Mom on the Make

Finding fun amidst the chaos of Motherhood

What’s For Dinner Tonight?

by 2 Comments

Warm Chili and Delicious Homemade Corn Bread!

I wrote about how much I love Earthbound Organic Farm’s Foggy Day Chili recipe a few months ago.  I decided to whip up this chili for the fam tonight.

When I feel like something warm for a chilly night, this recipe always comes to mind.  Tonight, I shredded the cheddar cheese for the topping, and it really made a difference.  I think I’m done with buying already shredded cheese.  It just does not compare to freshly shredded cheddar cheese, as I recently mentioned when discussing my chicken tortilla casserole recipe.

This chili has very simple ingredients including ground beef or turkey, onion, garlic, pinto beans, black beans, diced tomatoes, cumin, oregano, and chili powder.

I also made fresh corn bread using the recipe on the Albers cornmeal box.  SO good.  I’ll share their recipe after these fabulous photos below: best chili best chili freshly grated cheese best cornbread best cornbread albers corn meal corn meal

Albers Delicious Corn Bread Recipe
 
Print
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup Albers Yellow Corn Meal
  • 1 Tbsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1¼ cup milk
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 3 T butter or margarine melted
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.
  3. Combine flour, sugar, corn meal, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.
  4. Combine milk, eggs, vegetable oil and butter in small bowl; mix well.
  5. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until blended.
  6. Pour into prepared pan.
  7. Bake for 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
  8. Serve warm.

What’s for Dinner Tonight?

by 4 Comments

Today was the first day back to school for the kiddos.

For some reason, this Christmas break seemed longer than others.  We stayed home for the most part with a few local getaways thrown in, so that might have contributed to it, or maybe because Christmas day was at the beginning of the break , or maybe because having the position of Director of Entertainment for my three little ones every day, all day, is a bit daunting after 14 days.  Whatever it was, it seemed long.

So, this morning, the school morning rush began once again.

We started by not being able to locate Bam Bam’s Darth Vader lunch box for at least 15 minutes.

Until we realized, we had never removed it from his backpack TWO weeks ago when Christmas break started.  Oops.

At least, there was not any chicken or mayonnaise left in the box.  Only one z bar wrapper.  Phew.

Then I had to remember which of my three have hot lunch at our school on Mondays.  Only one of them. So that meant, I needed to whip up two lunches and one snack.

Anyway, we finally pulled ourselves together and arrived early to school.

Wow, the house was quiet.  So nice to hit the blog with sheer quiet.  I was supposed to go do a three mile walk, but the force  of my peaceful home would not let me put my sneakers on to brave the cold walking path.

I decided that I deserved to be in my quiet home today. 🙂

During my quiet time, I realized that I needed to get back into my meal planning routine for the week.  The planning kind of  (ok, completely) fell to the wayside in these past two weeks.

So, I decided to go with one of my favorites.  Easy peasy, healthy, warm, and the whole family loves it…….recipe is here…..

White Chicken Chili

It is on the stove now, and it smells so yummy.  Both of my girls have basketball practice tonight, so this is perfect, as it just sits warming on the stove as people come in and out of the house.

white bean chicken chili

Scoop of deliciousness!

 

Foggy Day Chili

by 3 Comments

Best chili recipeIt is cold and rainy where I live right now.

I mean really cold.  Down coat cold.

This type of weather makes me think of chili.  I decided that chili would be the perfect dinner for tonight.

So, I found a great recipe, and now my house smells absolutely delicious as we are all waiting for it to simmer for the required 45 minutes.

Update: I just finished my chili and it was PERFECT.  I love using both black and pinto beans.  I used extra lean ground beef and I added two chopped zucchinis which I loved for the texture and heath benefit.

I served the bowls of chili with shredded cheddar cheese and Trader Joe’s corn chips.  Yum. And Yum.

