Hey guys! Remember me? I feel as if I haven't blogged in forever! I don't know if it's time or motivation. As the kids get older, I feel more engaged with them when I'm not working, and by the end of the day, I am done.
It doesn't help that my commute increased by 35 minutes as the full-time faculty position I accepted is on the campus furthest from my house. I'm still cooking, though! And the whole family is involved in the meal planning. We get HelloFresh every other week to make it easier for the kids to help, and it inspires us. The other nights I take the lead, but everyone helps when they can. We plan out the week on the weekend and shop together. It's great.
Last night we decided to make a skillet chili so everyone could use it how they liked. The 8-Year-Old and I put it in taco shells, the 14-Year-Old made nachos with it, and The Husband had it straight up in a bowl. It was a total family pleaser, and little did they know they were all eating mushrooms!
Not that they would care that much. My kids are pretty good about not getting grossed out by my veggie obsession, but I didn't bother to tell them, and no one said a word. We devoured the whole batch in one sitting.
Before I give you the recipe I just have to say, I'm super excited to be hosting another Date Night In this weekend. Stay tuned! I plan on sharing the whole menu. I'm proud of this one!
📖 Recipe
Skillet Chili with Black Beans and Mushrooms!
Ingredients
- 1 lb 85% ground beef
- 1 large sweet onion chopped small
- 8 oz Baby Bella Mushrooms chopped small
- 3 jalopeno peppers diced more or less to taste, diced
- 1 sweet bell pepper chopped
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 can black beans not drained
- juice of one lime
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat your skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add beef and onion to the warm skillet. Break up the meat with a spatula or wooden spoon.1 lb 85% ground beef, 1 large sweet onion
- Once the beef is nearly all brown add the mushrooms to the skillet with the spices a pinch of salt. Combine everything. The mushrooms will give off a lot of moisture as they reduce.8 oz Baby Bella Mushrooms
- Add the jalopeno and bell pepper. Continue to cook for a few minutes then add the can of beans liquid and all. Allow the flavors to merge and simmer about 10 minutes.3 jalopeno peppers diced, 1 sweet bell pepper, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 1 can black beans not drained, 1 tablespoon chili powder
- Squirt in the juice of one lime and a pinch or two more salt to taste.salt to taste, juice of one lime
Notes
- If you don't have a cast iron skillet this would work in any pot large enough to hold the ingredients. I'm just obsessed with my damn skillet now that I actually learned how to take care of it.
- I like to use mushrooms in ground beef dishes as it bulks up the serving size, adds a nice flavor, and it's a great way to get more veggies into the kids.
- If you like spicy, leave in the jalopeno core and seeds, if not remove them or skip altogether!
- I used a yellow bell pepper. Any pepper would work.
- Serve this straight up for chili or have fun with it like we did. Crunchy taco shells, some cheese and a dab of salsa made a great taco!
