Smokey Weeknight Chili with Homemade Chili Powder

Smokey Weeknight Chili

My husband thinks that I rearrange our furniture every 3-4 months to amuse myself. While I do enjoy moving things around in the house, the main reason I tend to rearrange rooms is to make space for the new things we accumulate. With four people in the house we end up with a lot of new things over the course of the year. Most things I buy second hand, clearanced or up-cycled. Every three or four months I go through the house and donate any items that we no longer use or I can't find in a way to re-purpose. Yesterday I spent the day moving a bookcase out of my kid's room and re-arranging the remaining furniture in their bedroom. Now they have a large play area and I have a bookcase that I will paint and make look like new for the living room. I already found oopsie paint at the home improvement store for 2 dollars. I love oopsie paint, it's a great way to buy high quality paint for very little money. The paint I found was originally 40 dollars, so 2 dollars was a great deal! The best part of rearranging furniture is watching my husband try to figure out where everything has been moved to. It always makes me smile.

I have been making a lot of soups and chili the last month due to the cold weather. It has been a very cold winter and when the weather is far below freezing I prefer food that is warm and comforting. Last week I tried a new recipe for Smokey Weeknight Chili from the February 2014 issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

Smokey Weeknight Chili

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 45 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active. I followed the original recipe pretty closely. The only change I made was to make my own chili powder. I prefer homemade chili powder to store bought, it tastes better and I can adjust the amount of heat for my family's tastes. Here is the recipe I used:

4 tablespoons Ancho chili powder

2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
4 teaspoons paprika (I use smoked)
1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoons black pepper

It took minutes to make and was really great tasting. I also made my beans from scratch. I made my beans in the crock pot in a big batch and then measured out the equivalent amount of beans (about a cup and a half for a 15 ounce can). 

This is a very easy recipe to put together. You can substitute black or kidney beans if you don't have chickpeas (or just prefer the taste). It's also an inexpensive meal since it's vegetarian and is even cheaper if you make the beans from scratch. It has 15 grams of protein per serving and only 6 grams of fat so it's a nice all around meal. My family liked the chili with a bit of sour cream since my homemade chili powder is a little on the spicier side. 

For the recipe go to Smokey Weeknight Chili. 

Tuscan Chicken and Beans

Tuscan Chicken and Rice

West Virginia has taught me to slow down. Growing up in Seattle everything was always busy. I woke-up early, I worked long hours and I was always stressed. When I moved to West Virginia I stuck out. I didn't understand why it took a week for my paper work to be processed for my apartment or that when I went in to my work study assignment that the office had taken Friday off. After 10 years I have learned to love taking things a little slower. This afternoon my husband and I took my two boys and our dog around taking photos. In typical summer fashion there was a large summer downpour. Everyone at the park ran to their cars and waited. No one pulled away, we just all watched the storm and took a moment. It was perfect. There are many things that can be frustrating about life, but learning to sit on your porch and enjoy the summer warmth, say hello to your neighbor and just relax is something that we could all do with a little more of. So thank you West Virginia for teaching me that sometimes it's okay to just sit and wait, most things can sit at least a few minutes. With slowing down in mind, I made a slow cooker recipe today. I tried a new recipe for Tuscan Chicken and Beans from the September 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine.

Camden Park Wayne County, WV

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 8 hours and 15 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. The major change I made to the original recipe was to make my own Greek seasoning. I try to cut costs as much as I can and making seasoning blends is much cheaper. I already had all the ingredients so it was easy to put together. Instead of using an additional 1/2 teaspoon of thyme I increased the amount of seasoning to 2 teaspoons. The Greek seasoning that I prepared already had thyme so I found it unnecessary to add more. At dinner time I was unmotivated to go down to my garden to pick fresh oregano, so I left it out. The taste was delicious without it.

Camden Park Sign Wayne County, WV

My kids who have been horrible about eating dinner recently, loved this recipe. They ate their entire plates, which for them is a big thing. My husband was also very impressed, especially since he has been burned out on chicken thighs, but was very pleased with them in this recipe. The flavors work very well together and the chicken is fall off the bone tender. The recipe would also work well with lamb instead of the chicken.

For the recipe go to Tuscan Chicken and Beans. (registration required)

Tuscan Chicken and Beans

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A slow cooker chicken thigh recipe for Tuscan Chicken and Beans. Great flavor and easy to prep.

