use some recipes from my mom's old church cookbook, however I do drastically decrease the butter content! Part of the point of Thanksgiving, in my opinion, is the ritual of tradition, but sometimes you just need to make some changes in life. So this year I'm switching up a few dishes; I'm still gonna stick with some of the old favorites, but I'm going to try some new ones as well. My first new Thanksgiving dish that I'm sharing with you is my Harvest Crockpot Calabacitas!
Look, I eat green bean casserole every year and it's awesome, but sometimes it can be a little boring. How about a recipe that will serve up to 8 people plus, that won't take up all of that valuable oven space and tastes great? This Thanksgiving treat is a great trade for those bland vegetables you've been serving up for years. Another reason I love this crockpot vegetable dish? Versatility. You can make it a vegetable only recipe or you can add some sausage or that leftover turkey meat to make it even heartier and if you aren't making this for Thanksgiving, it will work great as family dinner since the portion size is so big…and don't forget, lots of leftovers. Did I mention it's healthy, too?!
I call this dish Harvest Crockpot Calabacitas because in addition to it being a twist on the traditional latin-themed squash dish, I also added some other Fall or "harvest friendly" vegetables. The colors in my calabacitas dish pop and the textures are fantastic, too. I suggest serving this vegetable dish is a bowl, because it has a sort of stewed feel to it, and to make it even tastier, I like to top it with some light sour cream, low-fat Mexican blend cheese, Sriracha and cilantro. Are you excited to make this yet?! I hope you enjoy this Thanksgiving and don't be afraid to take a risk in the kitchen and switch things up.
Turn crockpot setting to low. Slice zucchini into 1/2 inch triangles. I sliced of some the squash into 1/2 inch wheels to vary the shapes. Scrub and clean carrots and then slice into 1/2 inch pieces. Place zucchini, carrots, and diced onion in the crockpot. In a side medium bowl, combine canned corn, green chilis, diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, chicken broth, garlic cloves and salt/pepper and stir until well mixed. Pour mixture over the vegetables in the crockpot and cook for 4 1/2 to 5 hours on low. I suggest checking the calabacitas at 4 hours to see if you've reached your desired tenderness for the vegetables. When ready, serve this dish vegetable style or add some protein like fully cooked and sliced chicken sausage or leftover turkey meat to make it an actual meal. I suggest topping my Harvest Crockpot Calabacitas with reduced-fat Mexican blend cheese, low-fat sour cream, Sriracha and cilantro. Enjoy!
