The past several months I’ve been working on my blog with the last few puffs of energy I have at the end of the day. In the midst of diapers, kindergarten prep, a traveling Hubby, trying to lose weight and freelancing, my blog gets a little lost.

It’s sad really because She’sWrite gives me much joy. Soooo, I’m moving it up on the priority list and as part of that I am introducing a new feature. It’s called… wait for it… no really, wait. It’s catchy, it’ll be worth the wait:

Tasty Tuesdays

Pretty snazzy, eh? Don Draper, eat your heart out! OK, OK, so the title’s not *that* fantastic, nevertheless the content will be. I have several posts about restaurants we’ve visited or recipes I’ve tried and yet they haven’t made it to my blog. So I decided to create a home for these food-related posts: Tasty Tuesdays. There likely won’t be food-related posts on every Tuesday, but they will be here with some regularity. So let’s begin shall we?
For my inaugural Tasty Tuesdays post, I’d like to introduce Mary Whalen. She’s the founder of AH Moms, an online community for moms in suburban Chicago. She’s here to share her recipe on a freezer meal, something that can be a sanity-saver for time-strapped mamas.

Not Your Everyday Chili

Once in a while grass fed ground beef is on sale at Whole Foods.  When it is, I grab a few pounds and do some freezer cooking. One of my favorite freezer meals is chili, since 1) it freezes well, and 2) I easily can adapt recipes make them a little healthier.

My Favorite Chili Recipe

 

When I started searching for a good chili recipe, I thought that a good strategy would be to find the winner of a chili cookoff.  The recipe I ended up finding uses three kinds of beans, yellow or orange peppers, and chipotles in Adobo sauce (I could eat that Adobo sauce on its own!)

• 2lbs ground chuck or round
• 3 -4 tbs chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 yellow/orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1-2 Jalapenos, finely chopped
• 1 can of Kidney Beans
• 1 can Great Northern or Canelinni Beans
• 1 can of black beans
• 3 cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 small can chopped mild green chili peppers
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 t or so of Chopped Chipotles in Adobo
•  1 bottle of dark beer
• 1 cup cooked millet (take 1/2 cup uncooked millet and add 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 20 min)

 

1. Cook the meat in a large pot, seasoning with about ¾ of the chili powder, cumin. When browned, dump into a bowl, and set aside for now.
2. Saute onions and bell peppers in some oil in the pot.  When they start to become translucent, add the chopped Jalapeno and the garlic and sautee for another minute or so.
3. Dump in remaining chili powder and cumin to coat everything. Cook for a minute or so, making sure the mixture doesn’t burn.
4. Dump in the rest of the ingredients, and return the meat to the pot.
5. Cover and let simmer for about 45 min to an hour.
6. Add the cooked millet, and let simmer uncovered for 10-15 min.  Adjust seasoning if needed.

Alternatives

There are a couple recipes I use that are similar to chili (tomato based, ground beef stews) that I think of as chili-with-a-twist:

• Texas Straw Hats – The main flavorings are ketchup (which the kids love) and Worstershire.  There also is tabasco sauce, which you can adjust to your taste.
• Picadillo – I’m addicted to this Cuban dish that can be served as a stew or as an empanada filling.  Cinnamon, green olives, and capers give it a unique flavor that somehow works.

Healthy Cooking Tips

When cooking chili or similar dishes, you can make them healthier by…

• Adding beans – If a recipe does not call for beans (or even if it does), you can replace some of the meat with beans.
• Using no salt beans – Whole Foods has both an organic and conventional (non-organic) canned bean, some stores like Jewel also carry the organic brand, and you always could cook dry beans without salt.
• Using no salt tomatoes – – Whole Foods has both an organic and conventional canned diced tomatoes and some stores also carry the organic brand. If it’s the right season, you can try using fresh.
• Adding extra veges – Though veggies like carrots or corn make the flavor of regular chili too sweet for my taste, celery is one that works for me.
• Adding quinoa – You probably have heard of quinoa, the latest superfood. It’s a high protein grain that you can cook and add to stews, soups, and other dishes to boost the nutrition content. I add a half cup or so cooked to an average recipe.
• Serving over brown rice or whole wheat macaroni – Especially if you’re accustomed to eating chili or these other recipes with chips, a whole grain is a healthier option.

Do you have any favorite chili recipes?  Any tips for making your chili healthier?  I hope that you’ll share them.

Mary Whalen is the founder of AH Moms, an online community for moms who live in the Chicago northwest suburbs. She has two preschool-aged daughters and has a background as a technical writer and training developer.  Since Mary started AH Moms last year, the site has grown to over 500 members who post questions and share tips, find moms groups, and share information on activities, programs, and resources for kids. AH Moms is open to any mom who has young children and is free to join.

For further information or to contact Mary, visit ArlingtonHeightsMoms.com or find AH Moms on Facebook as Northwest Suburbs Moms.