Meat-a-tarian Chili

The snow is flowing out here in the mid-west.

School's are canceled, work is postponed;

Nothing better to do than make snow angels and eat chili!

 

Chili is such a great and easy meal to make. I mean seriously, you put it all in a pot, let it simmer for and hour or so, and then you eat it!
Yes, please!

Since I am a meat-a-tarian- It's a personal choice- like ground beef in my chili.
You could easily use ground turkey, chicken, or make it vegetarian by using quinoa;
But, if you eat red meat, give ground beef a try, at least once.

As an advocate for chili, I think beans are essential to the meal.
Some say it's not authentic, but what does that even mean, "Authentic chili."
There are sOooooo many ways of making chili (Uh, chili cook-offs where people create unique, personalized chilies, so really there is no authentic in my mind, just make it the way you want it to taste and viola!)....anyways, add your fiber (or not, but I vote you  should) and enjoy it.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb 93-97% ground beef*
1 can rotel
1 can light kidney beans
1 can dark kidney beans
1 can tomato sauce, 8oz
1/2 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup water 
Salt and pepper, to taste

* If you don't have 93-97% ground beef or just want to make it even healthier, cook you meat like normal in pan. when fully cooked, dump into a coriander and rinse with HOT water--essentially you are washing off the excess grease. 

Directions:
Cook ground beef in a large pot on Medium-High heat. If desired, drain grease and return to pot (see note above).
Add chopped onion and minced onion and let simmer for 1-2 min.
Season with oregano, paprika, thyme, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Let  warm for 1 min
Add Rotel, stir. Then add light and dark kidney beans, stir. Then chili powder, cumin, and cinnamon. Stir until and well combined.
Bring to a simmer--just below boiling, and then reduce heat to low and let sit for 1 hour+ (the Longer you wait the more the flavors combine--do not exceed 2 hrs on heat.)

Truly, chili is a taste as you go meal, if you feel like you want more of one spice and less of another adjust according to your palate.

Serve in a LARGE bowl, topped with shredded cheese.

ENJOY!!!

Chickpea Chicken Chili

Chili is so flavorful, and filling; 

add a side of toast, and you have a DELICIOUS meal.

You do have to mindful of what and how much of something you put in to keep it healthy, but with beans, broth, veggies, meat (or more veggies!), and seasonings you can't go wrong. 

 I choose to use chickpeas for the beans because I thought they would be a fun alternative to the normal chili kidney/navy bean, and boy were they.  The flavor and texture was perfect and help create a protein packed and fiber rich meal. 

This recipe is perfect for two people but feel free to double, or trip it to your liking.


Ingredients: 
1 chicken breast
1 can of chickpeas(aka garbanzo beans)
1 cup of natural chicken broth
1/2 onion, chopped
2 oz of diced green chilies (I used half of a 4oz can)
1 tbs olive oil
1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp pepper


Directions: 
Heat olive oil in a skillet medium-high heat and cook chicken with onion and garlic powder until chicken is cooked through.
While chicken is cooking, dump the can of drained chickpeas, 1/2 cup chicken broth,  pepper, cumin, and oregano in a food processor (a blender could work, but you may have to scrape down the sides) and blend to a smooth cream.
Heat a small sauce pan with 1/2 cup chicken broth on medium-high. Add creamed chickpea mixture, diced chilies, and onions from chicken pan.
Shred chicken and add to sauce pan.
Simmer for 15 min.

Serve warm with a sprinkle of cheese, a dollop of plain greek yogurt, and/or a sprinkle of parsley flakes.

ENJOY!!!!

Nutritional Information

1 serving

279 cal * 43 carbs * 1g sat fat * 25g Protein * 11g fiber

Slow Cooker Chicken Quinoa Chili

I love fix it and forget it meals. 

This one in particular because it's perfect for those cool weather days, those days when you don't want do anything but snuggle under the covers, watch tv, or read a good book. 

This wasn't one of those days for me, but a girl can dream. 

However, it did turn out wonderfully delicious!

