Three Bean Ground Beef Chili Recipe

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Now that we've changed the clocks and the nights are getting darker and darker, there is nothing more comforting to come home to than a big bowl of chili (okay, and a superbly adorable dog, but that's beside the point here).

Last weekend, my husband requested chili. We stocked up on ground beef and beans and made it happen. It lasted us through lunches and a few dinners all week, and was an easy way to make dinner happen on a moment's notice.

Three Bean Ground Beef Chili

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 6-8 hours

Ingredients:

• 2.5-3 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1 can roasted tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can pinto beans
• 4 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Italian seasoning, to taste

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef and onion together. My crock pot has a saute setting, so I browned the beef inside the crock pot. Depending on how lean your beef is, you may need to drain it.
2. Puree all tomato items (paste, diced tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, etc) in a blender. If you want the tomato chunks, feel free to skip this step, but my husband is anti-tomato-chunks, so we pureed it.
3. Combine all remaining ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
4. Serve topped with cheese of choice and a sprinkle of italian seasoning. Store in a glass container and it should be good for up to two weeks!

Notes:

• Feel free to half the recipe if you aren't looking for such a large batch. This makes somewhere between 8-16 servings, depending on whether you serve it in a large bowl or small mug.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Do you have a special, tried-and-true chili recipe?
• Have you ever topped chili with a fried egg? I am dying to try it!

Spicy Corn and Black Bean Salsa (and Semi-Homemade Tortilla Chips)

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Once upon a time, Justin and I were in the mood for something spicy. And by spicy, I mean salsa. But we wanted spicy, chunky salsa. And we wanted some color. Hence the corn.

The salsa itself is pretty darn hot... unless you cut the Sriracha Sauce in half (which is do-able, but why, why, why would you want to?!). But here we were, a delicious bowl of Salsa in front of us, with no chips. How could we forget the chips?!

Justin muttered to himself... Darn. I wish we had chips.

My response? Give me ten minutes.

And, true to my word, ten minutes later, I had semi-homemade tortilla chips (thank God we had a bag of "authentic" corn tortillas hanging around!). And the rest, as they say, is history! :)

...oh, but did I mention the whole bowl is only 206 calories (and with 42% of your daily FIBER intake?!)

 

Spicy Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Calories Total: 206 (for the salsa recipe only)
Calories Per Serving: 52 (based on 4 servings)
Prep Time: 2 Minutes

Ingredients for Salsa:

• 1/2 Cup Corn (Look for Whole Kernal Corn and try to avoid any corn that says "Sweet," "Sweetened," etc)
• 2 Tomatoes, diced (or 1 cup Canned Crushed Tomatoes with No Salt Added)
• 1/2 cup Organic Black Beans (if buying a can, look for no added salt or low sodium)
• 2 tsp Sriracha Sauce (or 1 tsp for a more mild salsa)

Ingredients for Homemade Tortilla Chips (Just in case!):

• 8-10 corn tortillas (look for the lowest calorie bag. I've found that authentic is actually better in this particular quest!)

Directions for Salsa:

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well
2. Serve with chips! 

Directions for Homemade Tortilla Chips (Just in case!):

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Stack Tortillas on top of each other and then cut them, all at once, into 4 triangle pieces for large chips or 8 for small chips.
3. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until crispy. Make sure to test a chip before you turn the oven off! If they're not crispy enough, keep them in for another few minutes.