Crockpot chili with lots of veggies and Cornbread muffins

I am a big fan of chili and I've been wanting to use my crockpot lately.  I've "liked" 2 crockpot pages on Facebook that post only crockpot recipes.  How genius is that?  The bulk of this recipe I got from Bethenny Frankel but switched it up just a bit.  This is how I modified the recipe and I LOVED it!

½ medium sized onion, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 pound ground turkey breast (omit if vegetarian)
1 can red pinto beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 1/2 cup carrots, diced
1 zucchini, diced
Throw everything into a crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.  *My crockpot cooks super fast so I cooked mine on low for 5 1/2 hours.  This recipe makes a huge pot so it's ideal to freeze some.

In an earlier post, I introduced Bob's Red Mill Cornbread Mix.   You can find it at Sprout's or Whole Foods.  It's made of whole grain corn and whole wheat flour and other all natural ingredients.  I followed the directions on the packaging to make cornbread muffins.  I also added a small can of cream corn and 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese.  These muffins turned out SO GOOD!!!!  Love them.

Low Fat Enchiladas

I make these enchiladas pretty often because we love Mexican food AND they are healthy!  This recipe is courtesy of Bethenny Frankel.  If you follow my blog, you know I'm a big fan of hers. 

Part 1 – Chicken Mixture
3 cups shredded chicken (white meat).
*I shred by hand using store-bought roast chicken or boiled chicken breasts, skinless). Costco has great chicken roast for 4.99
4 oz canned green chilies (come in small can in Latin section at grocery store)
1 teaspoon of Tabasco
1 teaspoon of garlic salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt

Combine all of the above in a large non-stick pan over medium high-heat. When heated through (approximately 5 minutes), remove mixture from pan and set aside.

Part 2 – The Sauce

15 oz can tomato sauce
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 ½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Combine all of the above over medium heat in until warm. Use the same pan that you used for the chicken mixture. You should heat for approximately 10 minutes.

Part 3 – Assembly

1-cup extra sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
5 medium whole-wheat tortillas (5-6” tortillas)

Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 8x11 lasagna/casserole dish
Divide chicken mixture in tortillas evenly, fold over left and right side and place seam down snuggly in the dish.
Top with remaining sauce evenly spread amongst the enchiladas.
Sprinkle with shredded cheese
Bake at 350 degrees on center rack for 20 minutes.


I serve these enchiladas with my home made charro beans.  Yummy dinner!!

Lowfat Guacamole

I'm also going to make this tomorrow.   I made it last year for a Memorial Day party and it was a huge hit.  It really is a healthy guacamole and tastes great.  Thanks Bethenny for yet another guilt-free recipe!

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and mashed 1 cup cooked green peas 1/4 cup chopped fresh tomato 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro plus more for garnish 1 tablespoon chopped red onion 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon garlic salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 3/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips, whole grain crackers, and raw vegetables. Notes:  I buy frozen green peas.  I don't have an immersion blender but I do have a mini chopper which I'll use to mash the peas.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are courtesy of Bethenny Frankel.  I made these when we had friends over for dinner and they were a big hit.  All the kids (and adults) loved them!  They are healthy, filling and so delicious.  I made these today in anticipation of  Bethenny's visit to Dallas this week.  haha.  She'll be here Friday for a Skinnygirl Margarita signing and I'm going with some friends.   Her book The Skinnygirl Dish really helped me change what kinds of foods I eat.

1 1/2 cups oat flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/3 cup soy milk
1/2 cup banana puree (1 medium-size banana)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
combine all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together, until well combined.
use a medium-size ice cream scoop or a large spoon to scoop batter onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.
bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking, or bake until the edges of the cookies are light brown.

Notes:  I didn't have soy milk so I used 2% milk.  I also found a bag of Sunspire grain sweetened chocolate chips at Sprouts that are all natural and taste great.  Sunspire does not use any refined sugars, hydrogenated oils, trans-fats or preservatives!  Lastly, these cookies don't flatten out in the oven so I pressed them down a bit with a fork before baking.

TIP:  When finding a recipe online, read some of the reviews.  You can find great tips and tricks for making the recipe as well as different ways to modify it.

Jack Henry enjoying his cookie.