Name: Healthy Turkey Chili Recipe
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons olive oil; 1 yellow onion (chopped); 3 garlic cloves (minced); 1 medium zucchini (chopped); 1 pound turkey (99%); 4 tablespoons chili powder; 2 teaspoons ground cumin; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste); 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes; 1 1/4 cups chicken broth; 2 15 oz cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained; For topping: cheese (avocado, tortilla chips, cilantro, sour cream)

Best Chili Recipe for Your Halloween Menu

October 3, 2018

I love Halloween because it’s whimsical and fun, and it’s the one day of the year that everyone dresses up and feels like a little kid again. I’m sharing my favorite healthy chili recipe below and how I’m serving it up on Halloween with fun items from Walmart!

chili recipe

I have always been a big Halloween fan. When the calendar says “October 1st,” I immediately get giddy knowing what’s ahead! For years, I have shopped at Walmart for decorations and food for Halloween because they have an incredible selection and all off their items are very affordable. Check out their Halloween shop here! I picked up some great Halloween-themed pieces to show you how I’m going to serve my healthy chili recipe (below) on Halloween before we go out to trick-or-treat.

When I’m serving a meal on a big holiday like Halloween where there are a lot of other festivities, I like to simplify by using cute paper plates and cups, with matching napkins. I bought this set of 3 cauldrons, and simply put my whole soup pot into the large cauldron for serving! My chili recipe tastes better when it’s in a cute container. Fact. I used the other 2 for holding candy and for decorating my table with. I also LOVE this white pumpkin soup tureen, and it’s on SALE! I bought this cool skull bowl to pass out candy on Halloween to my treat-or-treaters, and as a fun decoration for the whole month. I hope the candy makes it to Halloween…

I love making sugar cookies on Halloween, so I bought some fun cookie cutters like these, and these Halloween sprinkles. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I’m obsessed with candy corn. LIKE..OBSESSED. How delighted would little Jenica be as a young trick-or-treater to get these?! I was literally a kid in a candy store (or more appropriately, a Jenica in a candy story because I like candy even more now as an adult I think…) when I was decorating for Halloween. Tag me in any pictures you take so I can see what fun Halloween ideas you come up with!

Oh, and since I eat so much candy, I figured I would create a healthy chili recipe so that I could fit in more calories in the treat department. Don’t pretend that’s not a genius idea. This chili recipe is genuinely so delicious and tastes like it has a lot more calories than it does, which is always my favorite kind of food.

Healthy Turkey Chili Recipe

The most delicious, healthy chili I know how to make! It's really simple and fast to throw together on a day when you need a quick dinner, but also impressive enough that it tastes like you cooked it all day!

Servings 6

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 yellow onion chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
1 medium zucchini chopped
1 pound turkey 99%
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
2 15 oz cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
For topping: cheese avocado, tortilla chips, cilantro, sour cream

Instructions

Place oil in a large pot and place over medium high heat. Add in onion, garlic and zucchini and saute for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Next, add in turkey, cumin, chili powder, oregano, cayenne pepper and salt; stir for about 20 seconds to incorporate.
3. Next, add in tomatoes, chicken broth, and pinto beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until chili thickens and flavors come together. Taste and adjust seasonings and salt as necessary. Garnish with anything you would like!
Makes 6 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each.

Recipe Notes

To make this recipe in the slow cooker: Reduce the chicken broth to 1/2 cup brown the onions before adding to the slow cooker.

This post is sponsored by Walmart, a store that I love and shop at regularly!

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

November 13, 2014

A flavorful and fresh roasted tomato soup, perfect to use those garden veggies!

It’s been a while since I last posted a recipe and I decided it was about time. I just love posting deals for you every day, so I’ve been caught up in finding the best deals! I actually made this soup a few weeks ago using fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden. It was so bright and colorful that I think I had permanent smile on my face while I was making it. That is, until I put the soup in my Blendtec to blend and the heat made the top pop off and I had red soup all over my kitchen. That wasn’t very funny 🙂

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Printable recipe

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

2
1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes, mix of fresh heirlooms, cherry, vine and plum
tomatoes. (I used cherry tomatoes from my garden and it turned out great)
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 small yellow onions, sliced (I used purple onion because that’s all I had in my fridge)

Small red pepper (the original recipe didn’t call for this but I wanted to use the one from my garden!)
Vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, optional
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 quart chicken stock
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, optional
3/4 cup heavy cream, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes,
garlic cloves and onions and red pepper onto a baking tray. If using vine cherry
tomatoes for garnish, add them as well, leaving them whole and on the
vine. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until caramelized.

3. Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion from the oven and transfer
to a large stock pot (set aside the roasted vine tomatoes for later).
Add 3/4 of the chicken stock, bay leaves, and butter. Bring to a boil,
reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced
by a third.

4. Wash and dry basil leaves, if using, and add to the pot. Use an
immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. I don’t have an immersion blender so I used my Blendtec and it worked perfectly. Return soup to low
heat, add cream and adjust consistency with remaining chicken stock, if
necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Garnish in bowl with 3 or 4 roasted vine cherry tomatoes and a splash of
heavy cream.

Note: Recipe adapted from The Food Network

Mango Chicken Tacos

September 3, 2014

These tacos are very simple to put together and a hit with everyone at any dinner!

These tacos have been a favorite since I married my husband and first tried them at my in-law’s house. Everyone that tastes them absolutely loves them. You use your crockpot to make them which I am always a fan of because they are so simple. We go to Lake Powell every year and my sister-in-law brought a friend who taught us to spray the tortilla with some cooking oil then sprinkle with sea salt before heating it on the grill. It’s really good that way. My favorite corn tortillas are the TortillaLand corn tortillas that you cook yourself for the first time.

If you have a membership to Costco, you can find both the tortillas and the mango salsa that I like to use there. Otherwise you can find the same tortillas at a grocery store near you and you can use any mango salsa. Enjoy!