Jen’s Quick & Easy Paleo Beef Chili

Hello!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Wine Wednesday programming for …. a recipe!

I’m in my final week of marathon taper and, out of the blue, I’m pretty sure I’m trying to get sick.

I felt like I got run over by a truck yesterday.

Tired, feverish, sneezy, achy – blech!

Well, with Flying Pig coming up on Sunday (EEEP!), I definitely don’t want to be sick.

So, I actively engaged my sickness in a battle!

I drank some tea

I put on my sweat pants  after work and enjoyed some cat cuddles

Molly is my lap cat. 🙂

and I made some spicy beef chili to help chase the ick out of my system!

I’m feeling a whole lot better today, but I’m still being cautious and loading up on Emergen-C and making sure I’m well hydrated.

You know you’re really well hydrated when you want to move your desk into the restroom. #justsayin

I decided on chili instead of chicken soup because 1. I had farmer’s market ground beef defrosted, 2. I didn’t have any chicken defrosted, and 3. I wanted chili.

I just kinda threw some things into a pot, simmered it for about 15-20 minutes, and dinner was born!

Jen’s Quick and Easy Paleo Beef Chili

2-3 tablespoons fat of your choice (coconut oil, bacon fat, etc – I used bacon fat because, duh, bacon makes everything better)
1/2 cup chopped onion (or more if you really like onion)
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound grass-fed beef or bison
3 chipotles in adobo, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon oregano
1 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 box chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

1. Heat bacon fat in large pot or dutch oven. Saute onion and green pepper until vegetables have softened. Add garlic; saute 1 minute or until fragrant, stirring so it doesn’t burn. Add beef to pot and brown, breaking up with wooden spoon. Once meat is almost brown, add chopped chipotles, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and salt and pepper and continue to cook.

2. Once meat is browned and your kitchen smells amazeballs, add tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken broth; stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low (I set mine at 3) and simmer for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings (add crushed red pepper here, if desired) and simmer for another 10 minutes.

3. Serve it up and NOM it down.

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of my beautifully plated chili last night. I was hungry. Don’t judge me.

But, you’re in luck, I packed leftovers for lunch and had some over a sweet tater!

YUM!!!

Have no fear, Wine Wednesday will return as scheduled next week. 🙂

Talk to me: How do you battle an oncoming cold? What’s your favorite comfort food dish when you’re sick?

– jennifer

Barking dogs, burning legs, and Spicy Chickpea Stew

Hello!

Happy holiday Monday!

Guess what I did this morning?

I went to CrossFit!!!

It was GREAT!

There’s a box about 10 minutes from my house and I was finally able to check them out.

They have 4 scheduled classes a day and I went to the 6:15 AM class.

Yes, I know it’s a holiday and I didn’t have to get up early but the neighbor’s dog had other ideas.

Incessant barking at 4:30 this morning.

Yay.

Shooting him didn’t seem like the right thing to do so I just made the best of it, got up and went to the early class.

It’s a small box (which is fine) and there were 3 of us there this morning plus the coach.

Holy. Leg burner. WOD.

I definitely appreciated the small group this morning because my front squats were a little wonky to start and I really needed the attention/coaching.

And, I learned how out of shape I really am. Running schmunning. I missed HARD WORK.

I can’t wait to check out the PM class on Wednesday!

Tomorrow is speed work. And, it’s supposed to possibly get up into the 60s! Shorts & t-shirt running weather!

CrossFit this morning was definitely the kick in the pants I needed.

My motivation really waned this past week and I’m so ready to get back to business. 🙂

I’ve also fallen off the “healthy” train a little.

Um, hello, red velvet cheesecake swirl brownies!

And lovely box of chocolates!

It was worth it. 🙂

Anywho, enough about dessert, let’s talk about dinner.

I found an AMAZING Clean Eating recipe for chickpea stew!

I do love the chickpea.

This stew is lightly spiced (seriously, use more jalapeño if you want it to fight back) and amazingly delicious.

