21 Day Fix Approved Chili #tastytuesday

For ‪#‎tastytuesday‬ I want to share one of my favorite "clean" AND easy recipes that is 21 Day Fix Approved!   I have adapted this recipe a bit from FITs Simple!
 
21 Day Fix Approved Chili
Serves 5-6
Prep Time: 20 min Cook Time: 4-8Hrs
 
Ingredients

• 1 lb. lean ground turkey(or chicken) breast
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 1 sweet bell pepper (yellow or red), chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (15 oz.) can canned diced tomatoes (no salt added)
• 1 cup white shoepeg sweet corn (frozen or canned & drained)
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed (no salt added)
• 1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (no salt added)
• 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce (no salt added)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. crushed red peppers (or to taste!)
• Himalayan salt and ground black pepper (to taste; optional)
• Plain Greek Yogurt, Green Onions, Jalapenos (optional toppings)

Instructions
1. Cook turkey (or chicken), onion, bell pepper, and garlic in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, 4 to 5 minutes, or until meat browns.
2. Add all remaining ingredients and meat mixture to the slow cooker and cook on high 4 hours or low for 8 hours (or
warm until needed).
3. Optional: Add a dollop of plain greek yogurt and top with green onions before serving.
4. ENJOY!!


21 Day Fix Container Equivalents (for 2 cups of chili)
1. 1 Red =  Meat
2. 1 Green = Diced Tomatoes, Sauce, Peppers, and Onion
3. 1 Yellow = Beans & Corn

Chopped Buffalo Chicken Salad

I have been on a sort of "salad kick" lately... trying to eat a bit more healthy and also trying to re-create the "tastes" I crave (that are typically un-healthy) and transform them into a lower calorie version.   Last night I had all the ingredients for a salad-- plus chicken breast and some leftover buffalo wing sauce from when I had made Buffalo Chicken Dip.  PERFECT... I'll make a Buffalo Chicken Salad!!

Chopped Buffalo Chicken Salad
makes approx 3 servings

Ingredients:

• (2) Small Chicken Breasts, trimmed (if the breast is large I usually cut it in half for (2) servings)
• (1) Cup Buffalo Wing Sauce
• 2 Tbs Brown Sugar
• (2) Hearts of Romaine Lettuce
• Handful of fresh Baby Spinach (or any other kind of lettuce)
• (1) Large Carrot
• (1) Celery Stalk
• (1) Green Onion
• (1) Medium Tomato
• Handful of Tortilla Chips
• 1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 Cup Ranch Salad Dressing

Method:

1. Place chicken, wing sauce and brown sugar in saute pan.  Cook over medium heat, turning chicken frequently til cooked through (approx 15 minutes).
2. While chicken is cooking, prep the salad.  Wash all veggies (lettuce, carrot, celery, green onion, tomato).  Peel carrot.   Place Lettuce and spinach in large bowl and chop with Pampered Chef Salad Choppers. (if you don't have them you can chop lettuce on a cutting board with a knife.)  Using a grater, grate the carrot & celery into the lettuce.   Dice the tomato and green onion and add to the bowl.  Crush the tortilla chips in your hands and add to the bowl.   Add the cheddar cheese and Ranch Dressing.   Mix Well.
3. Cut the chicken into small pieces and add back to the saute pan and toss in the sauce.
4. Place Lettuce mixture in salad bowls and top with chicken.
5. Enjoy!

What to do with a Boston Butt? Pulled Pork Enchiladas & Kitchen Sink Brunswick Stew!

Boston Butts were on sale at the Teeter last week-- so naturally I got one, because we love pulled pork around our house!   Here is a link if you need to know what a boston butt is:  Boston Butt Link.  We also had a southern ice storm two days ago and have been stuck inside --- so I threw the Boston Butt in the crock pot and let it cook all day so we would have some options for lunch/dinner while we were trapped in the house!

I tried two improvised concoctions with it and wanted to share because I think they both turned out pretty good!

First-- if you have a boston butt-- just cook it on low for 8-10 hours in the crock pot.  Once it is done, remove the fat from the meat and shred the meat up well with two forks.   I put all the meat in a ziploc bag to use as I needed.

Boston Butt Recipe #1

The only picture I got of the enchiladas!!

