Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 2/3 cup soaked dried black beans
• 2/3 cup soaked dried pinto beans
• 2/3 cup dried red beans
• 3/4 cup chopped carrots
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 chopped red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato sauce

Cooking Directions

1. Using the saute setting heat the oil and add cumin seeds, onion, and garlic. Saute until onions begin to caramelize.
2. Add the vegetable stock, then the next 12 ingredients.
3. Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes.
4. Do a natural release.
5. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. On the saute setting cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Add salt and top with cilantro.

• I found this is more of a beans dish, than a chili. Also it needs a lot of salt, and possibly more heat. 
• I think if I made it again I would add some crushed red pepper. 
• The large chunks of tomatoes weren't loved in my house. 
• I might modify in order that fresh tomatoes are used and put in before the pressure setting. 
• I always soak my beans for the Instant Pot. They come out much better. The one time I didn't they were too firm for my taste. 

Adapted from Instant Pot Cookbook by Monet Chapin. 

Spicy Franks and Beans

This is the happiest time of the year, unless you are shopping. At the grocery store this weekend I ran into multiple women who must be trying to do too many things on their to-do list. They not only looked frazzled, but they were more than a little snippy. Now if it was one or two people in the store I could understand. However, it was pretty much every woman except one. The one woman was very sweet and reminded me that not everyone is focused on doing too much at the expense of actually enjoying the holidays. I decided a couple of years back after I started snapping at my kids during most of the month of December, that I needed to stop trying to overdo Christmas. A simple Christmas is relaxing, and at the end of the day my kids love curling up and watching a movie with me as much as any over hyped Christmas toy that I spent multiple weekends searching for. So my Christmas gift list is already done, my meal plan is simple, and my Christmas card list is very short. I am also planning a few fun new Christmas adult drink recipes for my husband and I to enjoy on Christmas Eve after the kids go to bed. Being together and happy is the most important part of the season.

In the last month my fridge, oven, and toilet all broke in the same week. Needless to say I haven't had a lot of new recipe posts. Luckily everything is fixed now and Thanksgiving actually got on the table after having my oven prepared at 11:30 at night the day before. In December I try to make my meal plans simple and easy since there are so many other things to do and focus upon. The following recipe is for Spicy Franks and Beans.

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

Spicy Franks and Beans

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried black-eyed peas
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped sweet onions (about 2 small)
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 7 ounces small cooked smoked sausage links
• 7 ounces andouille sausage links, sliced
• 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 1/2 cups water

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Rinse black-eyed peas and spread on bottom of greased 3 quart baking dish.
3. Heat oil over medium heat in a 4 quart dutch oven.
4. Add celery, garlic, green pepper, and onion.
5. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes.
6. Add sausage slices and links and cook 2 minutes.
7. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and water and bring to a boil.
8. Pour tomato mixture oven beans and cover with foil.
9. Cook for 1 hour.
10. Stir and uncover.
11. Bake 45 minutes more, stirring 2-3 times.

Tips: 

• The total cooking time can vary. Check the beans 20 minutes after uncovering (step 10). They maybe done, or can take up to an additional 20 minutes. 
• My family loves sausage so oftentimes I use the entire package of small sausage links. I just make sure to add additional water so that nothing dries out. 
• If you like a little bit of heat this recipe is great with the addition of cayenne or chili powder. It would also work with a minced jalapeño (seeded or unseeded). 
• As a side or topping cornbread is great! 

Spiced Fava Bean Soup with Rice and Tomato

I am beginning to get a complex thanks to Pinterest. Apparently every woman except me has a recipe binder, feeds a family of 4 for 100 dollars a month, and keeps their house clean with only 15 minutes of work a day. I am lucky if I can find the recipe I am following for the day,  I don't even want to talk about my grocery budget (how much milk can two boys possibly drink!), and I laugh at the idea of cleaning only 15 minutes a day. That's hilarious, I clean pretty much from the time I get up until I go to bed, no joke. Most days I feel pretty good about myself, until I step foot on the internet, then it all comes quickly crumbling down. I am so jealous of people that can keep their house clean and keep their food budget down. I do reasonably well for a family of four with our food budget. However, we don't buy anything pre-packaged and gluten free flours are crazy expensive. Plus I really need to get my two boys to stop eating all day, that would save a ton of money (obviously I'm kidding, mostly). At least my food normally looks half way decent and no one complains that it tastes bad, that counts for something right?

