Turkey Chili with Beans

Before and After of my now clean Kitchen!

What a great weekend! I accomplished so much this weekend thanks to the Living Well Spending Zero challenge I'm participating in. I can't even tell you how nice it is to have my kitchen, bathrooms, and living spaces spic and span! Not to mention clean and organized kids' rooms. Phew!! Hubby and I even had energy to wash both our cars and finish putting up some decor in our bedroom. Since starting Whole 30 I seriously feel like we are different people. We've spent a lot of time in the past sitting on the couch, tired and spent just from the week's activities. Since we're almost through our Whole 30 we are feeling the "Tiger Blood" as they call it -- this energy that is awesome!! If you haven't considered a Whole 30, I highly recommend it! It's not easy, but the longer it goes, the better I feel.

Grilled Salmon with Baked Sweet Potato & Sauteed Cauliflower

People always get hung up on, "But what will I eat?" Well let me tell you we had some yummy meals over the weekend! Chili Stuffed Hot Dogs, Tuna Salad Lettuce Cups, Grilled Salmon (I promise it practically tastes like steak!) with Baked Sweet Potatoes & Sauteed Cauliflower, Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Roasted Green Beans... Oh yum! We are not missing out here folks! Ok, if I'm being honest, I would have loved a piece of the Pumpkin Pie my boys ate with my parents on Friday night after their dinner out. I am really sad that it's pumpkin season and I can't have pumpkin pie!! But, other than that, not missing out one bit!!

So clean! My li'l guys have already made a mess of it!!

But enough about that, on to my chili recipe... I love chili. If you've looked over my recipes here you know I already have Slow Cooker Turkey Chili, and I love that one too. But here's the deal, GERD is no joke, and if I eat all those tomatoes I might die.  Ok, I probably won't die, but I will definitely be up all night choking back Tums and having to sleep sitting up. No fun.

So, as you can imagine when I saw on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives someone making white bean turkey chili I frantically took notes! Then I made my own version, which my family loves. We eat it all the time, and my boys have even gotten over the peppers. I'm telling you they drink it out of their bowls! I had never thought to omit the tomatoes. I figured they add some sort of yumminess that I wouldn't be able to replicate. But I was wrong! Woo Hoo!!

I love making this chili on Sunday or Monday night and then eating it for lunch all week. But, since we're on Whole 30 (day 22!!! Almost done!!) I've had to omit beans too! Boo. I did find this recipe, which is pretty good but needed a little extra seasoning and only almost hit the spot. Fortunately for you I have a friend who needs some meals this week and I decided to make for her my yummy Turkey Chili with Beans, and share the recipe with you. Aren't you lucky! Traditionally I make it with small white beans, but today I used the beans I had on hand, and it still turned out delicious!

Turkey Chili with Beans

Turkey Chili with Beans

Ingredients

Olive Oil
1 each Red & Green Bell Pepper, diced
1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 lb. Ground Turkey
1 quart Chicken Stock
2 cans Beans, drained and rinsed (white, pinto, or black all work well)
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
2 tsp ground Cumin
1 tsp dried leaf Oregano
1 Tbsp Seasoned Salt
1 tsp instant Minced Onion
1 tsp Garlic Powder (NOT garlic salt!)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat add Olive Oil just to coat the bottom of the pan, about 2 Tbsp. Add the Onion and the Bell Peppers and cook until translucent. Add the Turkey and the minced Garlic, season with Salt and Pepper, and cook till no longer pink. Once the meat is cooked through add a some extra Cumin and Chili Powder, and stir it around to bloom the spices.

Now add the Chicken Stock and the Beans, as well as the measured seasonings. I almost always add extra Garlic Powder, but that's up to you. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 20-30 minutes, just to bring the flavors together. Taste and season with Salt and Pepper.

Serve it up and enjoy!!

I've found a new way to enjoy chili: on top of a split (Whole 30 compliant) HOT DOG! Who would've thunk!!

How do you like your Chili??
 

Getting Started

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Heaven

Well, I had a really great plan in place today. I was going to start my new "regimen" of menu planning / eating. I started the day with a smoothie, my favorite Blueberry Peanut Butter Smoothie. I added a heaping scoop of Metamucil to that today because I'm on a slew of meds to help control the pain and swelling in my arm. I was told it was arthritis, but my physical therapist believes it is a herniated disc. Either way, things are rather slow going in the bathroom, hence the Metamucil! Sorry, TMI. ;-) I added a piece of Trader Joe's Daily Bread toast with a little butter.

For lunch I was planning on making this salad, which I believe I can get my boys to eat with me. But...we ended up at Taco Bell... What to eat? What to eat? I ended up with a Chicken Cantina Bowl. It's like something you might get at Chipotle but not quite as delicious, and oddly enough, with fewer calories. The total calorie count for the meal is 490 (as posted on the menu). I usually would ask for no sour cream and guac on the side, but of course I forgot. So I ate about 2/3 of the salad. It has grilled chicken, romaine, black beans, white rice, guacamole, sour cream, and pico de gallo. Not bad, but minus the rice and the sour cream I could've saved myself a lot of calories!

Then I woke up from my little afternoon nap, (I was up since 1 a.m. because somehow the Valium I've been prescribed as a muscle relaxer is giving me insomnia!!!) and I had two peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, which are deeeevine! And a mug of warm apple cider. Not exactly on the meal plan for a healthy day. Whoops!

Soooo good!

So, here's the recipe for these beauties! I love this recipe because it's easy and everything just goes right into the mixer. There's so much less mess! I substitute chocolate chips for the peanut butter chips, but you could use butterscotch or white chocolate, or whatever suits your fancy. When I'm really feeling indulgent I'll chop up a cup of dark chocolate and toss that in instead of the chips. It creates gooey chocolate strips throughout the cookies and they taste like peanut butter cups, but better. Yeah, it's possible. You should definitely try that.

For dinner I have a lovely crock pot full of turkey chili. Just bell pepper, onions, garlic, ground turkey, chicken stock, and white beans, and of course, lots of chili seasoning. YUM! My house smells so good! Hopefully tomorrow will be healthier!

Here's to peanut butter cookie heaven!