Turkey Chili

 

It's February so apparently winter has decided to arrive and stick around here in Houston.  After being out of town for my birthday trip, I've been out of the groove of meal planning and grocery shopping which made dinner this week look like:

Monday - pizza

Tuesday - rotisserie chicken, steam in the bag broccoli, and baked sweet potatoes

Wednesday - salmon, rice, and steam in the bag green beans

So Thursday I actually did a real grocery haul incase we got iced in and I made White Chicken Chili and bought ingredients for classic chili (recipes in my newest newsletter; subscribe here.)

So I thought I'd share our favorite turkey chili.  It's adapted from the Mom-a-licious cookbook and my kids prefer this to classic chili hands down; plus it's leaner.

What you need:

1 lb turkey

1/4 c onion, diced

2 T cumin

2 cloves garlic minced

1 T tamari

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1 can black beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can chopped green chilis

chicken broth

2 t chili powder (or more or less to taste)

1 t onion powder (or more or less to taste)

garlic salt to taste

What you do:

1. In a saute pan, saute onion in olive oil until translucent ~4 minutes (add garlic for the last minute of cooking time so you don't burn it).

2. Add in cumin and combine.

3. In a big pot, brown turkey and tamari browning turkey until no pink remains. Drain fat and then add the onion mixture to it.

4. Add in beans, tomatoes, chiles and broth (eyeball this until desired consistency.

5. Add in the rest of your spices adjusting to taste.

We like ours over rice and served with fritos.

Clean Spice Mixes

It's January so many of you are embarking on Whole 30 (bless your hearts), so it's time to read some labels or make your own spice mixes.  It's super easy to make your own and keep gross chemicals out of your family's dinner.

Here are three of my favorites:

Wicked Spatula's Clean Ranch 

I use this on Mississippi Pot Roast which we repurpose a second night for pulled beef tacos - yum!

Homemade Taco Seasoning:

2 T chili powder

1 T cumin

1 T sea salt

1/2 T black pepper

1/2 T paprika

2 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

1 t dried oregano

1/8 t cayenne (optional)

Keep in an airtight container and use 2 T per pound of meat for recipes. We love this for ground turkey tacos, stuffed bell peppers, or slow cooker chicken tacos.

Clean Chili Seasoning:

12 T chili powder

3 T garlic powder

3 T cumin

2 T onion powder

1 ½  T sea salt

2 t paprika

2 t dried minced onion

1 t pepper

Pour into a Mason jar and shake til combined. Use 3-4 T per 2 lbs of ground beef for chili.

Now, reconsider Whole 30 and jump into my FASTer Way group starting TOMORROW.  We will eat rice and beans and peanuts (plus lots of other stuff) because I don't want to live in a world without any of that.  Check it out here:

 https://www.fasterwaycoach.com/#robinince

My email subscribers will be receiving my leftover guide in their inboxes today for easy, clean meal prep for the new year.  Subscribe here:

https://mailchi.mp/6fa9c696734d/fasterwaywithrobin

Happy 2022!

XO,

Robin

Savory Pumpkin Chili

I've been working on developing a yummy pumpkin chili, and this one is a winner!  I don't prefer sweet chili and this recipe, despite its sweet ingredients, comes out rich and savory.  It's got a little kick but can be easily adjusted by decreasing the cayenne so that it's not too hot for the kiddos.

What you need:

1 lb grass fed ground beef

1/2 c onion, diced

4 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 - 15 oz can pumpkin 

1 - 15 oz can red kidney beans

1 - 29 oz can petite diced tomatoes

1 c chicken broth (I use Central Market's brand because it's gluten free)

2 T chili powder

1 T Cocoa + Espresso powder (I used CocoaX brand)

1 1/2 t cinnamon

3 t ground cumin

2 t kosher salt

1/2 t black pepper

1/2 or 1/4 t cayenne depending on preference

Garnish: diced red onion, avocado and cilantro

What to do:

1. In a large pot, add 1-2 T olive oil and saute your onions for about 4 minutes and then add minced garlic for the last minute.  

2. Add beef to the pot and brown, breaking it up as you cook.  Drain the fat once no pink remains in the beef.

3. Add all other ingredients and stir until smooth.  Simmer for 30 minutes (stir occasionally).

4. Garnish and enjoy!

What's On My Table: Beef Bourguignon

One of my passions is to show that healthy, whole food eating doesn't mean boring and flavorless food! That's not a way to live.  You shouldn't have to choose between healthy and delicious! On Thursdays, I'm doing a series here called "What's On My Table" like I do on my IG account: @fasterwaywithrobin .  I will be using past recipes until my kitchen is back in order.  I hope you'll follow along!   Please give me recipes you would like to see cleaned up, and I'll add those to the rotation when I'm able.

