Slow Cooker Chicken & Bean Chili

Ingredients

2 tblspns corn starch
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 (15 ounce) cans white beans
1 (15 ounce) can corn
1 (15.5 ounce) can chick peas
1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers
1 can of diced tomatoes (I prefer to use roasted red tomatoes)
2 tspns ground cumin
1 tblspn sea salt
1 tblspn ground chili powder
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
3 boneless chicken breasts
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice

Directions

Add chicken stock to crock pot
Add 3 boneless chicken breasts (thawed)
Let chicken cook in crock pot for aproximatley 1 1/2 hours on low
Remove the chicken and if no pink remains, cut into small bite small pieces.
Add chicken back to your crock pot.
Add all remaining ingredients except the corn starch.
Stir ingredients.
Let cook on low for an additional 2 hours.
Add corn starch and stir.
Let cook for an additional 30 - 60 minutes.
When you are finished, simply top with your favorite shredded cheese.

Additional toppings could include: sour cream, diced up chives or green onions, corn chips.

The nice part of last night's dinner was there is enough for my husband and I to have it for lunch today!

Simple Pierogies with my pantry fancies

Tonight, I had no clue what we were going to have, but decided on a box of frozen periogies. I then realized, they could use some "fancy" added to them. In the sake of time, I looked to my pantry and found a few simple ingredients. So here is what the outcome was: Periogies with red onions, sweet roasted red peppers, and artichoke hearts.

Ingredients:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Red onion chopped into thin strips
1 can of artichoke hearts
1/2 small jar of sweet roasted red peppers which i diced up
1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro
1 frozen box of potatoe and cheese periogies
Paprika
I used my leftover chicken broth in the fridge, but if you don't have any left over, simply open a new can.
Salt & pepper

sour cream: optional

Boil the periogies in a combination of chicken broth and water until they start to float and immediately take them out of the water.

While the boiling is going on, I used my large wok to sautee the onions in a 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. After they were nice and soft, I sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and paprika. Add the artichoke hearts for aproximatley 2 minutes. Add the periogies. Sautee until the periogies get light brown in color. Add your diced up sweet roasted pepper and cilantro. Serve with a side of sour cream.

Easy to do and I aproximate this meal for 3 people cost me less than $8.00 total.

Trying to Eat Healthier

In an effort to try and eat better and shed a few holiday pounds, I made a healthy dinner last night that was easy to split into two meals. One healthier version for hubby and myself & one more kid friendly version. In addition, it was easy, cheap, and quick to prepare.
What I used:
1 bag of the steamfresh Cheese Ravioli
1 box of frozen spinach
2 tablespoons of crushed red pepper (in the jar, some call it hoagie spread)
1 tablespoon of crushed garlic
salt & pepper
fresh grated parmesan cheese (or shakeable if you prefer)
bag of frozen broccoli
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil
I also had about a cup of left over ground turkey from taco's the day before (optional)

Steam up your ravioli as per directions on your bag
In the microwave I nuked the block, of frozen spinach for 1 minute to get it kick started
In a hot sautee pan I put in the olive oil, turkey meat, crushed garlic, and red pepper
-let that cook for just a minute stirring to break up the meat thoroughly
Add your spinach which should be just frozen in the middle and break it up into the pan


Meanwhile, boil your broccoli until tender in another pot & take your butter and melt in the microwave.


After your spinach and turkey meat appears to be hot and done, add salt & pepper to taste. If you can't use salt due to dietary restrictions, you can substitute about a tspn of paprika instead. Tip: If your mixture looks a little dry, simply add a tablespoon or two or water and mix throughly.

In a separate bowl, empty out your ravioli which should be cooked by now. Drizzle very lightly with aprox. 1 tspn of olive oil and mix to coat each ravioli to prevent sticking.

For the kiddo's -> plate the raviolis and broccoli, drizzle the melted butter, top with shredded parmesan cheese, & salt & pepper. (my kids' will eat broccoli, but not the spinach mixture)

For the adults -> spread the spinach mixture on each plate, top with raviolis & aprox. 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese.

By my own calculations on my products I used, this dinner for the adults ended up being about 450 calories.

Tip: I try to use regular olive oil or "light" olive oil instead of EVOO because of the caloric content.

Breakfast for Dinner

Well tonight hubby is out with his boss at a dinner meeting having fine wine and a great steak! So, I thought it only appropriate to take the night off from cooking. Well, almost anyway! An easy breakfast for dinner. We are having breakfast which is the easiest meal to cook in my opinion and the favorite of the kids! They just love to crack those eggs. Although, a few shells may have to be dug out of the bowl, we all enjoy making this one together.

Scrambled Eggs with a 4 cheese blend
Crispy Bacon
Left over sweet Hawaiian rolls
Fresh granny smith apple slices

This dish is super easy and I'm sure everyone knows how to scramble an egg, but here's a few tips from my kitchen.

When you are cooking the eggs, when you get to the end and they are almost done, simply leave them in your frying pan so they come out as one whole circle or round egg. Almost like you are making an omlette. Then cut your round into quarters. This enables your egg to stay on your roll and makes eating it less messy.

Right before you are reading to release your eggs from your pan, sprinkle heavily with a 4 cheese blend (or whatever cheese you have in your fridge). Salt & Pepper to taste.

I think doing the bacon in the microwave makes for a less messy and quicker bacon. I like to cut the bacon in half so they fit on the rolls easier, then place them on a paper plate with a paper towel on top. I use 1 minute for each piece of bacon as my guide.

As a final note, I would like to say this is an easy and cheap dinner for your family.