Mexican Chili

Happy Hump Day friends! I know it's Wednesday, and usually when I post on Wednesdays, I do a WIAW post, but I have been really slack about taking pictures of the foods I've been eating. I've been doing really well so far with my 21 Day Fix meal plan, I just haven't remembered to take a picture of everything. I take a couple a day, but not of everything. Maybe I will eventually be able to have enough that I can show you a sample day of meals and snacks.

Instead, I thought I would share a new recipe with you all. I get excited when I come up with my own recipes that I don't see on Pinterest or somewhere else first. This is one of those recipes. I made this when we were having that miserable weather a couple of weeks ago. It's so easy to do, too. You just cook up the meat and then dump everything in the crockpot. Easy peasy. And absolutely delicious, too! We served it over some brown rice. I added some fat free cheddar and a dollup of sour cream (you could also use plain greek yogurt) to mine. It made it so creamy and delicious. This definitely took care of my comfort food craving that I had! Here's the recipe:

MEXICAN CHILI
Points+: 6
Servings: 8

1 lb. lean ground turkey, browned
2 c. frozen corn
1 can Rotel
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chili beans, NOT rinsed
1 - 2 cups chicken broth

Add everything to the crockpot and cook on low for 4 - 6 hours. Add whatever chili "fixins'" you normally like and enjoy!

I was in kind of a hurry when I made this, so this is just how I made it. But next time, I will probably sautee up some onion and green pepper with my turkey meat and add it in. Not only would that help to bulk it up some, but also give it a little more flavor.

So long for today...

Crockpot Refried Beans

Hey there friends! I hope you're all having a great week. It's nearly over. I'm not sure about where you are, but the weather here has been all over the place. It's cooler today, but the last few days have been pretty warm. It's supposed to stay cool for a while now, but as we all know, that's always subject to change where the weather is concerned. We leave for our cruise in 9 days and I cannot wait! One of the reasons that I love to cruise so much is that when I'm on the ship, I have no contact with the outside world. I'm unreachable! Not that I don't love being in the know, but sometimes it's nice to unplug. Does that make sense?

Anyway, I wanted to share this recipe with you that I made a while back for crockpot refriend beans. I hate to buy canned things all the time. They have so much sodium in them and it's so much cheaper to make my own of a lot of things. These refried beans are a perfect example. I know, I know, they're not true "refried" beans since they never get fried, but I promise, you'll never know the difference. They're really easy to make and since it's a crockpot recipe, what's not to love? Here's the recipe:

CROCKPOT REFRIED BEANS
adapted from Rachel Cooks
Servings: 24
Points+: 3

2 pounds dried pinto beans (approximately 5 cups), rinsed and sorted
1 medium to large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons of salt (more to taste)
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
9+ cups of water

Add all ingredients to slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on high for 6-8 hours or until beans are soft and mash easily. Add more water if necessary during cooking. I added two cups about 2/3 of the way through cooking because it was looking dry. It doesn't hurt to have extra water, but you don't want them to dry up.

Reserving the liquid, strain the beans out into a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher. Add the reserved liquid until you reach the consistency you desire. Serve, or cool completely and freeze in portions appropriate for your family.

The next time you have Mexican Monday, Taco Tuesday or even Fajita Friday, you should definitely try these beans. They're a great way to round out your meal that everyone will love.

So long for today...

Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice

It's official! I have spring fever. It was 80 degrees here today! February 29th and it was 80 degrees. If I haven't mentioned it before, I love living in South Carolina. What's ironic is some of the women on my WW message boards are talking about all the snow they have. They can keep that! I know its supposed to cool down again this weekend, but I'm definitely going to enjoy the nice weather while I can. I'm so glad I have this Friday off work, too! Definitely a day for a run, if you ask me.

I know Mardi Gras was last week, so I'm a little late in making this meal. But it's better to be late than never, right? I guess I think of this more of a Southern meal than a Cajun meal. That's probably because I didn't add the cajun seasoning that they call for, but I don't even own cajun seasoning. Does Creole seasoning count? Is that the same thing? Can you tell that I'm not a big fan of spicy foods? Ha! Here's the recipe:

SLOW COOKER RED BEANS & RICE
adapted from Plain Chicken
Servings: 8
Points+ 6

1 pound dried small red beans
1 pound turkey smoked sausage
5 cups water
1 cup tomato sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low 8-10 hours. Serve over hot white rice.

TC really liked this. That's probably because its a meal he's used to eating. Southerners love this. It's also called red beans & sausage or red rice and sausage. You can make a pretty healthy version of any of the variations, too. What made me feel even better was that Addison said she liked it, too! Bonus!

So long for today...

Crockpot Chili

I moved to South Carolina from Pennsylvania 6 1/2 years ago. One of the reasons that I did was to escape the cold. Today, it didn't seem like I had succeeded in my escape. It didn't get out of the 40s here today! To a transplanted Yankee, that's cold! I was talking to my mother today about how it was a lot colder than what we have been used to. I told her I try to remind myself that at least it's warmer here than it is in Pennsylvania! On a cold day, whether its a cold Pennsylvania day or a cold South Carolina day, nothing is better for dinner than Chili!

Today was the perfect day for chili. I have a trick that I use for my chili. I sneak in some extra veggies and also bulk of the chili by adding finely chopped carrots. They blend in so well and take on the other flavors in the chili and no one knows they're there! Over the years, we've changed up how we eat our chili. Growing up, we always ate our chili over mashed potatoes. After I moved out on my own, I decided to try my chili over pasta. After I met my husband, he told me that he liked it over rice...but then again, Southerners like just about anything with rice! We also like to add different toppings, such as cheese (of course!), chopped onions or Doritoes! If you've never had cheesy chili with Doritoes, you don't know what you're missing. Of course, that combination isn't very WW friendly. My usual option for my chili is over pasta. That's how we had it tonight.

Here's my recipe:

CROCKPOT CHILI
Servings - 8 - 10
Points+: 5

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. carrots, finely chopped
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can dark red kidney beans, undrained
1 can light red kidney beans, undrained
1 can chili beans, undrained
1 t. cumin
3 t. chili powder
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper

In large skillet, brown ground beef. Add pepper, onion, garlic and carrots and cook until veggies are tender. Add meat mixture puls remaining ingredients to crockpot. Cook on low 6 - 8 hours or high 4 - 6 hours.

I love that this is a crockpot recipe. I love to use my crockpot, especially on a cold day! There's just something about the great smells developing and spreading through the house...What's also great about this recipe is that it makes so much! We usually have enough for dinner, a leftover dinner and some to add to the freezer. Addison loves my chili, too. That's always a bonus.