It’s October and I’m almost to the halfway point of this year’s 31 day challenge. I’ve been sharing on my Instagram my “31 Days of Feeding My Family” as I feed my boys, hubby and this growing belly of mine. It’s been hugely helpful to have this to motivate my cooking. I mean let’s be real, pregnancy can really kick that drive out the door. For me the first trimester is almost a lost cause and we eat a lot of uncooked meals and take out; and of course my husband Ben does a lot more in the kitchen in this phase. I’ve been told that some of you Inspiration Clothesline readers suspected baby 5 was on the way when I asked for all your favorite meals to try and admitted to being unmotivated in the kitchen. If you were one of those you may have been right and realized the truth before I even did. 🙂
That being said the fall, and this series, is always very motivating for me. I love warm and cozy foods and I love feeding my people. I also love the recipe swapping you all do with me during this time. Have one you want me to try, or cook for those following along, send it my way. You can DM on Instagram, comment below and leave a link I’m game to try just about anything.
This year we’ve been working to eat more leftovers so we don’t waste as much and using my handy meal planner pad by “Duly Noted Design” you can find your’s here. I always get asked. It’s so simple and I often use the “things to buy” section for lunch and dinner ideas too. See more in my 31 Day challenge highlight real. I’ve also added a few blurbs about lunches and the phenomenon that is packing school lunches. I’ll be honest and tell you Benjamin does this more than half the time!
I have also been known to start dinner a bit earlier so I can cook in some semblance of peace before they all descend home from school and wake from naps, but of course there are the days that it is 6:30 and I haven’t even started so the Instant Pot is the hero on those days. Today I had some time while kids were playing outside and Benjamin was mowing the lawn and I gravitated to the “chili and cornbread” I had planned. BUT since I’ve been a way for a couple of days I hadn’t had the chance to grab all the ingredients I might have typically used to make a chili recipe from scratch. So… I threw what I had in my dutch oven and landed on a pretty tasty chili. The kids and Ben approved so that is always a win, especially when those who don’t like corn eat the corn, and those who don’t really prefer sweet potatoes don’t mind it in this recipe. WIN!
That means I figured I should share it here.I served with cornbread. Our favorite recipe is right on the back of the Albert’s Cornmeal box but you can find it here. We also add toppings like avacado, cheese, sour cream, and cilantro. The recipe is below, but keep in mind you can literally change out almost anything in the recipe for an ingredient you prefer or one you happen to have on hand. I was bummed to not have cauliflower but I’ll certainly add that next time. Feel free to send me your favorite chili recipe to try or share how you adapted this one to meet your fridge/pantry contents or your family’s taste!
Happy Cooking! If you want to read more about this series (from years past) or grab a few more recipes, this is a great place to start. OR you can always use the mustard colored search box in the right hand column of the blog to search “recipe” or something more specific.
What You've Got Chilli
INGREDIENTS
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced/pressed
3 sweet potatoes, diced small
1/2 cup red wine
1 can black beans
1 can great northern beans
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1-2 cups chicken
1 cup frozen corn
Salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Brown one pound of ground beef with one, diced onion and four minced/pressed cloves of garlic.
2. Once browned use 1/2 cup of red wine to deglaze the pan. (Use a flat edged spatial or spoon to scrape the bottom of your Dutch oven, or pot, to get all the yummy bits loose.)
3. Add 3 diced sweet potatoes and the dried seasonings and allow to begin to soften.
4. Stir in the can of black beans and great northern beans. Be sure you drain but don’t rinse them, in fact I may have only drained the black beans come to think of it and tossed the great northern beans liquid right into the pot.
5. Add 1-2 cups of chicken broth. This can vary depending on your taste (if you like it thicker use less and thinner use more) but do keep in mind if you are using additional or different veggies that might need more liquid to absorb in the cooking process. You can always add more if you need, or cook longer to reduce some liquid out if necessary so it’s. It a make or break either way.
6. Mix in 1 cup of frozen corn ( you could also sub out a can of drained corn).
7. Let summer while corn bread cooks, about 25 minutes. The longer it Cooks the more the flavors will develop.
8. At this point I taste test to see if I think it needs more salt or pepper.
Ideas for additional veggies:
Cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, turnips, peas, peppers, or even zucchini. I choose by my own taste and by my kiddos preference.
The meat can be changed the same way or left out entirely, also true with the beans. Try ground turkey or sausage, or even no meat. Kidney beans all you’ve got, pinto on hand, truly just toss in what you have!
I served with cornbread. Our favorite recipe is right on the back of the Albert’s Cornmeal box but you can find it here. We also add toppings like avacado, cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.