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

Skinny Shepherd’s Pie

Hello!

Happy Wednesday!

source

I have to admit – I am absolutely LOVING my new Clean Eating cookbook.

I’ve been making things out of there like crazy!

It’s all so delicious and it feels really good to use real, natural ingredients all the time. 🙂

My most recent was shepherd’s pie.

Who doesn’t love shepherd’s pie?!

Well, most dietitians don’t because it’s usually packed with fat and excessive, unnecessary carbs.

Hey, that’s what usually makes it taste so good, right?!

Um, yeah but the regret and potential tummy ache isn’t worth it.

So…make this one instead!

Bison is packed with nutrition – protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and iron. If you can’t find it, you can certainly use grass-fed beef if you can’t find bison, but don’t let the fact that it’s bison scare you away. Bison and beef are practically the same in flavor.

Adding cauliflower to the mashed potatoes ups the nutrition content and helps eliminate excess carbs. And, the cauliflower has a rich flavor when mashed and baked – you’ll never miss all the butter!

I promise!

Comfort food without the guilt.  Sounds like heaven to me. 🙂

Skinny Shepherd’s Pie
makes 8 servings

2 Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed well and quartered
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 teaspoon each sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup skim milk
Olive oil cooking spray
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground bison
1 cup sliced carrots (peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced into half-moons)
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon whole wheat flour
1 cup low-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon low-sodium Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 cup frozen peas

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil on high heat. Add potatoes and cook for 8 minutes. Add cauliflower and cook for an additional 7 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain and transfer to a large bowl; add salt, pepper, and milk and mash with a potato masher until smooth. Set aside.

3. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Add onion, garlic, bison, and carrots and cook for 8 minutes or until no pink remains, stirring often and using a wooden spoon to break up bison.

4. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat oil on medium. Sprinkle in flour and whisk until no lumps remain, about 1 minute. Gradually add broth, whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth and begins to thicken. Add Worchestershire sauce and thyme, whisking to combine.

5. In a 10×15-inch casserole dish, add bison mixture, broth mixture and peas; stir to combine.

Spread mixture in an even layer, then top with potato-cauliflower mixture in an even layer. Run a fork over the top in a crosshatch pattern or use the back of a spatula or spoon to create a swirl texture.

Mist top with cooking spray, transfer to oven and bake until filling is bubbling and top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

6. OM NOM NOM!!

Nutritional information per 1-cup serving:
Calories 191; Total Fat 5g, Saturated 1g; Carbohydrates 19g; Fiber 3g; Sugars 3.5g; Protein 16g; Sodium 332mg; Cholesterol 41mg

Talk to me: What’s your favorite comfort food dish?

– jennifer

Weekend in review. Southwestern Skillet Macaroni.

Hello hello!

And, just like that, we’re back at Monday again.

Did everyone have a good weekend? Do anything fun? See any good movies?

We did! We saw Despicable Me 2! So cute! They’ve really done a good job with that movie. Steve Carrell is just brilliant as Gru. Okay, he’s just pretty brilliant in general as a comedic actor. 🙂

So, besides the movie, here’s our weekend in review:

snippets of a Friday evening

Thing 2 and I shopped for outfits for Thing 1’s upcoming boot camp graduation. I got a dress and new shoes – Ginny got a new box! Win/win! 🙂

Molly’s got my back. 🙂

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake. Om. Nom. Nom.
Recipe at https://www.facebook.com/ahungryrunner

Add to that laundry, cleaning and grocery shopping and the weekend has gone by too fast!

Speaking of groceries, I’ve decided to do comfort foods this week. I’m not talking comfort foods that take forever to cook, either. Quick, easy, and delicious are my goals for this week. 🙂

I was talking about it at Crossfit this morning and was informed that it was too warm for comfort food. What do you think?

How do you define comfort food? I think of comfort food as food that tastes good and makes you feel happy, safe and loved. Does it require the oven or stove on all day to be comforting? I don’t think so. I think you can definitely make some comforting, homey meals in less than 30 minutes.

And that’s what happened last night – a quick take on Chili Mac. Who doesn’t remember chili mac from when you were growing up? So good! 5 ingredients, about 15 minutes and voila! Healthy, hearty, delicious and comforting with minimal heat in your kitchen. 🙂

Om nom nom!

Southwestern Skillet Macaroni
makes 4 servings

1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
1 pound lean ground beef (I used bison)
1/4 cup chili powder
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree
1/3 Frank’s Red Hot sauce
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

1. Cook macaroni in boiling water 5 minutes. Drain.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, cook ground beef with chili powder until meat is browned.  Add tomatoes and Red Hot sauce.  Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes.

3. Add macaroni; cook 5 minutes or until pasra is tender and has absorbed excess liquid. Sprinkle with cheese.

4. Om nom nom!

– jennifer