Weeknights can be tough when it comes to dinner. In case of emergencies – I ALWAYS have a handful of items in the house to make chili. This is the easiest chili recipe ever – and it is full of mommy kitchen hacks! 🙂 The big bonus for me is that this chili is FULL of veggies (great for the kiddos) – makes a good amount of leftovers – and takes under 10 min to make. HUGE WIN!

In my world – healthy kitchen hacks make me happy! In the picture below, you will see the items I keep in my freezer and pantry that make it possible to make an amazing and crazy fast chili for my family.

Do I prefer fresh ingredients? YES! Would I rather make this amazing organic chili using these ingredients vs. order takeout? YES!

PANTRY ITEMS:

• 1 – Organic yellow onion
• 1 – 15 oz Can organic cannelloni beans (salt free)
• 1 -15 oz Can organic black beans (salt free)
• 1 -15 oz Can organic pinto beans (salt free)
• 1 -15 oz Can organic kidney beans (salt free)
• 1 – 28 oz Can organic fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 – Jar organic chili powder (no salt blend)

FREEZER ITEMS:

• 1 – 16 oz Bag organic fire roasted corn
• 1 – 16 oz Bag organic three pepper blend (sliced bell peppers)
• 1 – 11 oz Bag Beyond Meat (or alternative vegetable – meatless protein)

INTRUCTIONS:

• Plug in Slow Cooker and put on low.
• Dump entire can of fire roasted tomatoes into slow cooker – juice and all.
• Open all 4 cans of beans and drain them. Dump the beans from all 4 cans (without the liquid) – into the slow cooker.
• Dump entire bag of three pepper blend into slow cooker.
• Dump 1/2 the bag of fire roasted corn into the slow cooker. Save the other half in freezer for another recipe.
• Dump entire bag of Beyond Meat into slow cooker.
• Dice entire onion and add to slow cooker. Stir everything well with large spoon.
• Let cook on low for 8 hours. Add 5-6 tbsp chili powder (more or less depending on your preference). Stir well and serve hot.

OTHER EASY THINGS TO THROW IN:

• Pre-washed spinach from the bag
• Pre-sliced organic mushrooms
• Any other type of organic bean that you like for chili
• Chopped garlic (fresh or pre-chopped from the jar)
• 1 – 15 oz can organic tomato sauce (for a saucier version)

TOPPINGS IDEAS:

• Shredded cheese
• Chopped parsley
• Chopped cilantro
• Avocado
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• Scallions
• Sour cream
• Fresh diced tomatoes
• Tortilla chips

You may have noticed that most of the items I used in this are salt free (when possible). I like to cook with as little salt as possible – and trust me – this chili doesn’t need it! The chili blend is salt free as well – and is delicious! Some items do have salt and when mixed with the salt free ingredients – balance it all out. You’ll feel so much better without the extra sodium – and it’s much better for adults and kids alike!

Yes this is a vegetarian chili. You can add meat – but it will take a lot of extra time to cook the meat, drain it, and add it into the chili. Also, you will miss out on the added veggies from the vegetable protein that I use.

Beyond Meat (or similar substitute of choice) is a fantastic mommy hack to get your kids to eat more veggies! The texture is like ground beef – but it’s a lot healthier! The one I use (see above) is soy free, non GMO, gluten free, cholesterol free, vegan, and kosher! Not to mention has 13 grams of protein per serving! You can also try Quorn which is another fantastic plant protein crumble that mimics ground beef really well in chili. Plant protein that tastes like ground beef in your chili! Yes please! Great trick to get kiddos the veggies they need! 🙂

Also, for any canned products you purchase (for beans, tomatoes, etc.) please be sure to only pick cans that have a BPA free lining! This should be available in most if not all grocery stores these days! 

One last trick – don’t tell your kids what’s in the chili if they are picky eaters! Let them try it and see how it goes! My nephew didn’t want to eat this chili because it has onions – and he “hates onions.” That being said – I told him that I took the onions out and he ate the whole bowl and asked for seconds. Yes…I know I fibbed a bit…but he needed to try his dinner and he ended up loving it! lol! If it tastes great – is super healthy – and was crazy easy to make – why ruin it all by telling them what’s in it??? Once they love it, tell them what is in it and have them help you make it! Fun!

Enjoy!! xoxo

Need to make something easy without a ton of mess? As a busy mommy – I’m always on the lookout for easy lunch and dinner ideas.

This Pot Roast is not only delicious – but it is incredibly easy to make! I personally don’t eat meat so this tends to be something I make when we have company. I made recently (see pic above) and fed 7 adults with leftovers.