While most people stop making soups in the summer, I'm a little abnormal. I make soup year round, I love warm soup in warm weather. I blame my grandmother who was determined hot coffee in the summer made you cool down (don't worry I know this isn't actually true). Last week I tried a new recipe for Spiced Fava Bean Soup with Rice and Tomato from the April 2014 of Bon Appetit Magazine.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes an hour of total time, all of which is active, and makes 6 servings. I made a number of changes to the original recipe. First, I used long grain brown rice. It was what I had in the cupboard and I didn't want to have to buy more rice. I have never actually seen dried fava bean in my area, so I used lima beans instead. I allowed the lima beans to soak overnight in order for them to be soft enough cooked in the recipe, I hate half cooked beans. Finally, for the broth I used homemade veggie broth. I love making homemade vegetable stock, you can literally throw in whatever old veggies you have in the fridge and let them simmer for a couple of hours. Much, much, cheaper than store bought.

My soup came out thicker than the magazine recipe. It was more of a stew than a soup. However, the flavor was delicious and it was a nice way to get my family to eat a vegetarian meal. Best of all there were enough leftover for two lunches for my husband for the week so it was economical. He's slowly coming around to eating more vegetarian meals, slowly.

For the recipe go to Spiced Fava Bean Soup.

Polenta with White-Bean and Roasted Pepper Ragout

I hate going to the doctor. Not just a little bit, I dread the whole experience. During my twenties I was horrible about going, I pretty much didn't go other than when I was pregnant. Then I had pneumonia and I go at least twice a year now. However, I still hate it. Growing up my mother had diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure in addition to being over weight and having horrible anxiety. I have been lucky to have only inherited the horrible anxiety, especially when it comes to doctors. A large part of it stems from having kidney problems growing up and spending a lot of time in the hospital. It made me avoid going to the doctor unless I was sick. Since my mother had so many problems I always have to have a lot of blood tests, which come out normal every time, but I still hate the whole process. Yuck.

One way I try to stay healthy is by cooking meals that are either vegetarian or use meat as an ingredient rather than the main part of a meal. My kids have grown to love beans as much as meat, which is a win in my book. Last week I tried a new recipe for Polenta with White-Bean and Roasted-Pepper Ragout from Martha Stewart Living Magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 45 minutes of total time. 30 minutes of which is active, and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I used homemade chicken broth, the taste is better and you can control the amount of sodium. Second, I used quick-cooking polenta, I prefer it since it's quick and easy. I doubled the amount of polenta since my family loves polenta.

I liked that this recipe was simple and easy to prepare. My husband and I enjoyed the combination of the beans and polenta, it was a nice change from having pasta or rice. I wasn't sure what my two boys would think, but they loved the beans and ate their whole servings. This would be a nice summer meal since it's light and doesn't take much time to cook.

For the recipe go to Polenta with White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Ragout.

Slow Cooker Baked Beans

I am so sick of spam comments. This week I had two major food sites spam me. I expect spam from small sites, but these were pretty major food selling sites that obviously set up fake accounts to leave fake comments with link backs to their sites. I expect more of larger sites, they should be able to get links without shady tactics. The funny thing is if they had asked for a review I would have done one with a no-follow link. However, PR companies have figured out that they can have follow links on sites by spamming in the comments. I really hate this practice and have thought about emailing the two companies that left their addresses as spam comments. I'm not going to name names, but they are big enough to know better. Maybe I should be flattered that a company that large decided to spam me for a follow link, but I'm not. I'm just annoyed.

On to lighter subjects, food! Last week was very hot so I used my slow cooker most of the week. I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Baked Beans from the May/June 2014 issue of Eating Well Magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 8 hours and 15 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active, and makes 12 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I used dried navy beans, homemade chicken broth, and sweet onions. These are just personal preferences. Additionally I left out the bourbon. I don't keep liquor in the house except for cooking and I didn't want to have to buy a small bottle just for the the recipe. Finally, I found that my beans needed a little longer than the recipe stated. I always let my beans cook 8-10 hours on low, I like my beans very tender and this recipe was no exception.