Preparation Time: 0h, 15m

Total Time: 8h, 15m

Yield: Serves 6

Heirloom Tomato Pizza Sauce

Heirloom Tomato Pizza Sauce and Homemade Pizza Crust

According to my husband I am mean. Not mean to people's faces, but the fact that my expectations of how other people should behave is too high. All of this came to mind today when I picked up my two boys from their last day of day camp at our local library. I was raised that you bring a small card and gift at the end of the school year to thank the teacher for taking care of (dealing with) your children. So I stopped and bought a card and a small gift card to give to their teacher for the week. My kids were very excited to give the card and thank their teacher. There was only one other child and her grandmother that thanked the teacher. I was a little miffed, but I let it go. Then when I was walking down the stairs I had two teenagers run past me without saying a word. They brushed me and I had to grab the rail. Maybe I am old school, but even at the grocery store when I walk in front of someone I say excuse me. I am beginning to worry that the generations under me seem to have lost respect. Then again maybe my husband is right and I am just too mean. The highlight of the last two days for me has been that my heirloom tomatoes are finally ripe. Since I have had an abundance of tomatoes I decided to make homemade pizza sauce. Here is the recipe I came up with:

• 6 heirloom tomatoes (Mr. Stripey and Mortgage Lifters)
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 sweet onion, minced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced basil
• 1 teaspoon fresh minced oregano
• Pizza crust (I made mine from scratch)

Blanch the tomatoes to remove the skins. Place tomatoes in a food processor or blender and liquefy. You may remove the seeds if you wish, I keep them in. Add the olive oil to a pan and heat over medium heat. Add onion and let slightly brown. Add garlic and let cook for approximately 30 seconds. Take the pureed tomatoes and add to the onion and garlic. Make sure that you use a pan with a large surface area. It helps to make the sauce reduce. Turn the stove down to low. Allow the tomato sauce to cook until thickened, approximately an hour to 1 1/2. The sauce should be very thick and have reduced a great deal. Salt.

Heirloom Tomato Pizza Sauce

After the sauce is done make your pizza! I cook my pizza on a pizza stone at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Of course I make a gluten free version for myself, since I can't have regular pizza crust :) That's it, it has a great sweet taste that is perfect for pizza.

Absolutely Swimming in Homegrown Cherry Tomatoes? Try a Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad

Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad

Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream. My two-year-old has been chanting this phrase most of the day. It's definitely ice cream season in my household. Every member of my household has their favorite flavors: my kids love anything with chocolate, I prefer frozen yogurt, and my husband always loves weird mix-ins like potato chips. We can all agree that no matter how it's made ice cream spells summer. During the colder months ice cream rarely makes an appearance in my house. It can get very cold here in the middle of winter and when I'm freezing the last thing that I want is something to make me even colder. In the summer it's a different story. I roast in the humidity and ice cream is a great way to cool off. Another of my favorite summer foods is tomatoes. This year I am growing my own, they are growing like crazy and by next week they should be ready to pick. In the meantime I have been relying on store bought tomatoes. Last week I tried a new recipe for Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad from allrecipes.com.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes 2 hours 10 minutes, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 6 to 8 servings. I did make a few modifications. First I only had two cups of cherry tomatoes, so I cut the recipe in half. Second, I substituted olive oil for vegetable oil. I prefer cooking with olive oil when possible. Finally, I allowed the salad to sit 4 hours to ensure that the tomatoes fully absorbed the flavors.

My oldest son thought these tomatoes were spicy. The vinegar taste is definitely adult orientated. As an adult I really like the taste of the apple cider vinegar. It blended very nicely with the tomatoes and the recipe made a nice light side for the pasta dish that we ate it with. Overall, a great way to use summer tomatoes.

For the recipe go to Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad.

Recipe for Fresh Oregano and Chive Crusted Chicken with Fresh Strawberry Relish

Fresh Oregano and Chive Crusted Chicken with Fresh Strawberry Relish

I love strawberries. Berries in general are high on my list of favorite foods, but strawberries are at the top. Since they are now available frozen year round I am able to enjoy my strawberry smoothies even in the dead of winter. However, there is something so quintessentially summer about eating fresh strawberries. I love using them in desserts, but they are equally great for adding a hint of sweetness to savory dishes. Whatever the preparation method, any dish with strawberries rarely lasts more than a few hours. Last night I tried a new recipe for Herb Crusted Chicken with Fresh Strawberry Relish from the June 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 1 1/4 hours of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. Since my herb garden is finally thriving I was able to use fresh oregano from my garden. My 4 thighs weighed exactly 2 pounds and I served the dish over white rice. I added 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar since it has great flavor and I love using it with strawberries. Make sure to buy a high quality balsamic vinegar, there really is a difference between the cheap low-quality brands and the top-shelf varieties.

