The BEST Chili EVER!

I seriously cannot say enough about this chili! It is soooo good! Anyone who knows me will tell you that I really am not a big fan of chili. Especially because I am freaky about the meat in it. It's always chewy, or the consistency is wrong - runny with chunks of meat - ugh!! I can handle it when it's on a potato, but to just eat it plain in a bowl - no way!

But this recipe looked really good, and it's homemade so I control what's in it. ;) It was so good and hearty, with the PERFECT consistency, and I added a little spiciness to it also. Yummm! 

I ate it over a potato, and then had a bowl of it as well. Talk about over-eating! haha

It made a TON - so we saved it and I just threw it all in the slow cooker 2 days later. STILL DELICIOUS! 

So hurry and go make this before winter is over! You won't regret it. :)

Ingredients:

2 lbs. lean ground beef, browned and drained

3 green peppers, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 TBS minced garlic

1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans, drained

1 (15 oz) can Ranch Style beans

1 (15oz) can Italian stewed tomatoes

2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce

1 (10 oz) can Rotel, or diced tomatoes with green chilis 

1 pkg McCormick chili seasoning

Secret Ingredient: crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (It's hard to tell - I just sprinkled a bit on top, and mixed it in & it was perfect.)

Directions:

While ground beef is browning - chop peppers, onion, and celery. Add all ingredients to a large pot or slow cooker. Simmer for a few hours. If you use a slow cooker, you could keep it on low most of the day if you wanted. (Mine cooked a little too hot on the stove, and burned a little on the bottom. Ugh!)

Note: If you like your chili really spicy, add a medium Rotel, hotter chili seasoning packet and/or more crushed red pepper flakes. Mine was pretty spicy though. ;)

This also makes amazing leftovers, and I think I will be freezing the rest. 

Enjoy!

Monterey Chicken

This was a throw together last minute meal.  It turned out so good!  My husband said this was one of his favorite meals.  So yummy!!

Ingredients:

2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs Weber's Kick'n Chicken seasoning
4-6 chicken breasts
1/4 c bbq sauce
1/4 c crumbled up cooked bacon
1 c Colby Jack cheese shredded
1 can 14 oz Rotel
2 sliced green onions

Directions:

Marinate chicken for 30-40 min in soy sauce and chicken seasoning.
Preheat oven to *400
Grill chicken 6-7 min each side or until done
Place chicken in a baking dish covered with foil

Top each chicken breast with 1Tbs bbq sauce, 1/4 c cheese, 1/4 c Rotel, green onions and 1 Tbs bacon. 

Place in oven and bake until cheese is melted.

Southwestern Egg Rolls

I have made these in the past, but didn't have the sauce and they were....okay.  But I recently made them again - this time with the sauce and they were DELICIOUS!!  The sauce really added a little something. 

I don't even like ranch, which is probably why I was nervous to try the sauce.  All the flavors really come together - my kids really liked it too.  We had sooo much sauce left over!  You might want to half the recipe, or use the ranch sauce for something else.  I bet it would be really good on a salad!

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, cooked and diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/4 c. onion, diced
2 TBS green onion, diced
1 cup frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small can green chiles
1/2 TBS parsley
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
dash cayenne pepper
1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded (I used colby jack)
flour tortillas

Directions:
In large bowl, mix all ingredients together, including chicken. (Make sure it's been fully cooked.)
Saute all ingredients until fully cooked.

Remove from heat and add shredded cheese.  Mix well.  Warm tortillas and place 1/2 cup of mixture inside.  Fold up tightly and cook in a Panini or George Foreman grill until cheese is melted.  (I just cooked it in a frying pan like a grilled cheese.)

Slice and serve with sauce. YUM!

Avocado-Ranch Dipping Sauce
1c. ranch dressing
1 avocado, mashed
1 tsp minced onion
salt and pepper, to taste

Blend all ingredients together until creamy.

Bacon Cheeseburger Quesadillas

For some reason I have been craving hamburgers lately.  I am probably just craving the warmer weather and grilling outside.  (We were -17 degrees this morning!)
And because my grill is covered in 2 feet of snow, I was extremely excited when I came across this recipe for Bacon Cheeseburger Quesadillas!

 

They taste EXACTLY like hamburgers on the grill. One bite and my family was SOLD! haha :)  They are also low carb, and you can make them even healthier by using turkey bacon, ground turkey and low-fat cheese!

Recipe adapted from Plain Chicken
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
Tortillas
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
shredded cheddar cheese

toppings:
shredded lettuce
pickles
tomatoes
onions
mustard
mayo
ketchup

Directions:
Brown beef in large skillet, drain fat.  Add in seasonings and set aside.  (I cooked my bacon in the oven while I was browning the beef - soooo easy!)