As with any recipe with bacon in it, my kids loved this dish. The beans were sweet, without being overly so, and with 10 grams of protein per 1/2 cup they were a nice way of sneaking in beans to my family's diet. If you aren't a big fan of maple syrup or brown sugar you could try substituting other sweeteners such as agave etc. and the beans could be changed to great northern or switched to canned and the time cooking time decreased.

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Baked Beans.

Mediterranean Tuna and Bean Salad

Lying by omission. This has been the hard life lesson I have been trying to teach my oldest son the last couple of weeks. I think that as adults we do it all the time. Some lies we do to spare other people's feelings, but some lies by omission we do to make our selves feel better or avoid feeling uncomfortable. Instead of lying I have been trying to teach my son ways to be constructive with his criticism. If you don't like something don't lie about it, but don't make the other person feel bad about the situation. It's okay if you don't like dinner, just don't say it was horrible. Instead tell me what you liked about the dish and add a compliment at the end, "I liked the peppers in the meal even though the dish was spicy, it reminds me of that great recipe with peppers you made last week." You don't have to like everything and you shouldn't have to lie about it, just don't tell the truth in a way that hurts someone else. I would rather that someone told me something constructive than tell me that everything that I ever did was wonderful and great, nothing is learned or gained from never having anything negative told to you. It's all about balance in the end, both positive and negative comments help us to be well rounded individuals.

Since it has been hot for the last week in my area I have been trying to make cooler foods for dinner. It doesn't help that my oven broke and it wasn't until today that I finally got a new one. So cold salads have been on the menu in my house a lot lately. Last week I tried a new recipe for Mediterranean Tuna and Bean Salad from the Kroger home mailer. 

Now 99 percent of the time I don't copy recipes outright. The exception I have always made are recipes that are sent in coupon circulars and recipes on packages. I still change the steps to avoid copyright, but I view these recipes as advertisement for the product and company and not in the same category as other printed recipes. So here is the recipe from Kroger: 

• 2 (5 ounce) cans solid white tuna in water, drained
• 2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 12 radishes, cleaned, trimmed and chopped
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
• 2/3 cup chopped parsley
• 9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and mix. Serve over spinach or salad of your choice. Also great with crackers. 

That's it. I would suggest adding a small amount of fresh dill if you have it. I love fresh dill with tuna it gives it a nice fresh taste and during the summer dill is very easy to grow in a pot or in your garden. My dill is doing great right now and I look forward to many recipes using dill soon. 

Spaghetti Squash Tostadas

I am so sick of school fundraisers. That sounds horrible I know, but also very true. It all came to a head last week with a fundraiser not benefiting the school. I won't go in to details, but since I decided that I didn't want to have my son raise money he was not allowed to enjoy the popsicles and apple juice that all the other kids received for participating. I could have done the fundraising, but I chose not to. It was the 4th fundraiser since the beginning of the school year. During the first fundraiser my son raised 1200 dollars. I feel that that should be more than enough as my contribution for fundraising for the year. Apparently not though, they have had 3 more. Maybe I am getting old, but when I was growing up we had one fundraiser a year. One, nothing more. I understand that times have changed, things cost more money etc. However, I would rather donate supplies that I bought at 90 percent off at Target than donate to 4 fundraisers in 8 months. I joked with my husband that I am going to run for PTO next year with the slogan work smarter not harder. Obviously that won't happen, I'm way too much of a perfectionist to deal with all the fundraising drama. In the meantime I bought my son a whole box of popsicles for the dollar that he would have had to raise to enjoy the one at school.

 I try to incorporate at least one vegetarian or vegan meal into my meal plan every week. If left to their own devices my family would only eat meat (mostly bacon) three times a day. I prefer a more varied diet and have slowly converted them to my thinking. My husband has even started drinking the banana tofu smoothie I blogged about recently for breakfast every morning. Major progress. Last week I tried a new recipe for Spaghetti Squash Tostadas from the March 2014 issue of the Food Network Magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I used homemade beans instead of canned. I prefer homemade beans, they are cheaper and far lower in sodium than store bought. Secondly, my microwave wasn't large enough to fit the spaghetti squash in so I roasted it in the oven instead. It was easy since it could roast the squash while the tomatoes and onions were in the oven. Finally, I make my own chili powder. The flavor is better and it stores for 3-6 months, so it saves money.