The relish in this recipe was delicious. It had even better flavor after sitting in the fridge overnight. Combined with the herb crusted chicken the flavors made a nice sweet-savory taste. My kids loved the relish, so the recipe is a nice option to get kids to eat fruit in a new way.

For the recipe go to Herb Crusted Chicken with Fresh Strawberry Relish.

Easy Enchiladas Suizas with Ground Turkey and Zucchini Filing

Enchiladas Suizas with Ground Turkey and Zucchini Filling

Salt is always a battle in my household. My husband and two boys could literally eat it straight from the shaker while I would be fine never salting anything. I know your thinking how can a self proclaimed foodie and food blogger hate salt. I seem to be a little bit of the odd one out. Chefs and foodies love salt. It adds flavor and substance to dishes and many chefs claim that over salting if always better than under salting. I salt all my recipes. I just don't add more than is necessary. Salt is absolutely essential for dishes to taste correctly, but I also believe that most Americans overuse salt, sometimes to an extreme. There is a happy medium where the flavor of dishes come through while keeping my blood pressure nice and low. It's also all about moderation as it should be with all food. If I make a dish high in salt one day I try to compensate and make something low in sodium the next. That way everyone is happy and we will all still live until we're at least 90. This week I tried a new recipe for Enchiladas Suizas from the April 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 60 minutes of total time, 40 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First for the turkey I used 93 percent lean, I substituted non-fat half and half for regular and mild salsa instead of medium since my kids would be eating it. Instead of heating each tortilla individually on the stove, I heated them in two sets in the microwave in between a moist set of paper towels for 40 seconds. I also skipped the step of heating the salsa mixture before adding the cheese, I was in a rush and needed dinner of the table as quickly as possible. Finally make sure to squeeze out the water from the zucchini. The recipe doesn't state this step and it is essential. Place the grated zucchini between paper towels and squeeze. A large amount of water will come out. Without this step the turkey will never brown and your enchiladas will be soggy.

I really like how easy this recipe is to prepare. The spices used in the turkey mixture were delicious and my whole family really liked the filling. I do think that there wasn't enough sauce to fully coat all the enchiladas. I would recommend making a double batch of sauce (you won't need it all you can freeze the extra). If you are a big cheese lover I would also suggest adding slightly more cheese to the top. The magazine picture shows more cheese than would actually be there if you only used 3/4 of a cup like the recipe suggests.

For the recipe go to Enchiladas Suizas (registration required).

Mediterranean Rigatoni

My two boys have decided that they are chefs lately. They enjoy taking things from around the house and my fridge and making a dish. Most of the time they claim that they are experimenting. I think they might watch too many cooking shows with me since they are always creating something with food that they find. They have made some things that I have to admit were pretty good. Yogurt seems to be their specialty lately, they have discovered some combination that have actually turned out pretty well. I love that they like to cook and they don't see it as a pursuit that only girls should do, which I think is great. I try to reinforce with my two boys that they should learn how to do everything around the house since it's always a good idea to be self sufficient. Teaching my kids to cook is something that is very important to me and my oldest helps me with dinner at least three times a week. Tonight for dinner my son helped me make Mediterranean Rigatoni from the March 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 26 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. Since I eat gluten free I used gluten free ziti. I have never seen cubed feta in my area so I bought whole feta and crumbled it instead. After the pasta was done I added it to the sauce and allowed it to cook with the tomatoes until they started to break up. My husband isn't a fan of firm fresh tomatoes so I always allow them to cook slightly longer than recipes call for.

If you have a family that likes a lot of protein in their food I would suggest adding more chicken to this dish. Since their is only a pound of meat for six servings, there isn't a lot of chicken per bite. I would double the chicken and the amount of tomatoes. The flavors are nice and I liked the taste of the olives and fresh oregano. A balsamic vinegar reduction would also be delicious with this dish and the flavors would make the dish even better.

Currently this recipe isn't available online (Family Circle's decision not mine :). Here is the link to the photo on their site or you can find the recipe in the March 2013 issue of the magazine. 