Pulled Pork Enchiladas
(makes approx. 6 enchiladas)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups pulled pork
• 1 can rotel
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• (6) corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I used Daiya Vegan Cheese so my little one could eat them!)

Method:

• Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
• I have a Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker so I used that for the recipe.  (Here is the link to my post on the DCB and how to get one!)My recipe inspiration is also a Pampered Chef recipe called "Easy Enchiladas" that uses chicken-- (check it out.)  I placed the pulled pork and can of rotel in my deep covered baker (you can also use a casserole dish 11 x 7 size would work well.  I covered the pork/rotel and placed in microwave for 5 minutes on high.
• Remove the dish from the micro and drain excess juice out of the pork/rotel.
• Next add 1/8 of the enchilada sauce to the pork/rotel and mix together.  
• Push pork/rotel mixture to one end of the dish (leaving space to start placing the tortillas.)
• Hold corn tortilla in hand and fill with pork mixture.  Roll tortilla and place in casserole seam side down.  Repeat with remainder of pork mixture/tortillas.
• Top tortillas with remainder of enchilada sauce.  
• Top tortillas with cheese.
• Cover and bake 15 minutes covered, and then 10 minutes uncovered.  *If you are using your PC Deep Covered Baker you can opt to put this in microwave for 6 minutes instead of oven.

Top with Sour Cream!  ENJOY

Boston Butt Recipe #2

This one really was a "throw what you have in the kitchen in the crock pot type of recipe-- but I thought it turned out delicious and it was PERFECT for a cold icy day!

Kitchen Sink Brunswick Stew

(makes approximately 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups pulled pork
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 large sweet onion diced
• olive oil
• 3/4 cup peas (frozen or canned)
• 2 cans creamed corn
• (2) 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
• 2.5 cups Beef Broth (I used reduced Sodium)
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3Tbs Red Wine Vinegar (If I had Apple Cider Vinegar in pantry I would have used that-- either way I think it would be good!)
• 3 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tsp Onion Powder
• 1 Tsp Paprika
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Method:

• Dice carrots, celery and onion.  Heat 1tsp olive oil over medium heat in skillet.  Add carrots, celery and onions and cook until soft, stirring frequently. (approx 10 minutes)
• While vegetables are cooking- place rest of ingredients in large slow cooker.  Pork, peas, creamed corn, diced tomatoes, beef broth, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, worc. sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and black pepper.  Mix well.
• Once vegetables are soft transfer to slow cooker- mix well.
• Cook on low 7-8 hours.

*I plan on freezing the leftovers of this stew for another day!!  It will definitely freeze well!

ENJOY!

Slow Cooker Steak Tacos

I had a London Broil in the fridge that I needed to use up--- and I was in the mood for some sort of shredded beef tacos/carne asada.  I don't think I had ever put a London Broil in the crock pot before but I figured it couldn't turn out TOO BAD... right?   

It ended up being really good! 

Here is what I did:


Slow Cooker Steak Tacos

Ingredients:

• 2-3 Ibs of Beef (You could use london broil, roast, steak, stew meat)
• 3 Tbsp Chili Powder
• 1.5 Tbsp Cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 12 oz bottle of dark beer
• 1 sweet onion
• 3 jalepeno peppers
• 2 tsp oregano

Method:

1. First I combined the Chili Powder, Cumin, Cayenne Pepper, Lime Juice, Salt and Garlic in a ziploc bag-- I mashed it around well to combine it, and it had a paste like consistency.  
2. Next I added the beef to the bag and coated it really well on all sides with the paste.
3. Throw the beef/bag in the fridge overnight to marinate.
4. The next morning -- put the beef in the crockpot, chop up the (3) jalepenos (discard the seeds), cut the onion into 8-10 pieces, sprinkle the 2 tsp oregano on top and dump in the 12 oz bottle of beer. 
5. Cook on LOW for 6-8 Hours.
6. Once beef is tender/cooked, shred with two forks and add back to the sauce in the crockpot-- mix well.
7. Serve on your choice of tortilla (we used corn tortillas) and top with cheese, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, black beans ect!    (We also ate these as leftovers on top of chips to make nachos!  YUM)

*Leftovers freeze well to eat at a later date also!