With 440 calories and 11 grams of protein these tostadas were a nice vegetarian meal option for my family. My husband absolutely loved the spaghetti squash and ate the leftovers without the tostada shell for breakfast the next morning. Like most kids my sons were thrilled with the spaghetti squash, it's very kid friendly. To cut down on the heat for their servings, I tossed sour cream with the squash on their plate.

For the recipe go to Spaghetti Squash Tostadas. 

Spicy Beans and Wilted Greens

Spicy Beans and Wilted Greens

I wish I had been more grateful in my twenties. At the time I thanked my friends and family, but I didn't really think it through. In my thirties I realized just what a big thing little gestures can be. Sometimes we can all forget to be thoroughly grateful when someone goes beyond the usual and does even a small gesture. If I could go back I would take a few minutes and really be grateful for the small things. Many of my favorite memories are the small things that were done for me: my roommate renting my favorite movies after having my wisdom teeth removed, my work friend helping me move at the last minute and my college friend that always have coffee and turbo truffles ready when we studied until 2 in the morning. I remember all of these things and as I get older I cherish the people that helped make the memories. Many of the people attached to the memories are no longer a part of my current life, but they are an integral part of my memories, and for that I am extremely grateful. I just wish that I had been better about being grateful when the memories happened.

With the weather being very cold I have been making a lot of soups and stews. When the temps dip their is something soothing about warm foods. Last week I tried a new recipe for Spicy Beans and Wilted Beans from the February 2014 issue of Bon Appetit Magazine.

Spicy Beans and Wilted Greens

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 4 and a half hours of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First I used red pepper flakes instead of chiles de arbor, chickpeas for the beans and kale, spinach and arugula for the greens. Using a Parmesan rind adds great flavor and I used it in this recipe. In order for the beans to be soft and tender I allowed the beans to cook for the full 4 hours of time, adding water when needed.

Spicy Beans and Wilted Greens

These beans turned out delicious. My husband and I loved this recipe, it was great on a cold night. It was a little spicy as written for my kids so we added sour cream to their servings. The beans would be great with a loaf of homemade bread for a fall or winter dinner. A great filling meal.

For the recipe go to Spicy Beans and Wilted Greens.

Cabbage, White Bean, and Potato Soup

Cabbage, White Bean, and Potato Soup

Somehow my two kids just ate six bananas. I don't even understand how it's possible for two boys to eat six bananas in ten minutes. When I went to the grocery store today I bought myself a bunch of fruit for smoothies. Apparently that was not a great idea. I bought two big banana bunches and my kids have already eaten an entire bunch. Now I get to go back to the store tomorrow to buy more. They also ate the entire can of smoked almonds I bought myself for snacks. My husband and I joke that we need to get our own cupboard and put a lock on it, I'm beginning to think it's not such a bad idea. I dread the thought of having two teenage boys, I think I throw in the towel already.

With it being the middle of winter I have been making a lot of soups and stews. I love having a hot meal when the weather is cold outside. Last week I tried a new recipe for Cabbage, White Bean, and Potato Soup from the January 2014 issue of Southern Living magazine.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 10 cups. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First, I used small red potatoes cut into fourths instead of fingerling potatoes. Fingerling potatoes were overpriced at my local grocery store and would have cost 2 1/2 times as much as the red potatoes I bought. For the chicken broth, I used homemade. I have discussed many times about the benefits of homemade stock, it's cheaper, tastes better, and you can control the amount of sodium. I chose not to add Parmesan cheese as a topping for my serving, but my husband and two boys did.

If you are serving this soup for dinner it needs a sandwich served with it in order to be filling. Alone it doesn't have enough protein or fat to be filling for most adults. It would be great with grilled cheese or a grilled (or not) turkey sandwich. The flavors are great and with a sandwich it would be a quick evening meal.

