30 Minute Chili and Awesome Cornbread

 

October is here and so is Fall!  Fall is my most favorite season!  I just love not having to run the air conditioning or furnace.  I love the smells and the leaves changing and on and on.  But what I really love most is the food!  Halloween candy, pumpkin stuff, donuts, hot chocolate and of course stews, soups and chili.  My oldest loves chili (she even takes chili for school lunch, Stagg is her favorite brand.) and so I am always looking for quick and easy chili recipes. I got this recipe from my Kraft Foods Food & Family Magazine (my most favorite piece of mail I get every other month).  The kids and I loved it and it made good leftovers also.   

 

I of course paired it with my most favorite cornbread on earth!  My friend Wendy (aka Wendy the Wreath Fairy) shared this recipe with me last Christmas and I can't stop making it!

 

30-Minute Chili Mac

What You Need

1lb. extra-lean ground beef

2tsp. chili powder

1-1/2cups water

1can (15.5 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed

1can (15 oz.) tomato sauce

1 cup Salsa

3/4 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked

1 cup Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese or whatever cheese you like

Make It

BROWN meat with chili powder in large saucepan.

ADD all remaining ingredients except cheese; mix well.

BRING to boil; cover. Simmer on low heat 15 min., stirring after 8 min. Serve topped with cheese.

 

Awesome Cornbread

 

3/4 c. margarine

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. sugar

1 c. corn flour (Not cornmeal, most say corn flour.  I use Bob's Red Mill Brand.)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 can evaporated milk

2 c. white flour

Combine margarine sugar and corn flour in a bowl and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan or mini bread pans are fun also. Bake at 350 for approx. 30 min.

 

Lilla Rose has also added some new hair sticks and a hair band this week.  So pretty!

Also this month is an adorable Owl Flexi Clip.  This cute thing sold out in 2 days!  Should be more available after the 16th of this month.

Weigh-in Week 10

Just a couple more weeks until our Biggest Loser competition will come to an end.  Brian and I lost some of our steam this week, didn't keep track of our eating every day and those dang Girls Scouts and there yummy cookies.  Also I fell prey to Girl Scout Samoa Ice Cream in the store!  We also have been busy with family and things around the house. 

William has been diagnosed with torticollis, sounds bad, but it is easily taken care of.  William likes to look to his left and use his left hand all the time.  He also slumps to his right, his weaker side when he is tired.  We are taking him to physical therapy and helping more with his mobility.  Since he likes his left so much his skull has shifted slightly in his head and has made a flat spot and moved his facial features a bit.  William will be getting a helmet to sport for a couple months also.  He is such a content good baby and this situation creeped up on us.  We visited our pediatrician and a neurologist and they all said, "He will grow out of it", "Or let's just wait and see"  We weren't happy with the wait and see approach and now hopefully all of these things will help him out.

We also have started a small remodel on our kitchen (pictures coming soon).  We got new counter tops installed a few days ago and a deep nice sink.  Next we are going to shine up the cabinets, paint the walls, add a tile backsplash and maybe some new hardware.  Can't wait!

So back to the weigh-in, even though we splurged a little here and there and didn't exercise everyday we still did pretty good.

WEIGH-IN WEEK 10

Katrina lost 3 pounds!  Total pounds lost 11!

Brian lost 2 pounds!  Total pounds lost 16!

We also tried this soup recipe a week or so ago.  My friend Elisa shared this with me on face book and I had to give it a try.  It was pretty good for how simple and inexpensive it was.  I made sure and bought all low sodium ingredients.

5 Ingredient Soup

1 Can Fat Free Refried Beans
1 Can Chicken Broth
1 Can corn
1 Can black beans (sometimes I use the ones with jalapenos and lime for a different twist)
1 Can diced tomatoes

Directions

Rinse the black beans and put in a pot with the other ingredients. Cook until refried beans are no longer thick and soup is hot. Ladle some up and enjoy it today! Delicious!!

Recipe adapted from SparkPeople

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 10
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 141.5

• Total Fat: 1.0 g
• Cholesterol: 0.5 mg
• Sodium: 616.8 mg
• Total Carbs: 25.0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 7.6 g
• Protein: 9.3 g47

Turkey Recipes and Weigh-in

I have started cooking more with ground turkey and it really tastes great.  I don't know why I  didn't use it more, at my grocery story it is only fifty cents more per pound than hamburger.  I guess I also thought it would be dry in recipes, but it isn't.  I have attached a few turkey recipes below for you to try. 

Also on Thursday was our weigh-in with the Grows.

Katrina gained 1 pound  Total lost 3 pounds

Brian lost 7 pounds!  Total lost 9 pounds!  Brian is the biggest loser this weigh-in!

All of these recipes is from a blog called Skinnytaste.  It is an awesome new blog I found with lots of great lower calories recipes.  She has some really easy recipes with most ingredients you would have on hand and makes eating healthy a lot easier. 

