Tag: chili

Recipes

Hearty Beef and Veggie Chili

Alasen Zarndt

This chili is an all-time favorite at our house for two reasons: It’s incredibly easy to make and it’s delicious.

Oh, and it contains a huge helping of veggies in it, which makes my little nutrient-density-loving heart happy.

My kids love it topped with cheese and I love it served over brown rice or a sweet potato. We even eat it with Frito-style chips sometimes. It is also something that is super easy to freeze and thaw, so I almost always make a double or triple batch of it. This let’s us have a super fast meal on a weeknight if needed, that’s still super healthy.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb of high quality ground beef or bison
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes (no salt added)
  • 1 can of black beans
  • 1 can of garbanzo beans
  • 2 cans of pinto beans
  • 1 8oz can of diced green chilis (optional)
  • 16 oz of diced root veggies of your choice (for this, I love using the Healthy 8 veggie blend from Trader Joe’s. Here’s a copycat recipe in case you don’t have TJ nearby or need ideas)
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 2 TBSP chili seasoning
  • 16 oz organic beef bone broth

Instructions

Open all of the cans of beans, chilis, and tomatoes. Drain the water from the beans, but do NOT drain the tomatoes or chili.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and brown the ground meat, until it is cooked through. Add in the diced onion and stir occasionally until the onion softens and releases its water. Then add in the chili seasoning and stir until everything is evenly coated.

Add in the 16oz of chopped root veggies. Cover and cook until the veggies are softening (but not cooked through). If the veggies or meat is sticking to the bottom of the pan, you can add a few oz of the beef stock in this step to prevent that.

Once the veggies have begun to soften, add in the diced chilis if you are using them. Mix thoroughly. Next, add in the diced tomatoes and all of the beans. Stir the mixture to evenly distribute.

Finally add in the remaining bone broth and bring the chili to a simmer. You can simmer in as little as 10 minutes, or wait up to two hours to serve if you keep it over very low heat. You can also add the chili to a crock pot at this point and cook on low heat for up to 6 hours.

If you made a double batch, separate half of the chili out to freeze once is it cooked. Wait until it is cooled to room temperature before placing in a freezer bag and freeze it flat for easiest storage and thawing.

Recipes

White Bean Chicken Chili

Alasen Zarndt

Chili is always a favorite in our house, especially in the winter. I love it because it’s simple to make and I can hide extra veggies in it for the kids. The kids and hubby love it because it’s delicious. This is a twist on a traditional chili recipe that is mild but flavorful. It’s also relatively easy to make in a double or triple batch. If you do this, you can freeze a portion so that you’ll have an “instant” home cooked meal on a hectic weeknight down the road.

The recipe below makes a mild chili (not spicy at all). If you want more kick and flavor, you can double the amount of spices and add another can of green chilis to the pot. My husband and I prefer the recipe with the spices and chilis doubled, but the girls like the mild version better. Either way, I hope you love this one as much as we do!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 parsnips, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 2 15oz cans of white beans, drained and rinsed (we like one can of white kidney beans and one of great northern beans)
  • 1 4oz can of roasted green chilis*
  • 1 1/2 cups of shredded chicken
  • 1 cup of frozen corn
  • 1 1/2 – 2 cups of chicken bone broth (if you like a thicker chili, use 1 1/2 cups. You can use chicken stock if you don’t have bone broth available)
  • 3 TBSP of lime juice
  • 3 TBSP olive oil
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp cumin*
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper*
  • 1/2 tsp salt*
  • 1/2 tsp paprika*

*double these ingredients if you like your chili flavor to be stronger

Instructions

Add the olive oil, garlic, spices, and chopped onion to a large pot and place over HIGH heat. Cover the pot for 1 to 2 minutes and then stir the onion and spice mixture frequently, until the onions are soft and well coated.

Add the shredded chicken to the mixture and continue to sauté with the onions until the chicken is coated with the spice mixture (about 2 minutes). Next, add the broth, the green chilis, and the parsnips to the pot. Reduce the heat to a MEDIUM level, cover and allow to simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Finally, add the lime juice and the remaining ingredients to the pot. Stir the mixture until evenly mixed. Cover the pot until the chili is boiling, then reduce the heat to LOW. Stir the chili and scrape the bottom of the pot with the spoon to make sure no portions of the chili are stuck to the bottom. Recover the pot and allow the chili to simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

That’s it! This chili can continue to simmer on the stove top on LOW heat for up to an hour, as long as you stir it occasionally.


You can serve this alone, with some shredded cheese or a dollop of sour cream, or over rice or baked potatoes. It is also great if you garnish it with a bit of chopped cilantro. How do you love to eat this?