For the recipe go to Cabbage, White Bean, and Potato Soup.

Slow Cooker Zesty Bean Posole

Slow Cooker Zesty Bean Posole Better Homes and Gardens December 2013

I have a least favorite chore, laundry. Our washer and dryer is in the basement and with two boys I literally do laundry everyday. Before kids I never though that laundry was that bad, we had maybe 3-4 loads a week tops. Then my youngest arrived and the laundry started to pile up, and up, and up. After the arrival of my second son I decided that laundry was my arch enemy. Every time I washed something it just ended up being dirty again. Now part of the reason that we go through so much laundry is that I don't use paper towels. Instead I use cleaning rags and I clean my kitchen and bathroom top to bottom everyday. While that might seem extreme with three males in the house the bathroom would smell less than pleasant within two days, it's a must to have a full cleaning daily. The kitchen gets scrubbed since I cook and bake so frequently. If I don't stay on top of things in the kitchen it would turn into chaos. I also use separate washcloths and dish clothes when I do dishes each time (that's right no dishwasher in our house) so that adds to the mountain of laundry as well. Eventually my kids can start helping with the folding and putting away part of the mess, I am awaiting that day with glee.

There is a theme in my kitchen this week - the slow cooker. Right before holidays I tend to make a lot of crock-pot meals. They save me time and money and I love them. Plus I can eat the leftovers again in a couple of weeks making less work for me after the stress of the holidays. This week I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Zesty Bean Posole from the December 2013 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 3 hours and 40 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First, since my kids were going to eat the recipe I used mild salsa. For the chicken broth I used homemade, which I don't salt, I salt at the table or in the recipe instead. I can't eat all-purpose flour so I substituted corn starch, which is a great gluten free alternative in soup and stew recipes calling for regular flour. I allowed the soup to cook or 8 hours on low in the crock-pot since I could start it in the morning and be done until dinner.

For a dump recipe (most ingredients are canned) this recipe turned out very well. It was delicious and the flavors worked really well together. My husband and two boys really liked this soup. It was mild due to using mild salsa, which made the recipe very kid friendly. If you like your posole on the spicy side I would recommend using spicier salsa.

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Zesty Bean Posole.

Slow Cooker Zesty Posole

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A easy slow cooker recipe for posole, only 9 ingredients. Can be modified to be vegetarian by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

Preparation Time: 0h, 10m

Cooking Time: 3h, 30m

Total Time: 3h, 40m

Yield: Serves 6

Curried Lentil and Rice Loaves from Martha Stewart

Curried Lentil and Rice Loaves

Today reminded me that I'm not in my 20's anymore. Since my oldest had the day off school I thought it would be a good day to paint the ceiling in our dining room. The last time I had painted a ceiling was 7 years ago when I was in my late 20's. This evening I am sore, very sore. What was relatively painless in my 20's is an entirely different story in my middle 30's. I'm positive tomorrow is going to be a day for painkillers and my neck and back are not going to be happy. It's days like today that remind me that I have gotten older. On a daily basis I tend to forget my age, but when a task that was easy 10 years ago takes twice as long and makes me feel twice as bad I remember that I'm not the same early 20 year old I was before kids. I also remind myself that that's okay. I might take a little longer and feel a little more sore, but I'm also smart enough to know how to do something right the first time due to the wisdom I have gained with age. I would much rather be where I am now, being in my 20's was confusing and tiring. In my 30's I am older, wiser, and happier. I know who I am and can stand up for myself with no qualms. My younger self was quick to judge, talked first, thought later and could be more than a little selfish. My 30 year old self is pretty great, I listen first, talk later, look at most situations from all angles and have the wisdom to know how to deal with most situations. So tomorrow as I take a few aspirin with my morning coffee I will smile knowing that even though I am older, I am also only getting better with age. Now on to the recipe! Tonight I tried a new recipe for Curried Lentil and Rice Loaves from the Martha Stewart website.

