Tri-bean Chili

Tri-bean Chili

Yield: 6-8 servings

Kristen W.

1 lb. ground turkey or ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, rinsed and drained (or kidney, but pinto is better!)

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles

1-2 c. broth (chicken, beef, or veggie)
1/2 c. dry quinoa (optional, but delicious)

2 +/- TB chili powder

dash of cinnamon

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. pepper

Cook and stir turkey and onion in a skillet over medium heat until cooked through. Drain. Add remaining ingredients and cook, long enough for the quinoa to turn clear and the beans to start cracking open. Remove from heat and serve with sour cream, cheese, avocado, chips, etc.

**When I double the recipe I only add 1 7 oz. can chiles, and add 1 can kidney AND 1 can pinto beans and turn it into quad-bean chili!

**Remove ground meat for filling a vegan option

**You can also transfer the meat to a CrockPot, add remaining ingredients, cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.

Sweet ‘n Sour Meatball Sauce

Sweet ‘n Sour Meatball Sauce

Adapted from OBB

Yield: Sauce for 14-16 meatballs (I like the frozen kind from Costco)

     **Sometimes I do 1.5x the recipe for more sauce, especially if I add stir fried veggies to the mix

¾ c. packed brown sugar

3 TB flour

1 ½ c. water, pineapple juice, or crushed pineapple

¾ c. white vinegar

3 TB soy sauce

Whisk ingredients together in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add meatballs and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often (add more water if it gets too thick or loses too much moisture). Serve with white or jasmine rice, side of stir fried vegetables.

**You can also make up the sauce and throw it in a CrockPot with frozen meatballs for a few hours!

Peach Cobbler (Snickerdoodle version)

Peach Cobbler (Snickerdoodle version)

Kathy W.

Yield: 9x13

Fruit:

Put as much fruit as you want in the pan (about 10 peaches, sliced, for a 9x13).

¼ c. sugar

2-3 TB flour

¼-1/3 c. brown sugar (enough to cover fruit lightly)

3 TB butter

2 TB lemon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

With fruit in baking dish, sprinkle with sugar and flour and stir. Cover lightly with brown sugar and dot with butter. Add lemon juice and nutmeg.

Cobbler crust topping:

2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Sift together and add (both at once):

1 c milk

½ c. butter

Beat smooth and pour over fruit mixture. Mix 3 TB sugar and some nutmeg and sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 350 for 30-32 minutes or until knife inserted in crust comes out clean. Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream.

Broccoli Cauliflower Soup (cream-less)

Broccoli Cauliflower Cheese Soup (cream-less)

From “foodie and the fix” (via Jenn)

Yield: 4 – 1.5 c. servings

2 tsp butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 c. carrots (about 2 medium)

4 c. low sodium chicken broth

4 c. broccoli, roughly chopped

2 c. broccoli, chopped into small pieces

2 c. cauliflower, roughly chopped

½ tsp. salt

Pepper, to taste

1 1/3 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a large pot, melt butter and add onions and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften (they’ll finish cooking later)

Next, add the 4 c. roughly chopped broccoli, cauliflower, ½ tsp. salt and the broth. Cover and simmer until veggies are very soft (you can mash them against the side)

Meanwhile, cook the 2 c. broccoli that has been chopped.

Once veggies in the pot are done cooking, blend them until you have your desired consistency (I like using an immersion blender and leaving it a bit chunky).

Turn heat to low, add shredded cheese and remaining broccoli. If it’s too thick for you, add broth until you reach desired consistency.  Add pepper to taste and serve. (serve with warm bread!)

Quinoa Enchiladas

Quinoa Enchiladas!

Kristen W.
Yield: one 9x13

2 cups dry quinoa

10 oz. green enchilada sauce

10 oz. red (mild) enchilada sauce

2 cans (about 9 oz. total) chopped green chiles

1 c. frozen corn (could also be canned, drained)

1 can black beans (drained, rinsed) …sometimes I do 2 cans

1-2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I do mine with salt and pepper and chili powder)

1 tsp cumin

1-2 tsp chili powder (more for some spice)

1 ½ c. cheese (I like half cheddar half mozarella)

½ c. cheese (for the top)

***

Cilantro, avocado, sour cream, tomato, chips, etc. (serve with)

***

Cook quinoa according to pkg directions (2 c. water to 1 c. quinoa)

If cooking and not freezing, preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa, enchilada sauces, green chiles, corn, black beans, cumin and chili powder. Stir in the 1 ½ c. cheese. (Add salt, pepper, cumin, or chili powder to taste if needed)

Spread quinoa mixture in a 9x13 baking dish and top with remaining cheese.