Houston is about to have a huge cold snap, so if I had a working kitchen, Beef Bourguignon would be on my menu for Saturday.  It takes a little longer to make, so buy precut stew meat to cut down on prep time.  I love eating this for treat day on a thick slice of garlic rubbed toasted French bread, and then eating the leftovers (without the bread) on low carb day.  It's one of those recipes that makes your house smell incredible, and it tastes even better leftover.  I love making this for company or large gatherings.

Clean Beef Bourguignon

This base recipe comes from Ina Garten with tweaks I've made to keep it clean.

8 oz SUGAR FREE bacon (I use Pederson's)

2 1/2 lbs stew meat (1 inch cubes)

Kosher salt 

Pepper

1 pound petite baby carrots 

2 yellow onions, sliced

1 T garlic, minced

1 bottle dry red wine (I use 2 buck chuck Merlot from Trader Joe's)

2-4 c beef broth

1 T tomato paste

1/2 t dried thyme

4 T vegan butter

1 1/2 T arrow root starch

1 lb fresh mushrooms (I like baby bellas), washed, stems removed and sliced

Method:

*Preheat oven to 250 degreed F

1. Cook your bacon in a Dutch oven. Reserve on a paper towel lined plate.

2. Salt and pepper stew meat and then brown in bacon fat. Reserve with bacon.

3. Toss carrots and onions and 1 T salt into the Dutch oven and cook 10-15 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

4. Add meat into pot and then crumble the bacon into the pot.

5. Add wine (yes, the ENTIRE bottle ;) ), and beef broth until meat is covered.  Then add thyme and tomato paste and bring to a simmer.

6. Place lid on Dutch oven and put stew in the oven for 1 1/4 hour.

7. Melt 2 T of vegan butter and combine with the arrowroot starch. Stir into Dutch oven. (You can skip this step but it won't be thick the first day).

8. Saute mushrooms in last 2 T of butter and add them to the pot. Stir to combine.

Serve over toasted French bread that has been rubbed with fresh garlic, with egg noodles, or by itself.  My kids prefer it over the noodles, and Taylor and I eat it with bread for treat day and as a stew on low carb days.

This is my longest recipe, but don't be intimidated by it's length.  Each step is super easy, and I promise it's worth it!

Christmas Cookies: Thumbprints

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, room temp

1/3 c sugar

1 egg, separated

1/4 t vanilla

1/4 t almond

1 c sifted flour

1/2 t salt

4/4 c chopped walnuts

1/2 c apricot jam

Method:

1.Preheat oven to 300 degrees F

2. Cream butter

3. Beat in egg yolk and flavorings

4. Add in flour sifted with salt

5. Form into 36 small balls (I never can make it to 36...)

6. Dip in egg white and roll in walnuts

7. Place on parchment covered cookie sheet and press your thumb in the middle of each ball.

8.  Bake for 25 minutes

9.  Add a dollop of jam while cookies are still warm

Since I don't have the fancy "jump to recipe" button so I thought I'd put my description after in case you don't care - hah!

This is my maternal grandmother's recipe and it's just the BEST.  I don't have a sweet tooth, but these cookie are my weakness.  I'm thankful for the FASTer Way where I can plan to eat a bunch on treat day without guilt!

It's super easy to make them gluten free - just swap the regular flour with gluten free 1:1 flour.  They taste exactly the same!

Friday Favorites: Christmas Dinner Menu

 

One year when we lived in Edinburgh, I hosted Christmas at our flat, and it was EXHAUSTING.  So much respect for my mom and mother-in-law for hosting all these years with grace and cheer all the while making it look effortless! So if you're hosting, you want to make sure your Christmas Dinner Menu is delicious but LOW MAINTENANCE so you can enter into the festivities without being too preoccupied.

When I got married, I was shocked to find out that it was traditional to basically serve Thanksgiving for Christmas dinner.  Not to knock Thanksgiving because I do like it, but it's more special to have it once a year, and it's too much work to make this for Christmas in my opinion.  In case you fall in this camp, I'm giving you permission to adopt my family's Christmas menu this year.  My mom (actually her mom) is a genius for going against the grain on it because it is better than Thanksgiving! It's clean (if you skip the dessert and cocktail), and it's simple to throw together, but it looks fancy!  My goal on Christmas Day is to be present with my family NOT a slave to my kitchen.