Cabell Huntington Hospital Huntington, WV

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 1 hour 50 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 1 large loaf or 3 mini loaves. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First I was out of curry powder. So instead I used a mixture of the spices I already had on hand to make homemade curry powder. I love making my own spice blends and they are oftentimes cheaper than the pre-made varieties. For the rice I used arborio and homemade black beans instead of canned. Make sure to let the loaf sit after cooking in order that the loaf doesn't fall apart when sliced.

Harris Riverfront Park Huntington, WV

My husband isn't a big fan of meatless meals. He did however, like this recipe. It had the right amount of salt and I added cayenne to my curry powder so the loaf had a nice amount of heat. Finding vegetarian recipes that my family will actually eat can be really hard. This recipe was nice since everyone in my family ate it without complaints.

For the recipe go to Curried Lentil and Rice Loaves.

Curried Lentil and Rice Loaves

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A vegetarian recipe for Curried Lentil and Rice Loaves. Full of lentils, black beans and curry powder.

Preparation Time: 0h, 25m

Cooking Time: 1h, 0m

Total Time: 1h, 50m

Yield: Serves 8

Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili from Taste of Home Magazine

Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili

This morning my youngest ran into the kitchen and announced "I love bacon". Then he ran away into the other room. That's how my household is, the three males in my house have a minor bacon obsession. As I was writing this post my husband went into a 5 minute one sided conversation about how he will only eat crispy bacon and that he judges Tudor's Biscuit World locations (a popular WV breakfast biscuit restaurant) by if they have crispy or chewy bacon. I should be used to this by now since growing up my father insisted on two things for Sunday breakfast, crispy bacon and fried potatoes. Neither of which I was allowed to cook, my bacon was never crispy enough and I have a bad tendency to over flip fried potatoes. A couple of weeks back I made a chocolate cake with bourbon glaze and chocolate covered bacon. My family is still talking about it and honestly I think it might be their favorite thing I have ever made. Maybe I should just cook bacon at every meal and then everything that I make would be well received. My youngest ended the day by informing me that he had seen a sign for bacon donuts and that he wanted one. It looks like I will be spending part of my weekend tracking down this alleged donut or I won't hear the end of it. While the rest of my family is bacon obsessed, I am obsessed with fall foods and in particular pumpkin and apples. Last week I tried a new recipe for Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili from the September/October 2013 issue of Taste of Home Magazine.

Church in the Southside Neighborhood of Huntington, WV

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 4 hours and 20 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 10 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I made my beans from scratch. I prefer this method since I can control the amount of the salt. I also used my own chicken broth. I don't salt the broth to cut down on sodium. Finally, I didn't add cubed avocado since my kids refuse to eat it currently and I used grilled chicken thighs instead of turkey. I rarely have frozen turkey leftovers, but I frequently have leftover chicken so the substitution was a nice way to save money.

Julian's Market Southside Neighborhood Huntington, WV

With only 5 grams of fat this recipe has a lot of protein (16 grams) while being low in fat. Plus since it's all done in the slow cooker it's very easy to prep and makes more than enough for multiple meals. With fall being right around the corner this recipe will be great when the weather turns cooler.

For the recipe go to Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili.

Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

Review of Sow Cooker Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili from the September/October issue of Taste of Home magazine. Great for fall!

Preparation Time: 0h, 20m

Cooking Time: 4h, 0m

Total Time: 4h, 20m

Yield: Serves 10

Summer Vegetable Chili

Summer Vegetable Chili

My son is enamored with a pet rat. The first thing I heard as he got off the bus his first day of school was that his classroom had a new pet, a hairless rat. Apparently they are also getting two hamsters next week. He is obsessed now. At the library he wanted all books on rats and he talks about it constantly. I think it's pretty cute. We have three dogs and three cats, but we haven't had any small pets since before he was born. Before kids my husband and I had dwarf hamsters and I grew up with gerbils. I haven't allowed my boys to have any small pets yet, since they are a little small to be able to understand being gentle. Having a classroom pet is the perfect compromise. My oldest son feels an attachment and responsibility for a small animal and I don't have to do the daily care etc. I love it. With last week being the first week of school I didn't do a lot of cooking, but this weekend it's back to the kitchen. Today I tried a new recipe for Summer Vegetable Chili from the June 2013 issue of the Food Network Magazine.