ENJOY~
Melissa

Freezer Cooking #3 - Sauce-a-Palooza!!

My Freezer!

We are about a month and a half away from baby boys due date and I decided it was about time to stock up the freezer with some easy to "pull out & serve" meals!  Some of my favorite fall recipes are my moms which include her Spaghetti Sauce, Beef Stroganoff and her Homemade Marinara.   I decided to have an afternoon of cooking last weekend to prep all these sauces and I ended up with 19 "bags" of sauce!!

It is sooo easy to pull out a sauce and defrost it in the sink for 20 minutes and then transfer to a pot to warm while the noodles are cooking so I figured stocking up on these "comfort meals" would be perfect for once baby is here and for the cool fall/winter weather!

As I pointed out in my Freezer Cooking # 2 post,  I prepare my “bags” to be for “2 servings.”  Since there are only 2 of us eating…this helps with waste & portion control.  If you will be serving more than 2 people with your freezer meals then you can cut the # of bags I tell you to prep for each sauce in half so that each bag has more sauce. ( i.e. – I will tell you to label 6 bags for “spaghetti sauce”, these bags will have enough for 2-3 servings each in them when the prepared sauce is divided equally between them, so if you would like your bags to have 4-6 servings, then divide the sauce evenly between 3 bags instead of 6.)

Also, I will be using my FoodSaver system to seal/store all of the sauces.  For the sake of the instructions and so no one gets confused I will still refer to everything as “bags.”  For this round of recipes you will need quart sized freezer bags if you follow my instructions how they are OR gallon sized bags if you are increasing serving sizes to (4).   

Here is the menu for Freezer Cooking Round 3 “Sauce-A-Palooza”:

·         Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce  (6)

·         Beef Stroganoff  (6)

·         Tomato Marinara Sauce  (7)

Here is my grocery list:  (don’t be alarmed!  The list looks a bit long but most of the ingredients were already in my cabinet and are probably in yours!  Everything in italics was already in my cabinet.   Compare this list to your cabinets and cross out the items you won’t need to buy at the store. =)  )
Fresh Produce:

·          Sweet Onions (7 small) I bought a “bag” of sweet onions- it was less $

·          Head of Garlic (1)

·          Fresh Sliced Mushrooms (24 oz)

Meat:

·          2.5 pounds Ground Beef

·          4-5 Ibs Beef Sirloin Tips ( I buy steaks and cut them down into tips/strips - less expensive!)   

Grocery:

·          ¾ cup Butter (1.5 sticks)

·          4.5 cups Beef Broth

·          Worcestershire Sauce

·          Flour

·          Sour Cream (This is added to the Beef Stroganoff LATER when you defrost it and are ready to eat so you may not want to buy this yet!)

·          Yellow Mustard

·          Tomato Paste ( 7)- 12 oz cans

·          Crushed Tomatoes (4) – 28 oz cans

·          20 oz Chicken Broth

·          32 oz can Tomato Sauce

·          Diced Tomatoes (2)-32 oz cans

·          1.5 cups milk

·          ½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

·          6 Eggs

·          6 Slices White Bread

·          White Sugar

·          Oregano Leaves

·          Bay Leaf (2)

·          Salt & Pepper

·          Garlic Salt

·          Parsley Flakes

·          Flour

·          Dried Basil

·          Vegetable Oil & Olive Oil

·          Freezer Bags

Don't worry!  I recycle!!

·          *You may also want to go ahead and buy a couple of packages of spaghetti noodles & egg noodles to have on hand for when you thaw the sauces- I usually stock up when they are on sale & when I have coupons*

Of course, once you get everything home and you are ready to cook put it on the counter and admire what you are about to do!! =) 

I label everything with name, date and instructions BEFORE I start:

·          Mom’s Spaghetti (6 bags):  Thaw in Fridge or Sink, Heat & Serve over Noodles

·          Beef Stroganoff (6 bags):  Thaw in Fridge or Sink, Heat, Add 8 oz Sour Cream before serving over Egg Noodles

·          Tomato Marinara (7 bags):  Thaw in Fridge or Sink, Heat & Serve over Chicken Parmesan, Noodles OR make Baked Ziti.

Now it’s time to get started on the sauces!

