Turkey Chicken Chili

On a super cold day we all have our comfort foods and for some of us Chili is just that. One problem! Chili can be loaded with fat and calories and can weigh you down! Try this one out you'll never miss the ground beef!

I say you won't miss it, however if you prefer you can use extra lean ground beef as well, but I do love the flavor of the chicken and turkey.

16 oz extra lean ground chicken
16-20 oz extra lean ground turkey
1 can Kidney Beans
1 can Black Beans
1 Red bell pepper (diced)
1 Green bell pepper (diced)
1 large onion (diced) + more for topping
1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and minced)
1 cherry pepper (seeded and minced)
1 yellow chili pepper (seeded and minced)
2-3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 can Stewed tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 Tbsp hot sauce
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1/2 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tsp Pepper (white, black or mixed)
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Onion Powder
1 pinch Red pepper flakes
cheese for topping

Brown the meats in a skillet using non stick cooking spray and once cooked through, strain.
Add all of the ingredients to the crock pot and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

If you don't have a crock pot and don't want to invest in one you can cook this in a pot on the stove over a low heat for 3-4 hours stirring occasionally in order to not burn the bottom.

For 1/8th of a pot - 300 calories, 2g fat, 25g carbs, 37g protein (plus your toppings, 60 calories for 1/2 oz cheese and a couple T of onions)

If you don't like beans- DON'T ADD THEM!
If you prefer to have extra lean ground beef - GO FOR IT!
If you want super SPICY - Add lots of peppers and some cayenne pepper and hot sauce
If you don't do spice - Don't add peppers or hot sauce!

Play with it a little, and have fun! Its super tasty!

Mini Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken Casserole

Talk about delicious wrapped into an individual little portion for everyone!!! So I love everything Mediterranean food wise. And this is no different. I came up with this because I love stuffed chicken but figured it would be more fun to have individualized!

12-16 oz of diced chicken
2 oz crumbled feta cheese
3 button mushrooms - finely chopped
1/4 onion diced
1 clove garlic
2 cups spinach - sauteed
1/4 cup + 2 T panko bread crumbs
Spray butter
2 ramekins

preheat oven to 350 degrees

-Saute spinach in oil with garlic, salt and pepper until wilted
-While that is cooking mix together in a bowl the feta, mushrooms, onion, pepper and 2T panko.
-Once spinach is wilted add to the mixture.
-Spray ramekins with non stick cooking spray
-Salt and pepper the chicken
-place 3-4 oz of diced chicken in the bottom of the ramekin
-add a layer of the filling
-add another 3-4 oz of diced chicken on top
-top with a couple tablespoons of panko bread crumbs
-Spray the top with a few sprays of spray butter (this will give it a little a nice golden brown)

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until nice and golden brown all over on top!

Let cool for a few minutes and ENJOY!

Oh and if you have any filling left over save it! It makes a great breakfast burrito with some eggs and white American cheese mixed in OR a delicious little vegetarian lunch wrap!

Counts - Calories 315 per ramekin, 11 grams of fat, 13 grams of carbs, 42 grams of protein!

Variations

The great thing about this recipe is you can add ingredients that you love! If I had kalamata olives I would have added those, sun dried tomatoes also work great and even some chopped bacon. If you want a little more of a creamy sauce you can add in 2 T of nonfat greek yogurt or sour cream into your filling.

If you preferred an Italian version use this filling -
4 T marinara sauce
2T panko bread crumbs
1 handful basil - wilted in garlic salt and pepper
2 oz mozzarella cheese

and for an Italian topping
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 T parmesan cheese
spray butter

Bake and assemble the same way!

Roasted Pineapple Variations and Additions

So in my YouTube Video of this recipe I said I would list a couple of options for variations.

Here is the ORIGINAL RECIPE

To this you could add

1/4 cup of red or orange bell peppers
1/4 cup of green bell peppers

(saute these with the onion and garlic)

Or

2 cups of sauteed spinach
- saute fresh spinach with garlic and add toward the end of the cooking process
- or just add thawed and drained frozen chopped spinach towards the end of the cooking process, cooking long enough to heat through

Or

3-4 stalks of asparagus per person, cut into 3/4 inch segments, also sauteed with the onion and garlic

Or

I LOVE sugar snap peas with it, but since I like my sugar snap peas to have quite the crunch to them I usually saute them separately with a little butter and minced garlic until heated through and fold them into the sauce when done.

And last but not least

You can take just about any frozen veggies you want (preferably ones without a sauce) cook them in the microwave or in a separate pan and stir them in at the end. The very first time I made this, that is exactly what I did!

All of these options add more nutrition to this dish without adding a whole lot of extra calories! Have fun with it!

And remember you can switch up the protein with tons of different options!

-ground turkey or chicken (cook separately and fold in at the end or made into meatballs)
-turkey tenderloins
-chicken tenderloins
-light fish (cod, haddock, talapia, etc)
-shrimp
-scallops
-ham (preferably a lean thick cut)
-pork tenderloin (or any lean cut of pork)

Remember these will change the calorie count a little, but definitely give you many many options on how to change this dish up whenever you're craving something a little different! Just season them up with you favorite Cajun seasoning, and play around with the amount of the Cajun seasoning! The more you put the spicier it will be come and that's what really makes this sweet and spicy contrast work so well together!

My First Ever Video Blog!

So this was my first attempt at a video blog. I am a littler nervous about how I came off to people, but I guess you have to start somewhere right? I also did a mini cooking demo this morning of my favorite breakfast sandwich, but for that I used a video camera and since it is Nick's I don't know how to move it to the computer or how to edit it afterward. So hopefully tonight he will show me how to do that and I'll be able to post another video.