Kellam Christmas  Dinner Menu:

1. Standing Rib Roast

Disclaimer: make sure the bottom of your oven is clean so you don't set your house on fire.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees (you read that right).  Rub roast with olive oil and salt and pepper or butter instead of olive oil if you're not dairy free.  Place roast in 500 degree oven for 5 minutes per pound (keep close watch and make sure you have a fire extinguisher handy...kidding, kind of), then turn the oven off and leave roast in there for 2 hours and DON'T OPEN THE DOOR for the entire time it's in the oven (this is a very important step because if you open it early, you could cause your entire apartment complex to have to evacuate on Christmas Day because you set off the smoke alarm...not that I know this from personal experience, ahem). In all seriousness, pay attention to it while the oven just in case ;) (we've never started a fire, but if the bottom of your oven is dirty, all bets are off at that temp).  The high heat for the first part will give you a delicious crust on the outside and then leaving it after you turn it off makes it perfect on the inside.

2. Rosemary Garlic Smashed Potatoes*

(photo from foodiecrush.com)

Click above link for recipe. *I sub olive oil to keep them dairy free!

3. The BEST Green Beans

Buy the prewashed, steam in the bag green beans (don't buy a huge bag if cooking for a crowd because cooking time can be tricky and they don't steam as well.  Buy multiple normal sized bags and steam in batches.  I under cook them a tad so they are al dente (~2 minutes) and throw in an ice bath to preserve their bright green color.  Then saute minced garlic in olive oil or butter for 30 seconds, drain green beans and add to pan sauteing on med high heat. Sprinkle with salt and stir often.  Add in a heavy pour of dry white wine like sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio, turn up heat and reduce by half.  Squeeze a lemon over it and serve immediately.

4. Cherry Pie 

This is the easiest pie ever but for some reason is my kids' favorite.  We literally follow the cherry pie filling can directions and use a  frozen Pillsbury Pets Ritz Pie Crust and make a latticed top with Pillsbury rolled dough (refrigerated section by the biscuits). Pillsbury is the best so don't sub for a different store bought version! To make lattice, slice rolled dough into ~1 inch strips.  Line top quarter of your pie with strips pressed into the crust but folded outward on the counter.  Do this on left side quarter as well.  Weave strips together. Cover edges in foil for first part of baking time to keep it from burning and then uncover so it turns golden.

Bonus: Festive Cranberry Champagne Cocktail

Line rim with raw sugar, add 1/2 a shot of chilled rum to the glass and fill the rest with champagne and add a cranberry juice floater on top.  Add fresh cranberry and mint for garnish.

Tag me on instagram if you make any of this! @fasterwaywithrobin

Cozy Stovetop Beef Stew

What's On My Table:

Cozy Stovetop Beef Stew

 I adapted this recipe from Mix and Match Mama and swapped out some ingredients to make it cleaner.  I love this type of meal on a cold winter's night.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Olive oil for coating your pan (~ 2 T)

1 lb stew meat (should already be cut into cubes for you

1 qt beef broth

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 chopped onion, chopped

2 minced garlic cloves

2 bay leaves 

1 cup baby carrots (or 2 large carrots chopped)

2 Yukon gold potatoes (though any will work), cubed

1 1/2 tablespoon arrowroot starch

1 1/2 tablespoon water

Method:

1. In a Dutch oven, heat up oil and then brown meat (doesn't have to be cooked through just brown each side).  

3. Stir in the next 7 ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook covered for about 2 hours.  For the last 1/2 hour of cooking, add in your carrots and potatoes and cover.

4. 10 min before serving, combine your arrowroot starch with water and add to pot. Cook uncovered on the stovetop at medium high heat for about 10 minutes being sure to stir occasionally.

5. Serve in bowls with a side salad and dinner is done!

XO,

Robin

Clean Crispy Bacon

  We carb cycle in the FASTer Way to keep our body from adaptation.  We want our metabolism revved, and we want our bodies fueled properly for our workouts which paired with our food cycle promotes fat burning.  You don't have to cut carbs completely to get into fat burning mode - this isn't sustainable long term, doesn't support building lean calorie burning muscles, and means missing out on joining in around the table with loved ones.

So on low carbs days, I look forward to avocado, low carb fruit, and especially bacon because it is high in fat, but mostly because it's bacon and therefore delicious.  I detest the greasy mess and babysitting required for making it on the stove and haven't mastered the microwave, so I make it in the oven.  It's doesn't require much oversight and cleaning is a breeze.

