Simple Healthy Chili Recipe!

As you probably know, healthy comfort food is my OBSESSION, and chili and cornbread has to be of my top 5 all time favorites.

I've shared a couple of chili recipes already, (Chicken and White Bean Chili, Chicken and Chipotle Chili) but not my go-to classic recipe! I probably make this simple healthy chili at least 4 times between September and April. 

You can find almost all the ingredients at Aldi for less than $10 and it makes a huge pot. Chili is one of those things that gets even better the longer it marinates, so this recipe is perfect to make on Sunday evening and you're all set for lunches or dinner all week!

This classic chili is inspired by my mom's original recipe. She makes the best chili, and in grad school I finally asked her for her secrets! The secret ingredient is CURRY POWDER! It makes a huge difference and adds an extra layer of flavor to the simple combo of ingredients. If you're a fellow chili lover, I highly recommend giving this recipe a try.

ANNA'S SIMPLE HEALTHY CHILI

Serves 6-8
(1 green, 1 red, 1/2 yellow on the 21 Day Fix)

Ingredients

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 package ground turkey (or beef)
• 1 large (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 or 2 cans (14 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 or 2 cans (14 oz) beans...black beans or kidney beans work best
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 heaping T chili powder (add more to taste)
• 1 heaping teaspoon curry powder

OPTIONAL

• Extra veggies like celery, bell pepper, whatever you have in the fridge!
• Your fave toppings: cilantro, lime, cheese, tortilla crispies (I like to bake my own chips), plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, etc.

Directions

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and cook the onion and garlic (and any additional veggies) until soft. Add the turkey and cook through. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer until everything is hot! The longer you simmer, the better it will taste.

This is also a great recipe for the crockpot! Just dump all the ingredients into your slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours.

Enjoy!

xo Anna

the best lentil soup ever

For Thanksgiving at my sister in law's this past year I brought a lentil salad recipe I found in

Better Homes and Gardens

(or as Ben calls it, Better Homes and Gardens Than Yours) that had a dressing made with red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard and it freaking rocked. Like, it was ALMOST as good as the cornbread stuffing that our friend Meredith brought, and stuffing + cornbread are two of my most favorite foods.

A lot of people tell me I'm an amazing cook (and I will accept all compliments and accolades gladly, hehe), but really my secret is just paying attention to what I eat! If I eat something that makes me think

OMG this is the most delicious thing ever

, I make a mental note and try to remember the components of what made it so yummy to me.

When I'm making dinner I rarely follow a recipe exactly. I usually take inspiration from my hoard of cookbooks and magazines or the memory of a delicious meal I had at a restaurant and put my own spin on it. Once you start to learn what flavors go well together and some basic cooking skills, you'll become a chef too. (I started with Easy Mac, pasta with frozen garlic bread, Lean Pockets, and Hamburger Helper in college, so if I can learn how to cook you can too. I believe in you!)

Anyway, last week we were down to a few bare scraps in the fridge and I threw together this lentil soup that was inspired by our Thanksgiving side dish. It turned out to be the best lentil soup I've ever had! Healthy, hearty, savory, delicious, and you probably already have most of the ingredients in your pantry. Try it this weekend!

The Best Lentil Soup Ever

serves 4

Ingredients

-1T olive oil

-1 onion, chopped

-4 carrots, chopped

-4 cloves garlic, minced

-1 cup green lentils, rinsed

-salt and pepper to taste

-1 tsp dried thyme

-4 cups broth

-1 cup water

-1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

-2T Dijon mustard

-2T red wine vinegar

-green onions

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the onion, carrots, and garlic in olive oil until partially cooked, about 3-4 minutes. Add lentils, herbs and spices, broth, and water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 40 minutes or until lentils are soft (the best way to test doneness is try a bite!). Stir in the beans, mustard, and vinegar and simmer for another 5 minutes. Top with chopped green onions and enjoy!

Toast and peanut butter makes the perfect side to lentil soup.

(21 Day Fix: 1 yellow, 1 green, 1 tsp per serving. Makes 4 servings.)

ginger sage butternut squash soup with sausage

Happy Autumn! I am so happy that soup and comfort food season has arrived!

There's a quick backstory to this recipe. Bear with me.

Is there anything out there that for some reason you really really really think you "should" start doing, but no matter how hard you try it's a huge struggle?

For example, I remember for YEARS I wanted to get into the routine of weekly meal planning so I could make one grocery list and stick to it. Have you ever struggled with this? It always seemed impossible and I'd end up going grocery shopping multiple times a week and purchasing way too many impulse buys. Well, one day I realized that I'd started meal planning without even realizing it! I don't remember when it started, but now every weekend I go through my latest Cooking Light magazine, cookbooks, and Pinterest boards and pick a few new recipes that I want to try. It's just a habit and I barely think twice about it! I'm not sure if it actually saves us money since I am a compulsive new recipe hoarder and we both eat so much food...but it at least makes the weekdays flow a little smoother because we always know what's for dinner.

Anyway.

The point of this story is that for the past several months I've had this nagging urge to start blogging more of my own recipes. I'm obsessed with collecting recipes from blogs, Pinterest, cookbooks, and magazines, but half the time I end up putting my own spin on it anyway. Ben is the opposite--cooking is like chem lab for him and he has to diligently measure out every 1/2 tsp of oil, but I like to get inspiration from a recipe and then go with my intuition and freestyle the rest of the way.

I take photos of all my dinners to post on Instagram, so I know that it won't take much extra time to jot down the recipe and throw it up here. I'm making it happen! And I'm also sharing recipes on my Facebook page. So excited! Start turning those "should do's" into action!

My preferred style of dinner is a fast, simple, and healthy one-pot meal. I love soup and I'm so happy the weather is finally cooling off so it feels like soup season! I also love butternut squash so this had to be my first official soup of the fall. Squash is usually a huge death-defying pain to peel and chop so I skipped those parts all together and roasted it in the peel. Just make sure you plan ahead enough to get the squash in the oven about 45-60 mins before you want to eat. If you're running short on time you can chop it in advance and cook it in the microwave.

Ginger Sage Butternut Squash Soup with Sausage

Serves 3-4

-1 butternut squash

-1 T coconut oil

-1 red onion, chopped

-4 cloves garlic, minced

-2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

-4 c veggie or chicken broth

-1 tsp fresh rosemary

-1 T fresh sage

-salt and pepper to taste

-2 links Italian turkey sausage

Preheat oven to 350*. 

Slice squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and set the seeds aside to roast!

Place squash cut-side down in a baking pan filled with 1/2" water, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the squash is soft enough to be easily pierced with a fork. Allow squash to cool for a little bit and then scoop it out of the peel with a spoon.

(To roast the seeds: squish them out of the squash goop with your fingers, combine with 1T olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt, and bake at 350* for 10-12 minutes stirring and watching constantly because they burn fast!)

While the squash is baking, heat coconut oil in a large pot or Dutch oven and cook the onion until transclucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook an additional 1-2 minutes. Pour in the broth, add the squash and herbs, and cook for about 5 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender (or CAREFULLY transfer into a food processor). Taste the soup to see if it needs any salt or pepper. 

While soup is simmering, slice the turkey sausage into coins and cook in a skillet.

Serve the soup topped with sausage, sage, and seeds!