I started cooking at home almost daily a few years ago to save money, and through preparing food for myself, I became interested in the health benefits of food. So cooking at home this past week was not an issue for me. I used this week as motivation to make some favorites as well as try some new recipes.
Ellie Krieger’s Three Bean and Beef Chili is my boyfriend’s favorite meal, ever. He reminds me every time I cook this up so this is a winter staple for us. My alterations are upping the cumin to 1 Tbsp, adding 2 tsp chili powder, and adding an extra chipotle chile and an extra teaspoon or two of the adobo sauce, we like our chili spicy! I will also sprinkle each bowl with a bit of shredded cheese if I have some on hand. The leftover chipotle in adobo freezes well and keeps in the fridge for about two weeks, which is great because I like to add this to any sort of tacos, naked burritos, quesadillas, or other suitable recipes for some flavorful heat. To stretch this meal, cook up some while-wheat noodles or brown rice and top with the chili. I will do this for next-day lunches to break up the monotony of eating the same thing twice in a row as well.
I always have pizza makings available, whether pre-made crusts or frozen homemade dough. This week I used whole-wheat pre-made/pre-cooked thin crust with leftover pasta sauce, 2% mozarella cheese, and sliced green peppers, onion, and mushroom. The toppings I chose don’t need to really cook, so this pizza is done in under 10 minutes in the oven. This is a quick dinner that cooks up super fast, which we need when we come home ravenous from our weekly after-work soccer game.
Winter is a great time to take advantage of the slow cooker, and nothing beats coming home to a cooked dinner! This week I tried Eating Well’s Pulled Pork with Caramelized Onions in the slow cooker (they also include a recipe for the leftovers!), which is yet another use of that leftover chipotle in adobo used in the chili.
Yet another new recipe I tried was Cooking Light’s Stilton Burger, though I used regular crumbled blue cheese. This came out SO delicious. I am not a burger person at all, but I woke up the next morning eager to get to work so I could have a leftover burger at lunch! I ate this on toasted whole wheat bread, which the flavorful meat and cheese stands up to well.
Overlooking my week of new and beloved foods, I can’t believe I ate so much meat! That is usually a less than once a month occurrence for me. I am happy that I have some new meat recipes in my repertoire, because I am sure I could count all my meat recipes on one hand. Also, I am eager to dive in to my favorite section of the grocery store: the produce isle! This week we are eating more fruits and vegetables. I generally eat more vegetables than anyone I know, but I hope to try something new this week!