Below is my version of this recipe. I hope you enjoy it! 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 – 4lb Pot Roast
• 1 – Packet of Hidden Valley Ranch mix (dry)
• 1 – Packet of low sodium Au Jus mix (dry)
• 1 – Jar of Pepperoncini peppers (12-15 oz of mild or spicy peppers depending on your preference and crowd)
• 1 – Small bag of mini carrots (12 oz) – use rainbow carrots if available
• 1 – Small bag of Fingerling potatoes (18-24 oz)
• 1 – Small bag of frozen pearl onions
• 1 – 1 small stick (8 tbsp) of unsalted butter
• Black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Plug in your Slow Cooker and set on low.

Unwrap your Pot Roast and put into the Slow Cooker.

Pour the Ranch and Au Jus packets over the meat.

Pour the ENTIRE jar of Pepperoncini peppers (with juice) over the meat.

Cut the stick of butter into 4 pieces and add to Slow Cooker around the meat.

Add half the bag of pearl onions to Slow Cooker. If you aren’t a pear onion fan, you can also dice a small yellow onion. I’ve used yellow onion many times and it always turns out wonderful!

Next add your mini carrots. Most of the small bags of organic mini carrots are pre-washed, so you can add them right into the Slow Cooker without any other prep 🙂

Wash and scrub the potatoes. Cut in half and add to the Slow Cooker. I added about 2/3 of the bag – although you can add more or less as you see fit.

Fresh cracked black pepper can be used once this is ready to serve. No additional salt is needed. No additional liquid is needed. Follow the steps above and you’re all set!

Cook on low for 8 hours until the meat is falling apart and the veggies are super tender. This is almost like a stew when it’s done.

I LOVE this recipe because it feeds a good size crowd or makes fantastic leftovers for the week! It is great with egg noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes (if you skip the fingerling potatoes). I suggest serving it with big green salad and some crusty bread. You can also garnish with some chopped parley for a little extra color and freshness.

It takes very little prep and you basically dump everything into the Slow Cooker and let magic happen while you get on with your day. The house will smell great, the food will be flavorful and tender, and you will look like a star! 🙂

Enjoy!

xoxo

Healthy dinner is closer than you think! Portobello mushroom cap pizzas are a favorite in our house. They are easy to make, fun, delicious, and healthy!

Ingredients:

• 4 Portobello mushroom caps – largest you can find (adjust amount if you need more or less for your family)
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• A variety of veggies for the toppings (bell peppers, garlic, tomato, etc.)
• Cooking spray
• 1 jar of pizza sauce

To get things rolling, preheat the over to 375.

Wash the portobello mushrooms well, and pull out the stems so you have a nice empty cap ready to fill.

Line a cooking sheet with foil and lightly coat with olive oil spray.

Put mushroom caps on baking sheet and bake for about 5 min or so while you prepare the toppings.

My favorite part about this recipe is that you can use whatever veggies you have in the house and need to use up! In this case, I used red bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, fresh basil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, and jalapeño (on the ones for me and hubby). Chop your veggies into little pieces. Remember, this is not a full size pizza so they do need to be chopped small to fit onto the mushroom caps. Set the veggies/toppings aside.

Using oven mitts, pull the pan out of the oven and get ready to top your mushroom caps!

I use a jar of low sodium, no sugar added, organic pizza sauce from the grocery store and it works great! Put your pizza sauce of choice into each cap. Top the sauce with shredded mozzarella. Lastly, top with your chopped veggies and pop back into the over for about 15 min.

Pull out and serve with fresh salad, fruit, or whatever you want as a side dish. They are great with a little red pepper flake on top as well (for those who like a little extra spice).

Thats it! Talk about easy! Hope you try it out and please let me know what you think!

Enjoy! 🙂 xoxo

Ok folks – I’ve been pretty excited to share this recipe. It’s healthy, easy and family friendly! Flourless pancakes – woohoo!

I’ve broken it down into easy to follow steps below 🙂

Step 1: Gather ingredients – 1 ripe banana, 2 eggs, and pumpkin pie spice. I use a couple shakes of pumpkin pie spice but you can also use cinnamon and nutmeg if you have those on hand. A touch of vanilla extract is a fun and yummy way to change these up as well! You can get creative with flavors.

Step 2: Put everything in the blender and mix until smooth (30 seconds or so).

Step 3: Heat pan on medium and spray with coconut oil (or preferred oil spray).

Step 4: Pour pancake mix and let cook for about 2 min on the first side. Flip and let cook for about 1 min on the other side. They cook fast so keep an eye on them.

Step 5: ENJOY!

We eat them without anything on top most of the time – but we have used agave instead of syrup and it’s delicious!

I hope you try these out soon! It’s a great way to use up ripe bananas – and a deliciously easy breakfast for any day of the week!

xoxo