If you've been following along with my blog you've probably noticed new food addiction to quinoa. It's such a wonderful seed full of great health benefits and best of all KEEPS YOU FULL!

But the real truth as to why this recipe? 
Not that it was easy (it was), not that I could make it and forget it (I did, until the timer went off), not because it's healthy (it is!), but because I made a small loaf of french bread in my NEW bread machine and needed a good hearty soup to eat it with. 
Oh yeah!

So fix it, forget it, remember it, eat it!

Recipe adapted from Sweet Treats and More

Ingredients
2 large chicken breasts (mine were frozen!)*
1 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 can of Rotel
1 can reduced sodium black beans
1 cup of frozen corn (or 1 can or corn) 
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped (I used 3 small sweet peppers: 1 yellow, 2 red)
1-2** tsp cumin
1-2 tsp chili powder
1-2 tsp crushed red peppers
1 tsp paprika
1-2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste

* If using frozen chicken, follow directions below. 
   If using thawed chicken reduce time to 3-5 hours. 
** I used 2 tsp for everything because I love spices!
 
Directions:
Place chicken on bottom of slow cooker, dump liquids first, then solids, then seasonings. Stir. Cook on low for 5-7 hours. 
When time is up, either remove chicken and shred, or shred in  pot.
Stir well to combine. 
Top with shredded cheese, and/or a dollop of plain greek yogurt if desired!

Enjoy!!!!

Quinoa Chili

I have wanted to buy and make something out quinoa (Keen-wah) since I learned about it MONTHS ago!!!! Seriously, Months! So finally, when a dear new friend of mine offered to let me join her for a Costco trip (the glorious bulk store of the world in my opinion) I knew I was going to splurge. 

Go BIG or go home. 

So after reading around on the inter-web and being chilled to bones recently with the cold weather brewing I went for a easy to make chili.

Gluten Free, protein enriched, and fiber-full this seed from the Andes is a blessing to us health foodies who want a full stomach.

Follow the first 5 steps to get plain quinoa that you can make any recipe with, follow the rest for the chili.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion flakes
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
chopped chili pepper (only if you want some more spicy)
1/3 cup black beans
1/4 cup diced tomatoes + some juice
1/3 cup corn

Making Quinoa

1. Measure out 1/3 cup Quinoa seed and rinse VERY VERY VERY VERY WELL. 2 min Min under constant, handled seed, cool water. Doing this step helps get rid of bitter taste many find when they cook it straight out the bag.
2. Drain 
3. Heat 1 tsp olive oil on medium-high and add rinsed quinoa. Cook for a minute or so, till water is evaporated and Quinoa is toasted.
4. Add the 1 cup of water and bring to a rapid boil for 5-8 min
5. Either add flavoring (chicken broth, sat, etc) or simply reduce heat to medium low 10 min.
6. At 5 min of that simmer, add beans and spices. 
7. At 8 min of that simmer add dices tomatoes
8. At 10 min at corn and pepper and turn heat to medium-high
9. Cook for 1-2 min for rest of water to evaporate. NOT ALL THE WAY, just enough to keep everything moist not runny. 
10. Reduce heat to low while serving.

Top chili with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and shredded cheese. 

Enjoy!!!!

Funny short story: 

This pepper:

  was the hottest pepper I have ever eaten. 

My mouth burned for 1+ hours afterward.   

Sweet Potato Chili

I loved this so much. Seriously ate 2 bowls every sitting..and well with the nutrition info like this it was not a problem.  

Recipe Credit: ChocolateCoveredKatie.com

Ingredient: 

• 2 cups sliced onion (1 large)
• 20 oz peeled and cubed sweet potato
• 2/3 cup diced zucchini
• 1-2 cans black beans (or another bean)
• 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 tbs chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp orange zest
•  1 cup corn
• 1 cup water (or broth)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a big pot, and bring to a boil. Then lower and cook until the sweet potatoes are soft. The chili tastes even better the next day, after the flavors have had a chance to combine.

 ENJOY!!!! 

Nutrition Info:

1 Serving (about 1 cup): 136 cal * 1 g Fat *6g protein; 26 carbs* 7 g fiber*