Chicken Chili

Buried deep, waiting on Polar Vortex Episode II, I CRAVE COMFORT FOOD! But I'm also on my first full 24-Day Challenge post-baby. Must eat clean and I sure as heck don't need to fall back into making cornbread, using cheese, or lathering sour cream on my comfort food. So the Pinterest perusing began as I looked over white chicken chili recipes. For the most part, they all had some things in common, so I took those ideas and ran with what was in my kitchen. The biggest flavor factors for this are definitely the combination of chili powder, cumin and jalapeño. And please don't leave out the jalapeño! I can't deal with a ton of heat so I only used one, but at least use a half. It just helps warm it up just a touch! I'm not calling this "white" since I had veggies and kidney beans, but dang this is good chili!

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Chicken Chili

2 chicken breasts

1 1/4 c. Dried bean/lentil/veggie mix

1 can pinto beans

1 c. peppers, diced (any or all colors)

1/2 red onion, diced 

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 c. Extra water (add as it cooks)

1 c. corn

1 jalapeño, diced (more or less to taste)

2 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. cumin

1-2 tbsp. oregano

2-6 cloves of garlic, diced

For chicken:

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

Throw everything but the chicken and bottom 3 spices in the pot, stir together. Take bottom 3 spices and rub on chicken. Place chicken just in the water and let cook for 2-3 hours before stirring the pot. 

Cook in the crockpot on high for 4-6 hours.

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I'm in love! Better than ground turkey chili by far and lots of flavor so I didn't need toppers for it. New favorite stew by far. And it was THICK. So add more water if you need to! Why was I wasting my time trying to perfect turkey chili when this was waiting for me???

Also note: I used my no-msg chicken stock starter and 3 cups of water for the broth. But low-sodium broth should be just as flavorful!

Challenge-Friendly: YES. Full of protein. Pair with a side salad or extra veggies for more natural fiber.

Crockpot Freezer Meal: Fajita Steak Taco Filling

Last month - in preparation for the arrival of Baby #3 - I went into full nesting mode one week and mass produced enough food to fill my freezer. I ended up with 9 crockpot meals, 5 dinners of turkey veggie pasta sauce, 6 meal sides of mango salsa, 4 bags of sweet potato hash and 4 jars of lemon garlic sauce - all so I wouldn't have to think or prep too much with the inevitable lack of planning that comes with having a new baby in the house.

This Fajita Steak mix is the first I pulled since #1: I knew Dave would dig it for his first cleanse day; and #2: because the extra prep was easy with the "toppings" I had in the fridge.

I truthfully can't find the original recipe I pulled this from as I was in overdrive on Pinterest and writing down recipes as I found them. So, if this is based off of yours, please feel free to take the original credit!

We prepped this tonight as "burrito bowl" style. This included making rice in faux-chipotle style (which I will also list below) with lettuce, guacamole (I would have used plain avocado but I had this on hand), organic salsa and jalapeños for Dave. This also works for lettuce wraps or as taco filling.

I love bowls at Chipotle and if I've ever coached you, we've probably talked about making "healthier" Chipotle choices if you are on the go and have no other choice but to grab something on the run. My normal suggestions for Challengers include: half rice (go brown not white), no beans (unless you are coming from a workout - extra protein), veggies, meat, salsas, lettuce ... Forgo the cheese and sour cream, of course. Guac is overkill for their bowls since all the nutrition you usually need is already there ... Plus the extra sodium from their prep.

Love this! Turned out great! I went no sodium when I prepped it for the freezer and did end up adding a couple of shakes of sea salt after I pulled the steak apart for a flavor kick just FYI.

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Fajita Steak Taco Filling

2 lbs. Flank/Lean Steak

1/2 yellow onion

1/2 red onion

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

1 fresh jalapeño (optional) chopped

2 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

To freeze:

Chop and slice all veggies to your preference. Combine all veggies and meat in a gallon size freezer bag. 

Mix spices in a separate bowl. Spread as evenly as possible over contents in the baggie. Shut Baggie and mix ingredients to ensure spices get coated over as much as possible.

Mark on Baggie: "Add 1/2 c. water."

Freeze 4-6 months in a standard freezer.

To make or do fresh: defrost contents for a day in the refrigerator. Place in crockpot with 1/2 cup of water. Cook for 6-8 hours covered. Shred steak and combine with all ingredients in pot for final filling. 

If cooking for 8-10 hours on low, I would add 1/4-1/2 c. extra water to make sure your mix doesn't burn dry while you are at work!

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Cilantro Lime Rice

1 1/2 c. Brown Rice (I used instant)

2 c. Water

1 lime - squeezed

3 tbsp. cilantro

Combine line juice into the water while bringing to boil. Add rice. Cook down. Add cilantro after rice has set.

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Things I would do for next time: MORE VEGGIES and real garlic. :) Probably add another pepper or two.

Challenge-Friendly: YES. Serve it clean with a simple carb and added greens for the best results!