6 Meals Out of a Big Bowl of Chili

I don’t know about you, but it is tough to find time to cook for all the meals of the day. I like to try to make things on the weekend and have them for the rest of the week, or make and freeze things to be used at a later date. With school getting back in session and vacations under our belts, it’s time to buckle down to getting back on a schedule. Soon we will be feeling the cool fall breezes, football season will be here in full swing, and what could be more appropriate than a big pot of chili? Ooh, delicious! One of the things I have learned over the years is how to stretch that food dollar. Take a food you had for one meal and make it into something completely different for another meal. Here are some ideas on how to make that chili into a couple of dishes. Let’s first start with the basic chili recipe:


Basic Chili

What you’ll need:

•	1 pound ground beef
•	1 large onion, chopped
•	½ green pepper, chopped finely
•	1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (if you like the heat)
•	4 cloves garlic, minced
•	1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
•	2 cups tomato juice
•	2 Tbsp chili powder
•	1 Tbsp ground cumin
•	1 tsp dried oregano
•	2 tsp dried cilantro
•	Salt/pepper
•	Pinch of sugar
•	1 (15-ounce) can black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

What to do:

1.	Brown meat in large deep pan until cooked. Drain grease. Add onions and peppers, and garlic, and cook until tender.
2.	Stir in tomatoes and juice, plus next 4 ingredients and simmer, uncovered 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, pinch of sugar.
3.	Cover and simmer on low for a couple of hours to bring out the tastes. This is a great recipe to cook in the crock pot when you are gone all day at work.
4.	Add beans at the very end and cook 10 more minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish with cheese, green onions, and sour cream if desired.

We like to make this recipe or a variation of it (you know chili – you just keep tasting it until it tastes the way you like it) and then freeze half of it and eat the first half of it for meals during the week. Here are some of the variations. We are sure you have even more ideas. Feel free to email them to us and we’ll put them in our blogs!

Variation #2: For those of you Monkeys and Giraffes who can have more complex carbohydrates, try serving the chili over brown rice or noodles for a change – nothing like a chili mac delight! YUM! You can even mix it all together and make a casserole, top it with cheddar cheese, and there you have it! Wednesday night’s supper!

Variation #3: Take that chili and cook it down a little and use it for tacos. Who doesn’t love tacos? Add a little homemade guacamole and you’re all set!

Variation #4: If you are trying to incorporate more veggies into your diet, why not make a delicious taco salad. Toss some freshly washed dark leafy greens, top with warm chili, chopped fresh tomatoes, chopped fresh corn, a side of lime, chopped cilantro, a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt – and there you have it! Serve with your favorite organic corn chips! Makes a nice dish for company as well!

Variation #5: Chili is good for breakfast too – make chili rellenos or chili omelets! Delish! For option one, just cook up some sunny side eggs and place atop the chili. Or option #2, make your omelet as usual, but use the chili for the inside! Top with melted cheese as desired.

Variation #6: Baked potato topped with chili and sour cream. Ooh, don’t you just love a fresh baked potato? Top it off with some chili and your favorite garnishes! It’s a fun way to use leftover chili! A potato bar is fun for the kids or for having a group of friends over.

There you have it! Six fun things to do with that big pot of chili! It’s time to get back in the kitchen and start planning some meals. You don’t need to go out to the fast food restaurants when you can make something as simple as this. Try it tonight! You’ll be surprised how tasty and fun cooking can be! If you need help with getting started on how to cook or what diet you need to follow, our nutrition and lifestyle coach, Give us a call or make an appointment online!