The deets:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.  Lay bacon out on cookie sheet (make sure you get sugar free bacon - I like the Pederson's brand). Bake until it smells ready!  Check at 15 minutes, but will probably be ready closer to 20 depending on preferred crispiness.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate - adults only!

Need a fun drink for a festive night in or a crowd pleaser for your Christmas party?  If you Christmas party isn't cancelled it's likely being held outside, and this recipe will warm you right up!

Instant hot chocolate is NOT my jam, but when I saw this slow cooker hot cocoa recipe on Mix and Match Mama's Blog made from actual melted chocolate I knew I had to try it!  I made it my own by adding a festive floater.  Leave out the alcohol and it's great for kids too!

Method:

Toss in a 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and a 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk into your slow cooker on high until chocolate is melted (for about 30 minutes).  Stir every 10 minutes or so to make sure the edges don't burn.  Once it's melted, whisk in 1/2 t vanilla and 1/2 gal of milk - I've made it with almond milk and with whole milk - my kids preferred the almond milk! Leave it in the slow cooker for about 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally.  Double the recipe if making for a large crowd. To make if for the 21 and up crowd, add a peppermint schnapps floater! 

Once it's ready, change setting to warm and then give yourself enough time to let it cool off completely, and then I just put my whole slow cooker bowl in the fridge once the chocolate is close to room temperature (read your slow cooker manual to make sure your bowl can handle this!).  Then the next day, I make sure the bowl doesn't have any condensation on it and then put it back in my slow cooker to reheat and serve again.

Tag me on IG if you try it! @fasterwaywithrobin

 

Friday Favorites

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday favorites

#1 My BFF

First off, it's my best friend's birthday today - she is definitely one of my favorites!  
Happy Birthday, Erin!

We have no recent photos together - boo!  Here is one from freshman year of college (taken 16 years ago!) - Erin is top row, maroon shirt! 

And here's one from my wedding where she was my matron of honor (this one is only 9 years old ;))

#2 Flowers

I love have fresh flowers around the house.  In Edinburgh, fresh flowers seemed to be so inexpensive (probably because of the conversion rate and my stellar math skills).  I especially loved when the daffodils were in bloom and, I could walk to Tesco and buy a bunch for a mere 1 GBP.

My dad works for a wholesale floral company, so we're never lacking flowers. I love flowers as long as they aren't high maintenance (read: I will enjoy them until they die, but I will not tend to them so that they last longer - it kills the enjoyment of them because that is work).

#3 My Slow Cooker

Since we moved from Edinburgh in 2014, I've been out of a cooking rhythm and my slow cooker has been majorly underused. The last two weeks I've made:

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

What you'll need:

red wine to taste (maybe a 1/2 cup)

1 can beef broth

1 can of smooth cranberry sauce

onion soup mix

Pot Roast meat

3 potatoes diced (I used Idaho because that's what I had)

1 medium yellow onion

small bag of baby carrots

Method:

1. Pour broth, cranberry sauce, and wine into slow cooker and which till fairly combined  

2. Add 1/3 of the onion to broth

3. Put in roast and sprinkle soup mix over it

4. Add the rest of the vegetables

5. Add more liquid (water, broth, wine etc) if it looks like it needs it

6. Cook on high for 4 -6 hours or low for 8-10 hours

Delicious one dish meal!

Cilantro Lime Chicken

adapted from October Morning Blog

What you'll need:

4 chicken breasts

4 limes

a bunch of cilantro, chopped

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 small bag of frozen corn

1/2 red onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves minced

2 tsp cumin

garlic salt

Method:

1. Place chicken in slow cooker and sprinkle a little garlic salt and cumin.  

2. Squeeze two limes over chicken

3. Add minced garlic, beans, cilantro, corn, onion. 

4. Stir slightly without disturbing the chicken and squeeze third lime over the mixture

5. I added water so that it was covering the bottom of my slow cooker

6. Cook on high for 4 -6 hours or low for 8-10 hours

After it was done cooking, I shredded the chicken inside the slow cooker and served it in a tortilla with an extra lime on the side.  Taylor added hot sauce to his and my salsa would also go well on it.  You could also serve it over rice.

Now that Taylor is teaching a class once a week during dinnertime, I will definitely be using my slow cooker more often!  Which leads to my next favorite...

#4 My favorite professor

So proud of this guy - his students are going to love him!

#5 My little ballerina

All this little girl wanted for Christmas was ballet clothes!  She started her very first ballet class this semester, and she is loving it.  How cute is she?!  Love this sweet girl!