Turkey Chili Taco Soup
Servings: 9 Size: 1-1/4 Cups

Calories: 198.8 • Fat: 1.4 g • Carb: 29.7 g • Fiber: 7.0 g • Protein: 19.5 g

• 1.3 lbs 99% lean ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 10 oz can rotel tomatoes with green chilies
• 15 oz canned or frozen corn, drained
• 15 oz kidney beans, drained
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 16 oz fat free refried beans
• 1 packet taco seasoning (you can use 40& less sodium)
• 2 1/2 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth

In a large pot, brown turkey on medium heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. When cooked through, add onions and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, corn, beans, tomato sauce, refried beans, taco seasoning and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer about 10-15 minutes.

Serve with a few baked tortilla chips and your favorite toppings such as low fat sour cream, jalapeños, reduced fat cheese, chopped scallions, onions, or chopped fresh cilantro. Freeze leftovers in individual portions for future meals

Skinny Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Servings: 8 • Size: 1 patty with mushroom gravy 
Calories: 202.8 • Fat: 7.8 g • Protein: 21.7 g • Carb: 10 g • Fiber: 1.2 g • Sugar: 1.7 g
Sodium: 524.7 mg

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tsp oil
• 3/4 cup onions, minced
• 1 lbs 93% lean ground beef
• 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper, to taste
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, to taste
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1/4 cup water
• chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions:


Sauté onions in oil over medium heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl,

combine

half of the sautéed onions, ground beef, ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, egg white, 1/4 cup beef broth, salt and black pepper.

Shape

into 8 oval patties.

In a large deep skillet over medium-high heat,

brown

both sides of patties.

Set aside

on a dish.

Add mushrooms to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and sauté 2-3 minutes.

Return patties to the skillet with the mushrooms.

In a small bowl, blend flour and remaining broth until smooth. Mix in remaining onions, tomato paste, vinegar, water, worcestershire sauce and mustard powder.

Pour over meat and mushrooms in skillet.

Cover

and

cook

on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over potatoes or a low carb creamy caulifower

NOTE :  I did not want 8 servings, so I halved the meat part of the recipe.  I used one pound of ground turkey and no hamburger.  I halved the onion, breadcrumbs and used just one egg.   I didn't half the gravy part. 

Creamy Cauliflower Purée 
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 3/4 cup

Calories: 60.7 • Fat: 2.4 g • Protein: 3.7 g • Carb: 8.6 g • Fiber: 4.2 g

Ingredients:

• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut up into florets
• 4 cloves crushed garlic
• 1/3 cup 1% buttermilk (used a low fat sour cream)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp light butter

Directions:

Steam or boil cauliflower and garlic until soft. Drain, add buttermilk, light butter, salt, pepper and purée with a hand blender or food processor.

Vegetable Chowder

When it is a cold, winter day this chowder will fill your belly and warm your body. This recipe comes from my sister-in-law Denise and I am always reminded of her when I make it. Vegetable Chowder

2 cups diced potatoes

1 cup sliced or diced carrots

1/2 cup celery

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups boiling water

Put all above ingredients in large pot and simmer until vegetables are tender. Do not drain water.

Sauce

1/4 cup margarine

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

In a separate sauce pan combine margarine and flour, stir until thick; then add milk. Stir until sauce thickens.

After sauce is thick add to pot of vegetables also add....

10 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

1 can of cream corn

Stir until heated, but do not boil.

Sensational Chicken Noodle Soup

On a cold fall/winter day or when you are feeling a little under the weather it is so nice to eat a nice bowl of chicken noodle soup. I love soup and I am very disappointed with canned soups lately, they either are flavorless or are too salty. This recipe is so easy and tastes so good you will never open a can of soup again.

*I learned a little tip from a pampered chef party that I had. If you have the large micro-cooker you can actually cook two boneless chicken breasts in the microwave for 7 minutes and they are fabulous. I have also used canned chicken breast in this recipe if you are in a pinch.

Sensational Chicken Noodle Soup

4 cups Swanson Chicken Broth (Regular, Natural Goodness™ or Certified Organic)
Generous dash ground black pepper
1 medium carrot, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1 stalk celery, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup uncooked extra wide egg noodles
1 cup shredded cooked chicken or turkey

Directions:

Heat the broth, black pepper, carrot and celery in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil.

Stir the noodles and chicken into the saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes or until the noodles are tender.

Soups On!

Fall is finally here and it is starting to finally feel like fall. Fall is one of my most favorite seasons. When I think of fall I think of soup. This is Aria's most all time favorite meals I make. She asks for it even on her Birthday! I really like this soup also and I call it a dump recipe, you just dump everything in and it is done.
Taco Soup

1 lb. hamburger

1 small onion, chopped

1 can chili

1 can corn, not drained

1 can stewed tomatoes, not drained

1 can tomato sauce

1 can kidney beans, not drained

1 package taco seasoning

In large dutch oven brown hamburger and onion, drain. Add taco seasoning, blend completely. Dump in the rest of the ingredients and 2 cups of water. Stir together and heat on low until it starts to boil and simmer for 2 hours. Serve with grated cheese and tortilla chips.