AND, you get to cook with a whole cinnamon stick!

Okay, fine, maybe I’m a dork but I thought it was pretty cool. 🙂

And, it adds a whole different flavor level than just adding ground cinnamon.

It was a delicious combination with the toasted cumin seeds, turmeric, fresh ginger and garlic.

My kitchen smelled AWESOME!

I served this up with some toasted Naan and called it dinner.

Tomorrow, at work, I’ll call it lunch. 😉

NOTE: This stew calls for dried chickpeas that require overnight soaking. If you don’t want to do that, use canned. Just make sure you rinse them really well.

Spicy Chickpea Stew
makes 4 (1 cup) servings

1 tablespoon organic extra-virgin coconut oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped carrots, diced
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeño pepper, minced (remove seeds if you don’t want even a little kick)
1 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cinnamon stick
4 vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped
1 cup dried chickpeas
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, stemmed and chopped, for garnish (optional)

1. In a large bowl, add chickpeas and enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Soak overnight, for 8 to 18 hours. Drain.

2. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil on medium until melted. Add cumin and toast, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add onion, celery, carrots and salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, jalapeño, and ginger and sauté for 1 more minute. Add turmeric and cinnamon stick and stir to combine.

3. Stir in 2 cups water, tomatoes, and chickpeas. Increase heat to bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until beans are tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Add garam masala and stir to combine; remove cinnamon stick. Ladle soup into serving bowls and garnish with cilantro (if desired), dividing evenly.

4. Nom it down! 🙂

Talk to me: Why is my cat so weird?

– jennifer

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

Hello!

How’s your weekend been?

Have you survived the cold?

I headed out for my final longish run yesterday morning. (T-minus 6 days!!!)

And, it was COLD!

But, not as cold as it was on Saturday when the wind was whipping away.

Thank goodness!

I honestly wasn’t sure I was going to get out for my run yesterday. I nearly had myself convinced that it was too cold and that I was going to bag it before I even went to bed on Friday.

I need to stop doing that to myself.

Besides, I was warm thanks to awesome running gear designed for cold weather. And cute. Because that’s totally a priority of mine. 😉

So, a couple of days ago, I posed this question on my Facebook page:

“So, if you had this can of pumpkin in your pantry, what would you do with it, excluding pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread?”

I got quite a few great responses (thanks!) and I definitely need to go buy some more pumpkin so I can try them all!

I decided to stay away from sweet – yeah, I’m pretty sure I ate my weight in sweet stuff in the month of December.

Well, I found an awesome recipe for Pumpkin Black Bean soup and just knew I had to make it.

I adapted it to our (which really means “my” – shhh, don’t tell) tastes though. Of course. I really only truly follow the recipe directions when I’m baking.

Except for when I don’t. Which is often. 😉

This soup was amazing!

Hearty, warm, savory yet sweet, spicy (don’t run! you can leave the spicy part out!), and perfect for a cold winter evening.

I decided to top the soup with avocado because, well, avocado is delicious and I thought the smooth freshness of the avocado would blend well with the savory and spice in the soup.

I was right. 🙂

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup
serves 4 to 6 (that means BIG bowls of soup!)
*recipe adapted from veryculinary.com

2 (15 ounce) cans low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup coconut oil (use butter if you don’t have coconut oil)
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Avocado, for topping

1. Pour the black beans and tomatoes (including their liquid)into a food processor. Puree until smooth; set aside.

2. Heat coconut oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir bean and tomato puree and remaining ingredients into the pot; mix well. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

4. Serve in large soup bowls topped with sliced avocado, if desired.

5. Om nom nom!

Talk to me: When it comes to weather, where do you draw the line when it comes to heading out the door for a run? What keeps you inside?

I personally don’t do thunderstorms, blizzards, or hail. The cold almost got me yesterday but, I still went out. (Glad I did, too!) But, I’m not sure what I would have done if the wind had still been whipping. Wind chill kinda sucks.

– jennifer