#6 My Kindle Paperwhite

I had a Kindle Fire that died recently and got a Paperwhite for my birthday last month and I LOVE it.  I used my Fire some, but I'm using my Paperwhite all of the time.  I'm not sure if it's the size or the fact that I don't feel like I'm looking at a screen, but did I mention I love it?  I've always been a book girl - definitely prefer to hold a book in my hand and be able to flip back and forth easily, but my Kindle is so convenient.  The Amazon monthly book deals are fun too though the last book I got through this was a FLOP.  I'll review it for my February Goals post at the beginning of next month.

#7 Lush "Perfect Roll Tab Sleeve Tunic

{via}

Sheaffer got me onto this shirt a month ago when she named it a must have, and I love it.  I'm always looking for long tunic shirts to wear with jeans or leggings and at this sale price, it was a no brainer.  I got it in tawny port and ivory - the ivory is pretty sheer but looks fine with a tank under it - not sure that I'm going to keep it though.  Nordstrom is so easy to shop online with their shipping and free returns!

#8 HCPN

Last but certainly not least is the Houston Church Planting Network.  This is a movement to unite churches to saturate the city, to collaborate with one another not compete for "our" turf, and to multiply so that there are Gospel centered churches in every community.  Houston is growing at an incredible rate and although we have a large number of healthy evangelical churches already present in the city, planting churches is necessary to keep up with our current population growth!  Pastor, Tim Keller, says this about church planting:

"The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for
1) the numerical growth of the Body of Christ in any city, and 2) the continual corporate renewal
and revival of the existing churches in a city. Nothing else--not crusades, outreach programs,
para-church ministries, growing mega-churches, congregational consulting, nor church
renewal processes--will have the consistent impact of dynamic, extensive church planting. This
is an eyebrow raising statement. But to those who have done any study at all, it is not even

controversial. "

We recently were invited to Neartown Church's vision and birthday dinner. Russell Cravens, Neartown's lead pastor invited us along with Roswell Smith, the pastor of The Church at UH, and Sergio Garcia from Kerusso Grace Church.  It has been such a blessing to make connections, share resources, and be a part of each other's ministries thanks in large part to HCPN.

Happy Friday!

Multitasking

I'm back, but by now I'm sure you know not to get worried when I am silent for weeks on end.

But y'all I was compelled to type because of a discovery that has just made my life in Scotland so much brighter. And with it getting dark here by 4 pm, I'm in dire need.

I found canned crescent rolls in my local Tesco and I am beside myself.

Seriously.  You don't appreciate canned bread until you move to Scotland, mention Pilsbury, and they have no idea what you're talking about.  Or maybe I have just assumed they didn't carry it like other staples (corn tortillas, chopped green chiles, jalapenos, Bisquick etc) and just now noticed them the first time.  Now I can actually make Pizza Roll-ups or Easy Pizza.  See, even though it is 2:17 pm and the sun is starting to set, I can deal.

On to other important things:

1. I've been meal planning for the rest of this week and next while the kids are napping and I have one more day to fill: next Thursday.  You are probably now thinking to yourself, isn't that Thanksgiving?  Isn't she obviously preparing a spectacular Thanksgiving meal for her family?  And the answer would be no because we are celebrating Thanksgiving on Saturday - heresy I know, but when you're celebrating a holiday that basically stems from the fact that you're not living in Britain anymore and you currently live in Britain, no one is too bothered by what day you celebrate it.  So back to my dilemma, I need a meal for Thursday.  Here is my criteria: quick, easy, makes enough to have leftovers the next day, not chicken, little to no handling of raw meat required - help me.  Thanks and gig 'em (like how I associate myself with Texas A&M only after an epic football victory?  Call me two percenter)

2. Elizabeth is having a Thanksgiving Linky Party, so here is my scalloped potato recipe I mentioned last Thanksgiving post. I dislike mashed potatoes, so this was my substitute, and it was a huge hit.