Very Tender Slow Cooker Chicken and Hominy Chili Bowl

My oldest has been obsessed with chicken for a while now. He goes through picky stages every couple of weeks where he won't eat anything, except chicken (and bacon, the men in my house always love bacon). If I'm making dinner and he starts complaining and getting hungry, I can always make him happy by informing him that chicken is part of dinner. I agree with him that chicken thighs are delicious and they can create great flavor in a variety of dishes. They are one of my favorite dishes to prepare and I make them at least twice a month. Last week I tried a new recipe for Chicken and Hominy Chili Bowl from the March 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 10 hours 30 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First I never have ten hours between when I get up and my husband comes home for dinner, so I let my chili cook for 8 hours on high. As I always do I made my own chicken stock which I don't salt until I make the recipe. My chicken was so tender that it fell off the bone when I tried to take it out. Therefore I shredded the chicken and put it back in the chili. Finally, my chili was more than thick enough after shredding the chicken so I left out the cornmeal. I served the chili with corn chips, which was a perfect combination.

I love using my slow cooker to make chili and stews. This recipe states that it only makes 6 servings, but since I shredded the chicken it made a large amount more. There was more than enough for dinner plus two more meals for my family of 4. Make sure to adequately salt, especially if you make your own stock. I do think that the amount of cumin could be increased slightly to a full teaspoon. It would create an even more pronounced flavor.

For the recipe go to Chicken and Hominy Chili Bowl. (registration required)

Delicious Rigatoni with Calabrese Style Pork Ragu

 My family loves pasta. So much so that I prepare it approximately once a week for dinner. When I was growing up my mom always made a lot of pasta since it was inexpensive to make and could feed our entire family. She was great with inventing recipes from just spaghetti and the ingredients in our cupboards. I wish that I had inherited half of her recipe invention talents. While I don't invent recipes the same way that my mother did, I do like taking recipes and making them my own. Since I eat gluten free I am always taking regular pasta recipes and re-inventing them to my needs. This week I tried a new recipe for Rigatoni with Calabrese Style Pork Ragu from the February 2013 issue of Bon Appetit magazine.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes 5 hours of total time, 60 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. Since I eat gluten free I used brown rice flour ziti. I have never seen rigatoni gluten free in my area, so I always use what I have access to. Since I was serving this recipe to my kids I used mild Italian sausage, instead of spicy sausage. I would have used spicy sausage if it was just for my husband and I. I rarely buy ground meat from the grocery store. For this recipe I had leftover pork shoulder which I ground up and used. When I went to make this recipe it turned out that I had forgotten to buy fresh parsley so I had to substitute dried parsley instead. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Even though this recipe states that it makes only 6 servings, I had a ton of leftovers. There was enough for two additional meals. I did let my sauce thicken longer than the recipe. I had to add a slight amount of water during the four hour cooking time. However, at the end of the cooking time it was still a little thinner than I liked so I turned up the heat a little and let it cook without a lid until it had fully thickened. I also did not add additional cooking water after adding the pasta since it wasn't necessary. My family really loved this recipe. I would suggest adding a larger amount of crushed red pepper if you use mild sausage and make sure to adequately salt, it will need it.

For the recipe go to Rigatoni with Spicy Calabrese Style Pork Ragu.

Slow-Cooker Tomatillo Pork Stew

Pork is very popular in my house. As I have talked about before my two boys and husband love bacon. If they could eat it everyday, three times a day they would. However, I am not going to let that happen. As a compromise I make pork frequently. One of my favorite cuts of pork is pork shoulder. It is tender and delicious and can be made a variety of different ways. The crock-pot is a great way to cook pork, it is simple and always turns out well. Yesterday I tried a new recipe for Slow-Cooker Tomatillo Pork Stew from the February issue of Family Circle magazine.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 8 hours and 15 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. Since all the pork shoulder at my store was 6 pounds or more I bought a larger shoulder and cut it down to size. I would recommend increasing the salt or adding additional at the end since it wasn't salty enough as written. I normally serve brown rice to my family, but for this recipe I used basmati and it worked very well. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I was really pleased with how tender this stew turned out. It was flavorful enough for my husband and I without being too spicy for my two boys. If you want the dish to be more spicy use a less mild salsa. I chose to use mild salsa since I was serving it to my two boys. For my serving I used just cilantro, for my kids I served the stew with sour cream and cilantro.