Three of my most favorite spices…….

chili spices

I love S&W brand beans and tomatoes……

Chili cooking…….the aroma is heavenly…..

best chili recipe

Chili is served….

chili with corn chips

5.0 from 1 reviews
Foggy Day Chili
 
Print
Author:
Recipe type: Dinner
Ingredients
  • 2T canola or olive oil
  • 1 medium sized yellow onion, cut into diced size pieces (1/4 inch)
  • 1T minced garlic
  • 2 zucchinis chopped
  • 1½ lean ground beef
  • 1T ground cumin
  • 1T chili powder
  • 2t dried oregano
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans, undrained
  • 1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, undrained
  • 1 can (28 oz) cushed or diced tomatoes with their juices ( I used diced tomatoes)
  • 1t salt to taste
  • freshly ground pepper
  • Dried red pepper flakes (optional)
  • Freshly grated cheddar cheese (optional)
  • Sour Cream (optional)
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-low heat.
  2. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and cook until the onion and garlic are soft but not browned, about 1 minute longer.
  4. Add in chopped zucchini and cook with onion and garlic for about 1 minute.
  5. Add the beef, and break up the meat with a wooden spoon.
  6. Increase the hear to medium-high and add the cumin, chili powder, and oregano.
  7. Cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is browned, and cooked through, about 7 minutes.
  8. Add the black beans, pinto beans, and tomatoes, with their liquids, and bring the chili to a boil.
  9. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let the chili simmer, gently stirring occasionally until thickened and the flavors are concentrated, about 45 minutes.
  10. Add the salt, then taste for seasoning, adding more salt as needed and black pepper and red pepper flakes, if using, to taste.
  11. Serve the chili hot with bowls of grated cheese and sour cream on the side for garnish.
  12. Corn bread is also a great side to serve with this dish.
  13. If you are not planning on serving the chili at this time, let it cool to room temperature.
  14. It can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

I found this recipe in my Earthbound Organic Cookbook, by Myra Goodman.  Love the recipes in this book.  They are always winners.

White Chicken Chili

by 2 Comments

I made a white chicken chili yesterday that just might be my favorite chili now!

I had never tried a white bean chili before, and now I’m wondering “What was I waiting for?”

The white beans mixed with vegetable and chicken broth, chunks of chicken, oregano, diced green chilis and garlic……

Wow.  The perfect flavor combination.

My three little ones all loved it too.  I think the flavor reminded them a bit of a chicken noodle soup.

white chicken chili

Ingredients needed for white chicken chili

spices for white chicken chili

Don’t forget the cumin and oregano. They complement the beans and chicken so well.

white bean chicken chili

Scoop of deliciousness!

white bean chicken chili

White Bean Chicken Chili – SO good.

I would suggest making this chili as soon as possible.  Your family will thank you. 🙂

Its the perfect “warm your tummy” chili for a cool and crisp Fall day.  I forgot to mention above how much I love the finely chopped onions in this recipe as well.

I found this recipe from Aimee at ItsOverflowing.com, and I’m so glad I did!

White Chicken Chili
 
Print
Author:
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: Chili
Ingredients
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 2 Medium Onions, finely chopped
  • 4 Garlic Cloves, chopped
  • 1 Can Chopped Green Chilies
  • 4 Cups Cooked Chicken, Shredded
  • 2 Teaspoons Cumin
  • 1½ Teaspoon Dried Oregano
  • ¼ Teaspoon Cayenne
  • 3 16 oz. Cans Great Northern White Beans
  • 4 Cups Chicken Broth
  • 2 Cups Vegetable Broth
  • Salt and Pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in large pot to medium high.
  2. Add onions and saute until translucent {about 10 minutes}.
  3. Add garlic, chilies, chicken, cumin, oregano, and hot pepper.
  4. Saute for 2 more minutes.
  5. Add beans and chicken broth.
  6. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours or longer.
  7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
The original recipe calls for 6 cups of vegetable broth. I adapted with 4 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of vegetable broth.

Sign up to receive email updates from MOTM