Owingsville, Kentucky

This recipe has 16 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few modifications to the original recipe. First I always use canola oil instead of vegetable oil, I prefer it for heart health. I bought regular frozen corn since I have never seen fire-roasted at the stores near me. Additionally I purchased regular beans and tomatoes not low sodium since the store I went to only had one variety. I cooked the beans on high for the 20 minutes of cooking time, watching it closely to ensure that it did not burn. Using a dutch oven is a great way to make chili, it heats evenly and is big enough to make big batches. I found that I had to add more salt at the table, but that is more of a personal preference, if you like food with less salt it would be fine as written.

Country Roads Kentucky

The mushrooms in this recipe really made the dish. They allowed for the chili to have a lot of flavor. Plus my husband who isn't a big fan of vegetarian chili really liked this recipe. With the mushrooms it was definitely more male friendly. My two boys were skeptical, but after tasting it they ate their whole bowls. The recipe states that it only makes 4 servings, but after my family of 4 had a dinner sized portions there was more than enough for at least another meal.

For the recipe go to Summer Vegetable Chili.

Summer Vegetable Chili

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

An easy vegetarian chili recipe that has great flavor from the addition of portobello mushrooms. Makes enough servings for multiple meals.

Preparation Time: 0h, 25m

Total Time: 0h, 40m

Yield: Serves 4

Summer Slow-Cooker Meals: Spicy Pumpkin Chili

Slow Cooker Spicy Pumpkin Chili

There are days I get burnt out as a stay-at-home mom. This has been one of those weeks. I love my kids and spending time at home with them everyday. However, there is also the flip side. I started working as an intern when I was 17. I stayed at the company for 7 years until I moved to West Virginia. During grad school I worked three jobs, including teaching a class. I met my husband and got married during my master's program and have stayed home since. Then there are the moments when you realize all the things that your high-school friends that got married and had kids later have accomplished. Some of them have been very, very successful. There is always that awkward situation when everyone that I knew back in Seattle talks about how smart and successful I was when I was younger. I know they don't mean it the way it comes out, but it still gives me pause. My husband thinks that I should start claiming that I work at home since I blog and take care of the household. Maybe he's right. I can always hope that one day my blog will become vastly successful, but we all know that's unrealistic. In the meantime I remind myself that my kids are growing up surrounded by my love and knowledge. That's enough rambling for now, onto the cooking! This weekend I chose to keep my cooking simple and I relied on my slow cooker. I tried a new recipe for Spicy Pumpkin Chili from the new All Recipes magazine.

This recipe has 18 ingredients. It takes 1 1/2 hours of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 10 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First, I allowed my chili to cook in the slow cooker for 4 hours on low. I like my flavors to fully come to fruition so I increased the total cooking time. It would also work well on the stove in a dutch oven or a big pot with a lid. I was unable to find my crushed red pepper flakes, so I was forced to leave them out. Finally, I used a full 8 ounces of tomato sauce with garlic. I also found that I needed to add more salt than the 1 teaspoon suggested by the recipe.

My husband liked that this recipe has the health benefits of pumpkin without the taste being overly noticeable. He isn't a big fan of pumpkin, but he was surprised by how much he enjoyed this recipe. I love pumpkin and chili so this was a dish I really liked. It made a very big batch, more than enough for at least 10 servings. For the servings for my kids I added cheese and sour cream. They aren't big chili fans so these additions made them willing to eat their bowls. If you like your chili on the spicy side I would suggest adding jalapenos or a bit of cayenne. Since I cook with my kids in mind I always try to have my recipes be on the mild side.

For the recipe go to Spicy Pumpkin Chili.

Put Down the Take-Out Menu: Try Red Lentil Curry at Home

Red Lentil Curry

I made brownies for the first time in months tonight. My kids ate almost the entire batch in just a couple of hours. They were really good for gluten free brownies, probably the best I have made since I started baking gluten free. I normally would have allowed my kids to only eat one or two, but they have been very good this week. The weather has been hot and we have been spending a lot time in our front yard. Today I pulled out the super soakers for the first time this summer. They had so much fun running around playing in the water. It made me miss being young! Since it has been so hot I have been trying to keep my time in the kitchen to a minimum. The idea of spending hours with the oven on just isn't appealing when the weather is in the 90's with high humidity. This week I tried a new recipe for 40 Minute Red Lentil Curry from allrecipes.com.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First I wasn't able to find curry paste, so I made my own. I thought that I had turmeric when I started this recipe, but it turned out that I didn't so I left it out. I allowed the lentils to cook for 25 minutes,  I like my red lentils to be pretty soft in curry. Finally, after all the ingredients were added I cooked the curry an additional 5 minutes.