For the recipe go to Tomatillo Pork Stew. (registration required)

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Red Pepper Pesto

As I talked about earlier in the week I have been making an effort to eat everything out of my fridge and cupboard. I really want to reduce the amount of garbage and food waste that my family accumulates. We have never been really bad, I have always cooked from scratch and I even grind my own meat, but we still had some habits that could be better. One of them was my bad habit of buying vegetables and then forgetting to use them. I know that you are probably wondering how I can forgot a vegetable that I bought, but they go into the vegetable drawer in the fridge and it sometimes takes them weeks to make another appearance. Since fresh vegetables are expensive and they are only good for you if you actually eat them I have been cutting down both the number of things that I buy at the grocery store and using every last thing that I purchase. So far it has worked well. Today I made quinoa oatmeal cookies since my cupboards are packed with oatmeal and quinoa that I bought last month for a recipe. The cookies were delicious and a great way to use items that I already own. So today I decided to make dinner with the last of the veggies I had before going grocery shopping tomorrow. I tried a new recipe for Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Red Pepper Pesto from the January 2013 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of total time and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients and made no ingredient substitutions. Instead of snipping my oregano I loosely chopped it since I was making it for my two boys. Make sure to rub in the spices and oregano. The more the mixture is rubbed in the better the flavor of the tenderloin will be. I pulled out my pork at exactly 25 minutes. I normally pull out my pork at 145 degrees and let it rest to reach 150. The worst thing you can do with pork is overcook it, it becomes tough and not nearly as delicious. The recipe photo in the magazine shows the pesto on the side. I chose to serve my pesto as a sauce over the tenderloin. I thought this would lend better to the flavor and add extra tenderness to the pork. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written. 

The red pepper pesto was the star of this dish. Make sure to add adequate salt, it will need it and I added an extra clove of garlic for flavor. I preferred the pesto as a sauce rather than on the side. Additionally, I think it could be even better with roasted pine nuts on top. The pork was very tender and the roasted peppers made a nice side to the dish. Best of all it only takes slightly over a half an hour start to finish, so great for a week night meal.

For the recipe go to Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Red Pepper Pesto. (registration required)

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon and Oregano

The weather today was unpleasant. I love snow when I'm inside warm in my house with the gas heat turned up. However, today the weather was cold, windy and there was lots of sleet. I hate sleet. It's not rain, it's not snow, it's just miserable. I think I might also be a weather wimp. In the summer I begin to hate the heat in about July and I complain the rest of the summer. In the winter I complain that it is too cold and I am always wrapped up in three blankets. I seem to never be able to find the right heat to feel just comfortable. It would help if the area that we lived actually had 4 seasons every year. There are a lot of years when we are lucky if we have two seasons. I do love winter foods. There is something very comforting and relaxing about soups, stews and winter meat dishes. One of my favorite winter dishes is roasted chicken. There are so many ways to prepare it and a little change in flavor can make a huge difference. Last week I tried a new recipe for Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon and Oregano from the December issue of Bon Appetit magazine.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes a total of 30 minutes, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I have never seen boneless skin-on chicken at the store so I used bone-in skin-on thighs instead. Since my chicken had bones I increased the cooking time to 25 minutes in the oven instead of the 6-8 minutes in the recipe. I also doubled the recipe in order to have 8 large breasts so I had leftovers. Be very careful when taking the skillet out of the oven. I have had the misfortune of touching the handle of the skillet after taking it out of the oven one too many times. I suggest putting a pot holder or towel over the handle after taking the skillet out of the oven to prevent burns. I chose not to drizzle the oil over the chicken at the end of the recipe. The sauce was more than adequate to keep the chicken moist. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My family really liked this recipe. If you have never browned chicken on the stove before there are a few things to keep in mind. First don't use a non-stick pan. Non-stick pans are okay for many things, but roasted chicken isn't one of them. I use stainless steel pans and love them. Second, do not try flipping the chicken until it releases naturally from the pan. If you try flipping the chicken before it is fully browned the skin will break and you will not end up with that crispy browned skin that everyone loves. For this recipe I modified the step where the thighs were kept skin side down in the skillet once in the oven. I flipped them over to cook during their oven time in order to keep the crisp beautifully browned skin.

For the recipe go to Roasted Chicken Thighs.

Chipotle Pork and Sweet Potato Stew with Cornbread

Tomorrow is my oldest son's last day of school before winter break. Of course I completely forgot to buy a teachers gift or something for his bus driver until tonight. Thank you gift cards, you are so easy and convenient for last minute gifts. Normally I am ahead of schedule and have all my gifts bought ahead of time. This year however I seem to be behind; just today I finally got the last of Christmas cards addressed. Of course they will arrive to my family back in Washington probably after Christmas day, but it's the thought that counts. Now I have to actually think of what to make for Christmas eve and day. You would think that since I am a food blogger I would have everything figured out, but things had to change last minute thanks to car issues and now I am going to spend part of the next couple of days trying to figure out meal plans. That's okay though since that is something I enjoy along with the actual cooking. I'm still getting over a nasty cold so I have been making stews and soups all week. Earlier in the week I tried a new recipe for Chipotle Pork and Sweet Potato Stew with Cornbread from the January 2013 issue of Family Circle magazine.