Scalloped Potatoes
recipe adapted from my mom-in-law
*warning: this recipe is not exact and I'm using the "metric" system.  I'll do my best to convert it for you

(insert laughter here if you know me well)

--6 jacket potatoes or Maris Pipers (not sure what the American equivalent would be off of the top of my head - not Idaho or new potatoes...sorry that isn't very helpful, but maybe Yukon gold or something similar?)
--300 mL double cream though I don't use all of it (I think I'd use about 8 - 10 oz of half and half  or heavy cream or a combo of both (is there something in between?) if I was in America)
--250 g cheddar (2 cups)
--salt and pepper
--butter

1. Wash your potatoes - hopefully that is obvious, but just in case...
2. Thinly slice them (I keep the skin on)
3. Spray baking dish (9X13?)
4. Layer potatoes, sprinkle salt and pepper (optional: my mom-in-law also adds nutmeg at this stage), dot with butter, sprinkle cheese
5. Repeat layering till dish is full (ending with the cheese)
6. Pour cream over top
7. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees F/200 degrees C for 45 min
8. Take off foil and bake for 15 more minutes or until golden and bubbly


3. Embracing the Camera with Emily today:

Seth and I are matchy-matchy today not on purpose (though this secretly delights me) but due to the fact that I'm ridiculously behind on laundry (as evidenced by the background of the photo).

And this photo so that Avery doesn't feel left out and to show  my laundry progress.
#Baby steps.

Cheers!

{Meal Plan Monday} Edition I bet Beatrix Potter would've loved Chicken Tacos

Last weekend we went to the Lake District with some of our favorite families in Edinburgh.  All 12 of us crammed into a quaint farmhouse outside of Bowness-on-Windermere super close to Beatrix Potter's house. (I took zero pictures - so lame, I know.)  Ironically Avery's nickname changed on this trip from Hunca Munca to Thumper due to her nocturnal leg motion that kept us up from 2-4 am.  I'm still incredulous that she can sleep through that.  Thank you iPhone sound machine app for saving the rest of our trip.

Since we were staying 3 nights, each family was in charge of one dinner.  Lisa made inside out lasagna - a healthy hit.  Seth actually ate cooked spinach. Wait a minute, that means I actually ate cooked spinach.  I haven't gotten the recipe yet, but it entails, chopped tomatoes, diced onion, spinach, minced garlic, sliced mushrooms, pastoff, and ricotta. So good.  Sarah made the ever popular chili.  I'm pretty sure I ate 3 helpings on my baked potato - it was perfect autumn comfort food. And so I decided to make the crock pot chicken tacos that we're obsessed with these days.  I poured in a whole bag of Costco boneless skinless chicken breasts, taco seasoning to cover the top of the chicken, and 3 cans of chopped tomatoes in Sarah's gigantor crock pot (read: American sized).  The leftover chicken ended up stretching to 24 meals total over the week, so I thought I'd post some more ways to use this deliciously easy crock pot recipe.

So you have Chicken Tacos/Chalupas

Chicken Enchiladas - this is not the usual recipe I use, but it's pretty close.  Sub your crock pot chicken for the cooked chicken

Cowboy Chicken Casserole - this is one of Taylor's favorite meals, but it takes a ridiculous amount of time to make it, so I fix it about once a year.  Can we say wife of the year?
This week I made it with the crock pot chicken and used a can of cream of mushroom soup instead of making it from scratch like the recipe has you do, and it was so simple.  This recipe now has the potential of becoming a regular in the Ince household.

Chicken Enchilada Soup - this tastes really similar to Chili's Chicken Enchilada soup - it's especially good with salsa in it.

And recently I found this recipe for Chicken Taquitos which I going to try next.

Enjoy!



What we've been up to lately in iPhone photos:

Avery working on her moves for So You Think You Can Dance

This boy is in constant motion - it's hard to get a photo of him even when he's sitting down.
He requisitioned this community bowl of guac for himself - he is definitely from Texas y'all.

Laid back Avery Girl crammed in the middle of two other car seats for  a trip to our second home (also know n as Costco )

Seth's first taste of Ants on a Log - he loved it contrary to his facial expression in the photo

Holdy-Holdy still happens on a regular basis 

Making Pumpkin Nutella bread

I'm in need of some new crock pot recipes since we're getting sick of Mexican food (I can't believe I just typed that) so send them my way!

{Monday Meal Planning} Edition there is a Meal Plan this week

We're back on for {Monday Meal Planning} and I'm liking it better already! I can't tell you how often my meal plan changed throughout the week (you can probably see the eraser marks!).  You may be asking yourself does this then render meal planning useless, and the answer is no.  I still stuck to the actual recipes, and it reduced my unplanned grocery store trips; I just tweaked it as the week went on and plans changed (read: I didn't feel like cooking).  It turned out that I had more leftovers than planned at the beginning of the week which made it unnecessary to make all of my meals - woot.  We may or may not have had chicken nuggets Sunday night to stretch out the last of the leftovers...