1.      First, you want to assess your “pot” situation.  You will need (3) LARGE pots to make these sauces.  I only have (2) large pots so I actually ended up prepping the marinara in (1) large pot and then transferred it into my 3qt and 5qt crock pots to simmer while the spaghetti sauce & beef stroganoff occupied the pots on the stove.   Get  your pots/crockpots ready on the counter/stove.

2.      Prep the meat for the Beef Stroganoff:  Make sure the beef sirloin is cut into strips or tips and place in a large bowl.  Coat evenly with ¾ cup flour, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper.  Set aside.

3.      In Marinara Pot warm 2 tbsp olive iil.  In Beef Stroganoff Pot melt ¾ cup butter and in Spaghetti Pot warm 2 tbsp vegetable oil.  **MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT LET ANY OF THESE BURN!* Keep on LOW HEAT until you are ready to add onion.  (If you will be using crock pots like I did for the Marinara Sauce then hold off on Spaghetti instructions until Marinara is transferred to crock pots.)

4.      Next, chop all 7 onions- I have an onion chopper I used for this which made things a little easier.   You will want to distribute (3) of the chopped onions into the melted butter/Beef Stroganoff pot, (2) of the chopped onions into the Marinara pot and (2) of the chopped onions into the Spaghetti Pot.  Also, at this time add the beef tips coated in flour to the Beef Stroganoff pot.  Add (6)cloves garlic minced to the Marinara Pot.  Sauté all onions until translucent.  Sauté beef & onions in Beef Stroganoff pot until beef is cooked through.

5.      Once Onions are done it is time to assemble the sauces:

a.       Marinara Sauce Pot:

                                                   i.       Add 4- 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes

                                                 ii.       Add 20 oz chicken broth

                                               iii.       Add 32 oz tomato sauce

                                               iv.      Add 36 ounces tomato paste

                                                 v.      Add 3 tbsp oregano

                                               vi.      Add 3 tbsp basil

                                             vii.      Add 2 tsp salt

                                           viii.      Add ½ tsp pepper

                                               ix.      Add ½ cup sugar (or more to taste)

                                                 x.      Mix all together well and simmer for 1.5 hours OR transfer to crock pots at this time to simmer.

b.      Beef Stroganoff Pot:

                                                   i.      Add 4.5 cups beef broth

                                                 ii.      Add 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

                                               iii.      Add 2 tbsp yellow mustard

                                               iv.      Add 6 oz tomato paste

                                                 v.      Add 24 oz sliced mushrooms

                                               vi.      Mix all together well and simmer 1.5 hours  

c.       Spaghetti Pot:

                                                   i.      Add 36 oz tomato paste

                                                 ii.      Add 64 oz diced tomatoes

                                               iii.      Add 1 tbsp oregano leaves

                                               iv.      Add (2) bay leafs

                                                 v.      Add ½ cup sugar (or more to taste)

                                               vi.      Add 2 cups water

                                             vii.      Mix all together well and simmer 1.5 hours  *if it seems to thick, add more water*

6.      While Sauces are simmering, you will need to prep the “meat” part of the spaghetti sauce.  In a bowl mix the following ingredients together:

a.       2-2.5 pounds of ground beef

b.      1.5 cups milk

c.       1 tsp pepper

d.      ½ cup parmesan cheese

e.       6 eggs (beaten with fork)

f.         6 slices white bread torn into tiny pieces

g.       1 tsp garlic salt

h.      2 tsp parsley flakes

Brown the above ingredients in a skillet well.    Add to Spaghetti Sauce pot after sauce has simmered at least an hour- mix well and let simmer an additional 30 minutes.

Once all sauce has simmered for 1.5 hours- let cool before placing in bags.

Distribute sauces evenly amongst # of prepped bags.

I usually put them in the freezer stacked as flat as possible on top of each other for easy storing.

Here is how I typically serve my sauces:
Spaghetti Sauce:  Typically I just serve this over plain ole’ spaghetti noodles with salad & garlic bread.
Beef Stroganoff:   I serve this over egg noodles with some sort of bread.
Marinara Sauce:  I use this for all sorts of things!  You can make baked ziti with it, serve it plain over noodles, over frozen ravioli or manicotti and my favorite way to serve this is over chicken parmesan.

ENJOY!!!