This recipe has 18 ingredients. It takes 6 hours of cooking time, 15 minutes of prep and makes 6 servings. I did make a few modifications to the recipe. Since I don't eat gluten I made gluten-free cornbread. It worked just as well as it would have with wheat and the texture was perfect. For the flour I used gluten free all-purpose flour. I made my own chicken stock as I normally do, which I make un-salted so I had to add more salt than the recipe suggested. Instead of spraying the bowl with cooking spray I used a slow cooker liner. Finally, I added only one tablespoon of cilantro instead of two since my kids were eating this dish. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

The pork in this recipe turned out very tender. My husband and two boys fell in love with this dish and ate their entire servings and most of the leftovers.  I like that per serving the recipe has 34 grams of protein and 472 calories. Plus it was a great, warm meal as the weather turned cooler.

For the recipe go to Chipotle Pork and Sweet Potato Stew. (registration required)

Chicken Brunswick Stew

Cold season has hit my house hard this week. Of course, like always I have gotten sicker than everyone else. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that the bus stop for my oldest son is over a block away and I have to wait 10 minutes in the freezing cold every morning and afternoon. If you are wondering why I wait 10 minutes, I tried leaving later a few times and of course the bus was early. So I have a 10 minute span of when the bus 'might' come. Last winter as some of you probably know I was lucky (not) enough to come down with pneumonia and ended up in the hospital. Apparently being very small with a not so fabulous immune system isn't so great as you get older. And by older I mean 30. Ever since I turned 30 it seems my health has taken a nose dive. Low potassium, low iron, gluten intolerance, migraines you name it. So this week I am suffering through a nasty cold with a hyper four-year-old at home and making lots of stew, soup and chili. There is something so comforting about warm foods when you feel not at your best. This week I tried a new recipe for Chicken Brunswick Stew from the January 2013 issue of Family Circle, which looked like perfect comfort food.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 6 hours on high in the Crock-pot, 10 minutes of prep and makes 6 servings. I actually had a hard time finding canned butter beans in my area. I had to go to multiple stores to find the beans since they seem to be scarce in my city. As I always do I used a crock-pot liner instead of spraying cooking spray in the slow cooker bowl. I find the liners to be much easier to use and make a lot less dishes to wash. Make sure to add additional salt before serving. Since the recipe utilizes potatoes it needs a decent amount of salt to have flavor. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My husband was very impressed with this recipe. It turned out very tender and the chicken literally fell off the bone before being shredded. I really don't serve okra often, since it can become slimy when cooked. However, the okra in this recipe was cooked perfectly and delicious.  Brunswick stew is one of my husband's favorite dishes and this recipe was definitely a hit.

For the recipe go to Chicken Brunswick Stew.

Lentil Sloppy Joes

I can't believe that Christmas is next week. This month/year have gone by so quick! I am taking a laid back approach to the holidays this year. As I have gotten older I have realized that all the craziness of the holidays that I put myself through when I was younger just isn't worth all the stress. My boys are now 4 and 6 and I fully expect to enjoy Christmas instead of obsessing about everything being perfect. Things will still be great, even if the presents aren't perfectly wrapped and dinner is simple, yet still delicious. This year I am determined to enjoy my kids and the time that I have with them. I am old enough now to realize that these moments are fleeting and I would rather enjoy the time than run around making myself tired and cranky. Since next week will be so busy I have been making meals that are easy to put together, while still being nutritious and flavorful. Last week I tried a new recipe for Lentil Sloppy Joes from the December issue of the Food Network Magazine, which looked like a great way to add fiber and iron into my family's diet, while still being low in calories.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It takes a total of 1 hour 10 minutes, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I did decide to make a few changes to the recipe. First I was not motivated to make ground beef, so I substituted ground lamb instead. Secondly, since I eat gluten free I used gluten free hamburger buns. I would normally make them from scratch, but this time I bought store bought. I chose to use sliced pickles, but not the pickled jalapeno peppers. The recipe suggests that you may need to add up to an additional cup of water in order to cook the lentils, but I did not need to make this addition. I did find that the lamb was a little rich, but a mixture of lamb and beef would be perfect. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I was surprised how great these sloppy joes turned out. I wasn't sure how the lentils would taste, but they worked great with the meat and were a good way to save fat and calories. My husband added jalapenos to his serving and he thought that they were a great addition. If you like spicy foods this would be a great way to add some heat. 

For the recipe go to Lentil Sloppy Joes.