Spray a large griddle, or skillet and lightly cook both sides of tortillas.  Add meat, cheese and bacon on one half of the tortilla.  Cook a minute or so longer until cheese starts to melt.

Remove to a plate, and add any toppings you prefer. Fold tortilla over and cut into sections.

We did ours this way, because no one wanted cooked toppings - whatever. haha  (If you don't want lettuce, and don't mind warm pickles, etc., you can always fold the top over while you are still cooking it, until everything is nice and melty.)

Either way, it's delicious - and you don't even have to brave the elements! Brrrrr!

Enjoy!

Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup

This soup is the same one I've made for my family a million times before, and they've never said a word about it.  The other night, I added chicken broth and cooked things in a little different order.  Suddenly they all LOVE it!

My oldest son asked if it was hard to make, because he wanted to have it alot more often. (Obviously my family knows I only cook really like recipes that are easy and fast.) Huh. Crazy.

That being said, this soup is really delicious, hearty, and pretty easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 c chopped onion
1 c chopped celery
2 c chopped carrots
2 TBS butter or margarine
6 c chicken broth
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 c milk
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pkg (16 oz) egg noodles
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Melt butter or margarine in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add vegetables and saute until just tender. (about 5 min)

Add chicken broth, and bring to a boil.  Add chicken breasts (I threw mine in frozen) and boil until chicken is cooked through.  Remove chicken, shred with forks and put back in pot.

Add milk, noodles, and cream of chicken soup. Simmer until noodles are tender.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

That's it! Enjoy!

Healthy Ice Cream

Okay, seriously - Is it already time to start eating healthy again??  I ate soooo bad over the holidays, and the one thing I ate a lot of was ice cream!  So when I started thinking about getting back to eating a healthier diet - I remembered this recipe.  I originally got this from Bill Phillips' Eating For Life. (An amazing book for healthy recipes!) 

Anyway, I used to make this "fake" ice cream all the time, but I had forgotten about it until recently.  It really does taste just like ice cream!

The secret ingredient is: frozen bananas!  That's it!  It's great because whenever you're bananas start to get a little over-ripe and you don't think you'll eat them - peel them and stick them in the freezer to use as ice cream later.

Ingredients:
1/2 c skim milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional, but hello? added protein!)
2 c frozen banana slices (about 2 medium bananas)

Toppings:
4 tsp sugar-free chocolate syrup
4 TBS fat-free whipped topping
2 tsp chopped nuts

Directions:
Pour skim milk into blender.  Add protein powder and blend on high speed for about 15 seconds.
Add frozen bananas and blend until smooth.

Serves 2

Note:  Immediately after blending, this resembles more of a soft-serve ice cream.  However, if you want to make it ahead of time and put it back in the freezer, it will firm up a bit more like regular ice cream.


Chunky Monkey Variation:

You can probably add all kinds of fruit and different things to this 'Healthy Ice Cream' recipe - but one of my favorites is the Chunky Monkey version.

Ingredients:
1/2 c skim milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (gotta add that protein in) haha :)
3 peeled and frozen bananas
2 TBS peanut butter
1/4 c chopped walnuts
2 TBS chocolate chips

Other Variations:
Strawberry Banana - Add frozen strawberries (I tried replacing the bananas with strawberries and it didn't turn out very well for me, so I just add them in with the bananas)

Tropical Blizzard - Add coconut and pecans

Chocolate Banana - Add sugar-free chocolate syrup - or - chocolate protein powder! (am I selling you the protein powder idea, yet?)

Well, I'm sure you get the idea.... :D
Get out there and experiment! (and let me know what you come up with)

Enjoy!

PROTEIN FORTIFIED WHOLE WHEAT WAFFLES

Okay, I know the title sounds healthy, and healthy usually means disgusting. I make these waffles all the time & my kids LOVE them! (they don't even know they're not from a Bisquick box)
I make a huge batch, freeze them & then just pop them in the toaster.
(In case you're wondering, they have only 10g of carbs, 6g of protein & only 98 cals a piece. yay!)

1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 egg whites
1 3/4 c skim milk
1/3 c canola oil
2 scoops whey protein powder (vanilla flavor)

Mix all ingredients together in blender for a couple minutes.
Bake in hot waffle maker until done.

Ham and Egg Wrap

This is a super easy breakfast alternative that you guys probably already know how to make but I just thought I would share it. :)

Ingredients:

1 whole egg
2 egg whites
3 slices Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Shaved Smoked Ham, chopped
1 whole wheat tortilla
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Beat whole egg, egg whites and ham until well blended. Heat nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add egg mixture; cook 3 min. or until set, stirring occasionally.

Spoon egg mixture down center of tortilla; top with cheese. Fold in opposite sides of tortilla, then roll up burrito-style.