For cooking right away, place in oven until it’s bubbly and cheese is melted, about 15-20 minutes.

If freezing, cover with foil or lid. When baking, either defrost or plan on about 1.5-2 hours in the oven if you stick it straight in from the freezer.

TOP with chopped cilantro, avocado, sour cream, tomato, chips, etc.

Healthy Freezer Burritos

We wanted to make some freezer burritos for to-go lunches, but wanted to make it a little healthier than beans, rice, and cheese. After compiling a bunch of ideas from different recipes and websites, we kind of tried a little bit of everything. Here are the ingredients we found, and tried, and they passed the delicious test...

Sauteed broccoli bits 
         - break a fresh broccoli crown into small-ish pieces, saute with diced red onion and add some cumin

Roasted cauliflower
         - break a head of cauliflower into pretty small pieces and toss with a little olive oil and chili powder. Roast at 400 for about 20 minutes (depending on size of pieces and your oven)

Quinoa
         - Substitute out the rice and use quinoa instead! For about 40 burritos we use about 2 cups uncooked. But you could probably do a little more if you really like quinoa

Kale...yes, kale. Even though we rarely like it, it was good this way!
         - chop into tiny pieces (we used a chopper thing that made each piece a little smaller than a pea) and saute with a tiny bit of oil, diced red onion, and garlic powder

Sauteed zucchini
         - Just dice it up into 1/2" squares, throw it in a pan, saute with a tiny bit of oil and some chili powder

Sweet potato home-fries
         - Dice up a sweet potato (we like the pieces pretty small, like 1/2"), add a finely chopped jalapeno if you like, toss with a tiny bit of oil and garlic powder, cook on a baking sheet at 450 for about 20 minutes, depending on the size of your pieces.

Spinach eggs
         - We have spinach cubes, which is a ton of spinach blended up pretty finely, and then frozen in ice cube trays. Add them to scrambled eggs for some veggies in your eggs without changing the texture too much.

Healthier sausage/meat
        - cook up some ground turkey:
                       spicy: with diced jalepeno, onion, and a ton of chili powder, kind of make a sausage flavor
                       multi-purpose: cook up with garlic, diced onion,
                       Taco flavored: taco seasoning, garlic, onions, etc.

Feta cheese
        - a tiny bit adds a lot of flavor

Cilantro
       - chop and add to your mixing bowl. no cooking required

Tomatillo/verde salsa
        - we just got the store brand and added it, great way to add moisture and some flavor without taking over the entire flavor of the burrito, like red salsa would

Beans
        - any kind...black, pinto, kidney, and refried are our favorites to combine! Drain and rinse.

COMBINATIONS WE'VE TESTED:

"VERDE"
1-2 c. cooked Quinoa, 1 can black beans, 1 can pinto beans, 1/2 c. sauteed kale, 1 1/2 c. sauteed broccoli, 1 c. roasted cauliflower, handful of shredded cheese, 1/4-1/2 c. feta cheese, about 1 c. verde salsa, cilantro

"SOUTHWEST"
1-2 c. cooked Quinoa, 1 can black beans, 1 c. sauteed zucchini, 1 c. roasted cauliflower, cilantro, red salsa, handful of cheese,



TIP-
Cook all ingredients and leave them in the fridge overnight or let them fully cool. If you use warm ingredients your burrito will be a runny mess when you reheat it!
Roll up in wheat tortillas that are soft and pliable. Once rolled, roll the burrito up in a sheet of aluminum foil and label which kind of burrito it is if you made multiple combinations.

Pumpkin Apple Soup

Pumpkin Apple Soup

Kathy W.

Yield: 6 servings

 

¼ c. butter

2 onions, sliced

2 c. water

4 tsp/cubes chicken bouillon

2 tsp/cubes beef bouillon

2 cans pumpkin (30 oz. total)

3 apples- peeled, cored, sliced

¼ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. nutmeg

Melt butter in a large pot. Add onions and cook until translucent (about 3 mins). Add stock, pumpkin, and apples. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered until apples are soft – between 1-1.5 hours. Add pepper and nutmeg for the last half hour or so. Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Pour soup through food processor or blender (immersion blenders don't fully blend it). Can Serve as is or with mix-ins: cooked chicken, roasted broccoli/cauliflower, roasted potatoes, etc.

Serve warm with bread, rolls, etc.