Stewed Beans

As I have talked about before we eat a lot of beans in our house. I love that beans can be used in so many different ways and that they are a great source of protein. It doesn't hurt that they are also inexpensive and make for numerous leftovers. When I first met my husband he had really only eaten pinto and black beans. Pinto beans are very popular in West Virginia and almost any home cook has a recipe. Having grown-up in Seattle I had never really made anything other than chickpeas and kidney beans in vegetarian chili. Luckily after we got married I learned that there are a vast array of beans that can be used in so many different recipes. One of my favorite ways to prepare beans is stewed, it is easy and delicious. Last week I tried a new recipe for Stewed Beans from issue Number 152 of Saveur magazine, which looked like a great vegetarian meal option.

This recipe has 17 ingredients. It takes 2 hours of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 10-12 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I did adjust some of the cooking times on the recipe. I cooked the onion mixture for a full twenty minutes to ensure that the onions fully caramelized before adding the spices. Additionally, my total cooking time was 1/2 hour longer than suggested. I tasted the beans as the recipe was written and I felt that the chickpeas needed a longer cooking time so I put them back on the stove for an additional 30 minutes. Finally, this recipe will need a lot of salt added once it is completed. The flavor is delicious, but it definitely needs salt to bring out the flavors fully. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

While this recipe takes a bit of planning and cooking time the results were worth the time spent. The beans were very flavorful and my whole family, including my two boys enjoyed them. My husband added hot sauce to his serving and it really did make the beans taste even better. I would suggest this addition if you like spicier foods as it really did bring out the taste of the beans. Overall a great vegan recipe full of protein and makes enough for multiple meals. 

For the recipe go to Stewed Beans.

Autumn Root Vegetable Chili

I have made so many sweet potatoes dishes in the last month. This is my favorite time of the year and sweet potatoes are one of my favorite fall foods. I was fortunate enough to receive a substantial amount of yams and sweet potatoes from a friend's garden. I think in total I ended up with over 20 pounds of vegetables. Thanks to this bounty of fall harvest I was able to prepare a large amount of my Thanksgiving dishes without having to spend much of anything at the grocery store. Even before I was given all the free garden goodness I had already been making a ton of sweet potato recipes. One of my favorite ways to utilize sweet potatoes is to use them in chili. My whole family loves chili and sweet potatoes give it an additional flavor and is full of vitamins. Recently I tried a new recipe for Autumn Root Vegetable Chili from the November issue of Family Circle magazine which looked like the perfect fall vegetarian meal.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It takes 33 minutes of cooking time, 25 minutes of prep and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. This recipe is a little bit prep intensive. Since the majority of ingredients are vegetables there is a lot of peeling and cutting. One way I save time on prep is to cut all the vegetables either in the morning or on the night before. That way I only have a half an hour of cooking at dinner time. The recipe suggests a cooking time of 25 minutes. However, I felt that the sweet potatoes weren't as soft as I wanted them after that amount of cooking time, so I cooked the chili an additional 10-15 minutes. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I love the color on this dish. It would be a great meal to serve to guests since on the plate it looks very fall like. The flavor was mild enough that my two kids liked it, while well rounded enough that my husband and I enjoyed it. If you prefer spicier chili I would recommend increasing the chili powder to up to a teaspoon. I always adjust the amounts of spices to suit my family's needs.

For the recipe go to Autumn Root Vegetable Chili. (registration required)

Slowcooker Lemony Lentil Soup

I love fall. The leaves, the weather and most importantly the food. I have never been a warm weather person and I pretty much am miserable all summer with the humidity and the heat. No amount of air conditioning ever seems to cool me down enough. When fall rolls around the the temps start to drop, I love it. The weather hasn't gotten bitterly cold, but is just cool enough to start to enjoy great dishes like soups and stew. Beans are one of my favorite ingredients in the fall. There is something very comforting and delicious about all varieties of beans. Luckily my two boys share my love of beans, with one of their favorite fall dishes being bean soup. They absolutely love it and will eat multiple servings. Last week I tried a new recipe for Lemony Lentil Soup from the September issue of Parents magazine, which looked like a perfect fall dish.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 6 hours of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients and made no substitutions. I know from previous experience that my local grocery and super stores don't carry red lentils. However, the farmer's market in Charleston does, so I always buy a few pounds and keep it in my cupboard. I love that they have bulk beans, they are a great way to save money. Make sure to mince the carrots and onion. The recipe states to chop both of the ingredients, but my husband and I weren't fans of the texture after being in the crockpot. I would suggest dicing both of the ingredients and then sauteing them in a little bit of butter until they are soft and then adding to the crockpot. This would eliminate the texture problem. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I love lentil soup. The lemon flavor in this soup was delicious and really brought out the flavor of the lentils. The one thing that I was not a fan of was the texture of the carrots and onion. They tasted almost not all the way cooked and they definitely would be better diced and then sauteed instead of chopped. The leftovers of this soup re-heated well and my two boys ate the leftovers happily.

