Easy Weekend Dinner

We're having chili tonight!

    If you have never made homemade chili, you are missing out.  It is simple to make and delicious to eat!  I make this dish often, as it cooks in less than 30 minutes, or I can let it simmer all day in my crock pot and have a tasty meal ready when I get home from work. 

   My recipe is my own creation after adapting recipes from the Betty Crocker Cookbook, Flat Belly Diet Family Cookbook and my friend, Angela's, recipe.   Here's what I came up with:

Chili

                                                  1 pound lean ground hamburger  

                                                  1 27 oz can of red kidney beans

                                                  1 15 oz. can of white kidney beans

                                                  1 can of diced tomatoes

                                                  1 can of diced green chile's

                                                  3 cloves of garlic minced

                                                  1 tsp. cumin

                                                  1 tsp.  Italian seasoning

                                                  1 1/2 tsp. baking cocoa

                                                  1/2 tsp. of salt

   First, brown  hamburger and drain off excess fat.  Combine all of the other ingredients in a stock pot.  Add browned hamburger.  Simmer on low for 20-30 minutes.  Serve with sour cream and shredded cheese.  If you are following the Flat Belly diet you will noticed I skipped the MUFA, instead of cheese and sour cream top your chili with a 1/4 of avocado.   Serving size is 1 cup, calories are about 396, including 1/4 of avocado. (Tip:  When purchasing an avocado look for one that gives slightly when you gently squeeze it.  My dad was in the produce industry for over 30 years, and he taught me lots of nifty ways to purchase fresh, ripe fruits and vegetables.)

   Of course, I had to serve our chili in my new bowls!  :)  I like to pair soups and chili with a nice salad and fresh bread.  Today's salad was:  spinach, diced Fuji apples, a sprinkling of feta and raspberry dressing.  I would love to tell you the bread is homemade, but that is not the case, instead I will let you in on a simple, easy secret.

  Rhodes dinner rolls are a great choice for "faking" homemade.  They are super simple:  place frozen dough balls in a greased 9x13, let rise for 3 to 5 hours. 

   Bake at 325 for 15 minutes. 

 Your friends and family will think you slaved away all day making fresh bread.  Yum!

Blessings to you and yours!