Here it is:

Monday - can we say comfort food? I was looking for a one dish meal that was portable since we offered to bring dinner over to our friend's house.  Our friends are British and have 2 young boys, so a family friendly meal that everyone would enjoy that required a casserole dish was in order. I had pulled this recipe from PW awhile back and when I came across it while meal planning, it met all of my criteria.  And it was a hit!  The best part of the meal was when I overheard their 7 year old saying to his mum, "this meal was lovely." Taylor absolutely loved it too and Seth ate it without much coercing though I'm pretty sure there was a promise of getting to play with the aforementioned 7 year old's matchbox cars if he ate all of his dinner.

Tuesday - this was a last minute meal because we didn't end up having enough leftovers from the night before and more importantly I had ground beef in the fridge that had to be used immediately.  Taco Salad is one of my go to easy meals because I usually have all of the ingredients on hand - spinach, tomatoes, onions, salsa, taco seasoning, tortilla chips, cheese, avocados for guac, pickled jalapenos and sour cream - and it takes no time to throw it together. My Mexican rice recipe is adapted from my sister, Leti.  She makes the BEST rice ever.  She taught me how to make it back when I was in high school, but she doesn't use measurements, and that was before I was really interested in cooking, and let's be honest, at 15, I probably wasn't paying very close attention.  I've adapted her recipe because I can't quite get it right, and let's again be honest, if you've never had her amazing rice, this will still seem really good to you.

Easy Mexican Rice 
Bring 3 cups of water to boil. Throw in 1 and 1/2 c of white rice (maybe brown could be subbed, but the water to rice ratio will be probably be different).  Add in some garlic salt, cumin, and lots of the key ingredient: Knorr's Caldo de Tomate (aka Tomato Bouillon). Sorry for my lack of measurements - my only advice is err on less is more with the garlic and more is more on the Caldo de Tomate; the cumin falls in the middle.  It may take a few times to get it just right and then muscle memory takes over and it will be great every time!


Wednesday - I posted this a few weeks ago, but didn't end up making it because of our impromptu BBQ.  It was delicious, but when I had it on leftovers night, I added more balsamic vinegar to it, and it was even better!

Saturday - saw this on Elizabeth's website and knew I had to try it.  I'm always looking for seafood recipes.  It was fresh and easy to make - a perfect summer dish.  Taylor raved about this one too; Seth however was not a fan.  I think this was his first introduction to shrimp and he kept spitting it out.  He loved the "pastoff" (Sethish for pasta) and tomatoes though.

We resume our monthly Soup Night next week, so if you have any dynamite soup recipes that are easy to make for 30 people, leave a comment please!

What Seth does while I make dinner

{Monday Meal Planning} Edition not sure this one counts

As I cooked through my meal plan last week, I realized I neglected to take the season into account.  It's typically cold and rainy for most of the year in Edinburgh, so soup, pot roast, anything baked in the oven works year round.  Well summer decided to (finally!) show up so, and I laughed as we sweated through eating pot roast and the madras chicken especially since the oven made our house feel like we were eating outside in Houston in August.

Oh wait.  I have no idea what that feels like because that would be crazy.

I thought of those of you in 100 degree heat and was jealous because it is much cooler in your house than mine because even though it was only in the upper 60s here, we don't have the modern miracle known as AC.

In addition to all of this, I scrapped my Thursday meal (pray for my baby portobello's!) because friends invited us to BBQ grill (I will hold onto my Texas lingo) last minute, so chicken fajita marinade was quickly made, chicken was marinated for a quarter of the time it was supposed to be and mushrooms, bell pepper and cherry tomatoes were skewered as fast as humanly possible so I could get out of my stifling flat and into the cool summer evening.

So Monday Meal Planning is still in it's trial and error phase which may or may not last it's whole lifetime.  Here are the tweaks for next week...

I will post my meal plan the week after I actually use it which does indeed mean that there will be no meal plan this week.  Sorry for those of you who were counting on not having to meal plan this week, but then again last week was my first edition, so unless you're brand new to the blog, you probably didn't hold your breath for this becoming a regular thing.  Next week I will post my plan from this week.  This way I can let you know what worked, what didn't, any adjustments I made to recipes, any last minute drop everything and BBQ because if there is blue sky in Edinburgh that's just what you do, and most importantly so you don't know who's coming to my flat for dinner each week and when we're not here for dinner because that's kinda creepy.  This even gives me the chance to post pictures with recipes...

if my camera is charged...

and if I remember.

Oh and I'm considering adding a grocery list after all.  We'll see.