For the recipe go to Lemony Lentil Soup. 

Slow Cooker Cochinita Pibil

As you all know I absolutely love my slowcooker. There is nothing better than prepping food on a busy weekday morning and having it all done when you get home. Recently, my youngest has been very clingy and my dinner time prep has turned to chaos. His attachment seemed to have started when my oldest started back at school, so I have been trying to find ways to save time at dinner in order to spend more time with him during the day. So far it seems to be working well and he is slowly acting like his normal happy self again. One of the new crockpot recipes I tried recently came from an unlikely source, a coupon insert from Kroger which came to my mailbox. I love coupons and as I was looking through them I came across a recipe for Slow Cooker Cochinita Pibil, which looked delicious and perfect for a busy weeknight meal.

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, plus 1 tsp. sauce
• 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. annato powder or paste
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper 
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground clove
• 1 boneless pork but (about 4 lbs.)

Cilantro, onions, tortillas, and lime wedges for serving.

In a blender or food processor, puree the first 14 ingredients until smooth. Brown the pork butt in a small amount of oil. Add to slow cooker and pour the seasoning mix over. Cover and cook on high for 8 hours.

I did make a few changes to this recipe. The original recipe did not brown the meat before placing it in the crockpot. Any meat going into a slowcooker needs to be braised in order to remain moist. If you miss this step your meat will be far less flavorful and oftentimes turn out very tough. My family really enjoyed this recipe and I like that it came from an unlucky source. Sometimes the best recipes can be found in unlikely sources! If you end up trying this recipe tell me how it turns out!

Recipe adapted from Kroger Corporation home coupon mailer.

Gnocchi, Sweet Corn and Arugula in Cream Sauce

I love this time of the year. The weather is still mild and the humidity hasn't made life miserable like it does later in the summer. Best of all, there is always ton of inexpensive and abundant produce at the store. Fall and winter are always a little depressing in the fruits and vegetables sections of the grocery stores in my area. I'm lucky if I can find much more than spinach and greens fresh in the middle of the winter and the frozen selection is limited at best. Later in the spring and summer though there are always a ton of fresh vegetables and fruits to select from and I cook with them frequently. The last few years the corn available in my area has been hit or miss. Last summer it was pretty horrible and I only bought it a few times. This year has been the exact opposite, the corn was available early, cheap, and deliciously sweet. So I have been looking around for new corn recipes and  found one for Gnocchi, Sweet Corn and Arugula in Cream Sauce in the May issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

This recipe has 7 ingredients (8 if you chose to use crushed red pepper). It takes 20 minutes start to finish and makes 4 servings. So I went into this recipe with the intention of buying fresh corn, however, as you can see from the photo I ended up using frozen. Thanks to grocery shopping with a very hyper 3-year-old and a complaining 6-year-old my fresh corn plans were forgotten and I had to rely on the frozen corn in my freezer. I had no problems finding any of the other ingredients. For the dried herbs I used oregano, I love using dried oregano in pasta dishes. Instead of using a dutch oven, I used a stock pot to cook the pasta and then moved the finished pasta and cream sauce to a large saute pan to finish cooking. I have a very large and heavy dutch oven that takes a very long time to boil for pasta, so I prefer to use a pasta or stockpot instead. Additionally, I let my arugula cook until wilted. The recipe just states to stir in the arugula, for me I like my arugula a little more wilted since it has such a strong peppery taste. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

This is a very easy recipe to make. The prep work is very minimal and I was pleased that the amount of salt indicated was perfect. Oftentimes recipes vastly underestimate the required amount of salt, but this recipe was spot-on. My two boys were unsure of the gnocchi since I have only served it to them a few times, but once they tried it they loved it. My husband and I liked that it was different than previous pasta recipes that we had tried and the cream sauce had a nice flavor. We both felt that the arugula is somewhat unnecessary. The flavor of the cream sauce is dominant so the peppery flavor of the arugula doesn't really show through. It's a great way to add greens into your diet, but didn't do much for the flavor of the dish. Since it isn't essential for flavor you could substitute spinach or leave out the arugula completely if you chose. Overall, a very simple pasta recipe.

For the recipe go to Gnocchi, Sweet Corn and Arugula in Cream Sauce. (registration required)