The flavor on this curry is pretty mild. If your family likes the flavor of Indian food, but aren't fans of a lot of heat this recipe would be perfect. My husband and I added cayenne pepper to our servings to increase the heat. We both prefer our food to be a little spicier than the recipe as written. I served the curry over basmati rice and my kids really liked it. The recipe is a nice way to get kids to eat a larger variety of foods without having them turn up their noses.

For the recipe go to Red Lentil Curry.

Recipe for Sweet and Hot Baked Beans

Sweet and Hot Baked Beans

My family loves beans. Three times a day my husband eats some type of beans as part of his meals. He is great about eating an array of beans every week and has lost over 30 pounds due to his good eating habits. My son and I try to eat beans at lunch every day, he loves black beans with feta and could eat them every day if given the chance. Since we live in West Virginia we also eat a ton of pinto beans, we love them. Given that beans are such a large part of our weekly diet I try to come up with new recipes and bean dishes so we don't get bored. Last week I tried a new recipe from the April/May 2013 issue of Taste of Home magazine for Sweet and Hot Baked Beans.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 5 hours and 20 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. I didn't make too many changes to the original recipe. For the beans I used cannellini beans since they were the type available. I allowed the beans to cook for 6 hours on low and used sweet onions for the onions called for in the recipe.

These beans turned out really well. They were a nice combination of sweet and spicy and made enough for three separate meals for my family of 4. My husband and I enjoyed the recipe the most since the spice from the jalapenos was a little more geared towards adults. However, my youngest decided to eat the beans over rice the next day and loved them. The only complaint I heard in my house was that my husband would have preferred if the onions were sauteed and caramelized before being added to the crock-pot.

For the recipe go to Sweet and Hot Baked Beans.

Crock Pot Pinto Bean Stew with Jalapeno Corn Dumplings

Crock Pot Pinto Bean Stew with Gluten Free Jalapeno Corn Dumplings

Beans weren't something my mother prepared very often when I was growing up. She made terrific pasta and meat dishes, but beans were only a sometimes food. When I decided to become a vegetarian in high-school my stomach went into shock due to the sudden increase in bean consumption. Luckily I got used to it and to this day I eat a substantial amount of beans every week. My husband was born and raised in West Virginia and pinto beans were always a stable in his house. When we got married I had to learn to cook with pinto beans since I had only eaten black, white and navy beans previously. Now days we eat pinto beans regularly and my kids love them. This week I tried a new recipe for Pinto Bean Stew with Jalapeno Corn Dumplings from the April 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 20 ingredients. It takes 9 hours in the slow cooker, 30 minutes of prep and makes 8 servings. I made a few changes to the original recipe. I allowed my beans to soak overnight. The overnight soaking method is the way that I prefer since it takes less active time than quick soaking on the stove. Since I eat gluten free I used brown rice four instead of the all purpose flour called for in the dumpling recipe. For the topping I let off the sliced radishes. My kids do not like them and my local grocery store didn't have them in stock. I let my beans cook on high for 8 hours and then another hour with the dumplings. I always allow my pinto beans to cook for at least this long. Beans in the crock-pot take a will in order to come out soft and flavorful.

The dumplings in this stew are the stars of this dish. The stew tasted like any other vegetarian chili and didn't leave a lasting impression. I thought that the pinto beans would be better cooked with a ham hock with the dumplings served on top. Pinto beans cooked in the slow cooker are delicious and the dumplings would work well with them as a topping. My two boys liked the chili (I seeded the jalapeno and used mild chili powder so it wasn't too spicy). They ate their servings and most of the leftovers.

For the recipe go to Pinto Bean Stew.