Since I'm leaving your meal plan empty, here are a few of my secrets:

-- interesting side if you're cooking Mexican food (I am a big fan of rice which you will soon find out if I keep this weekly meal plan post going - seriously, if I had to eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be rice)
-- love my friend, Elizabeth's website.  I'm using one of her recipes this week!
-- I've probably posted this before but I am OBSESSED with these cupcakes.
-- and you can't go wrong with Pioneer Woman.  Anyone who can make me excited about making zucchini is a cooking genius.
-- my chicken fajita marinade recipe:


Chicken Fajita Marinade ( can't remember where I got it - allrecipes.com maybe??)
4 servings

1/4 c beer
1/3 c lime juice
1 T EVOO
3 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
1 T brown sugar
1 T Worchestershire
1 T cilantro, minced (I left this out cause we didn't have any in the fridge.  Shocking, I know - I couldn't believe it either)
1/2 cumin
salt

Throw it all in a ziplock with 4 chicken breasts and marinate in fridge for 2 hours


Have a great week y'all!

{February Foodfest} I Heart Brussel Sprouts

Wow,  no excuse for my lack of blogging this Monday.  But does Monday ever need an excuse?

It was a big day though, my c-section has now been scheduled for March 16th.  So glad to have an end in sight!  It was agony waiting the extra 3 whole days for Seth to come :).  At least there is one benefit to having a c-section.  Thankfully my doctor agreed with our plan to let me try for a natural delivery if Baby Girl decides to make her debut before the 16th - since she'd be more than a week early at that point, it's more likely she'll be small enough to be safe for me to deliver that way, so we're praying she comes on her own March 15th!

As for our February budget update, on Monday we were down to 6 pounds and 2 p left for this month after a quick run to Tesco for bread and then to Sainsbury's for Brussel sprouts cause, y'all,  when they brought our grocery order Sunday night, the only item they didn't have for our order was Brussel sprouts.  I was beside myself.  I had been looking forward to them for two weeks!  Since we haven't been doing grocery orders this month due to my lack of budgeting at the beginning of the month, I was having to live without because our little neighborhood Tesco doesn't carry them.  And they are definitely my most constant pregnancy craving.  I could go make some right now (and it's 3:40 pm).  I just got sad cause we're not having them for dinner tonight, but I guess they don't really "go" with cheese enchiladas and black bean soup.  I'm big on food "going together." It's kind of like middle school.

So, Brussel sprouts - does that seem like a weird craving?  I like them a lot when I'm not pregnant too, but the difference is when I am pregnant, we eat them at least 2 times a week - that is when I haven't gone crazy with the grocery budget.  And I assure you, the craving has nothing to do with living in Britain.  For those of you that didn't know, they are obsessed too, but we have very different methods of preparing them.  When asking my British friends about what they eat for Christmas dinner, Brussel sprouts are always on the list and usually one of their favorite dishes.  It's kind of like pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. They couldn't believe it when I told them the first time I even tried Brussel sprouts was in my late 20s.  To my knowledge, my mom has never made them.  Because of my lack of experience, I jumped on the Brussel sprouts are disgusting bandwagon early.  I think I was indoctrinated through the countless readings of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs  (Brussel sprouts and gorgonzola only for the whole day?!)

But I have been reformed!

Here is the recipe if you're a fellow Brussel sprout lover or want to get over your unfounded Brussel sprout prejudice - I dare you!

The Most Delicious and Easy Brussel Sprouts Ever

recipe by my mom-in-law: thanks Susan for making this pregnancy so happy!

You're on your own for measurements because I am in the land of the metric system.

1 bag of Brussel sprouts (280g I think - but to Americans, believe me I know how unhelpful this is)  already trimmed and washed because due to my lack of exposure, I wouldn't even know what part of the sprout you are even suppose to trim off. And I'm 9 months pregnant - I'm all about time management in the kitchen.
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
some crushed red pepper - you decide how much spice you want; it doesn't take a lot
EVOO - depends on how many sprouts you're using.  I start out with about 2 T and then add if they're getting too dry

Cut the sprouts in half while EVOO is heating up in a skillet on med-hi heat.

Add garlic and stir for a bit (maybe 30 seconds so it has time to flavor the oil).



Add sprouts and sprinkle red pepper.

Stir fry till desired done-ness (did I just make up a word?)  Ahh I just realized I left my black beans simmering on the stove for too long.  Be right back!

Whew - dinner disaster averted.

So I like to cook my sprouts till the cut side is kind of browned.  They usually end up cooking for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!