Happy Monday!
I know, I'm nauseating but the truth is I had a fantastic day at work! Classes start next week at the Community College, and I'm in full-on prep mode. It's stressful but exciting. I've been lost on the career front for a few years now, and I'm ecstatic to get back into the classroom. It's what I was doing before I embarked on the whole crazy professional blogging thing.
I feel so blessed to be able to do things I'm passionate about... like cooking!
When I got home from the office, I made my new favorite chili for Mom with the veggies she brought from her garden. She's in town for a few days, and The Boys are on vacation with The Husband. It's like bizarro world here.
Anyway, I initially made this for the for 13-Year-Old and I as a sort of "kitchen sink" meal when I had too much zucchini in the fridge. He loved it so much I ended up making it again for us the following week and three times since. It's now my go-to chili for dinner and it couldn't be easier.
The Husband enjoys it as well. It's the 7-Year-Old who puts his nose up but so would The 13-Year-Old when he was seven, so I'm still holding out hope. I make him try a bite every time I made it.
Okay, I've got to run. So much to do before I go to bed and I have a full day tomorrow!
Beef Chili with Garden Veggies
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6 cups
Use all those yummy vegetable from your garden to make the perfect summer chili.
Ingredients
- 1lbs 90% lean ground beef
- 1 sweet onion (~200g diced)
- 1 large zucchini (~350g diced)
- 2 bell peppers (~225g diced)
- 300g of tomatoes chopped
- 2-3 hot peppers like habanero, jalapenos or Thai chilis seeded, deveined and minced (based on taste of course)
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- salt and pepper
- 1 16oz can of Black Beans rinsed and drained
Instructions
Heat a large pot over medium-high. Brown the ground beef with all the veggies, chili powder, cumin. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the juices run out of the vegetables making a yummy sauce. Lower the heat medium-low, add the beans and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Notes
- I've made this a few times weighing the veggies after I diced them to calculate the nutritional info more precisely. The exact amounts don't matter. A good size zucchini, a pint of grape tomatoes, two bell peppers and a hot pepper is all you need.
- If you don't have a fresh a hot pepper, a can of green chilis works just as good. I've used that a few times as well.
Courses Dinner
Cuisine Mexican
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 199 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 7 g | 11% | |
Total Carbohydrates 18 g | 6% | |
Dietary Fiber 5 g | 20% | |
Sugars 6 g | ||
Protein 17 g | 34% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Awesome! I have been looking for a different way to use the MOUNTAINS of yellow squash we've gotten from our yard. It turns out we don't like yellow squash all that much and our zucchini isn't doing as well. Sadly, our tomatoes and peppers didn't do a THING this year. Drowned out by all that yellow squash! 🙂 Thanks for this!