Quinoa Chili

Quinoa Chili

Chili is one of those things I never make.  Well, I've made it twice or maybe three times and it never worked out.  I'm happy to say the feedback I got from the fam was all good.  They said it was something I should make again!

Ingredients:
2 cups dry black beans (soaked over night in 8-9 cups of water)
1 can kidney beans (low sodium)
1 can corn (no salt)
1 c. quinoa, uncooked
1 can diced tomatoes (low sodium)
1 can ROTEL diced tomatoes with jalapeno pieces
3 c. veggie broth
1-3 c. water
2-3 tsp chili powder
2-3 tsp cumin
optional:
shredded cheese
plain Greek yogurt

Directions:
Once you have rinsed and soaked your beans overnight, put them in the crock-pot with all the other ingredients.  I add some water, just to get it to the right consistency for your taste...less water for a more hearty chili, more water for a more soupy chili.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Serve with shredded cheese and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt.

I can't have chili without toast, so I added 1 piece of whole grain bread 'rabbit ear's.

Chickpea and Squash Curry

Now that I'm getting comfortable cooking with curry, I don't know if I can stop.
This recipe sounded interesting, but wasn't totally sold on it yet. But thought, I have all the ingredients on hand, why not give it a try.  I was so glad I did. It turned out way better than I had imagined. It was spicy, sweet and delicious!  A dinner repeat for sure! Adapted from vikalinka.com

Ingredients:
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 med onion, diced
3 small zucchini chopped
1 butternut squash, chopped
2 c. veggie broth
1 can low (no) sodium chickpeas, rinsed
2 tbsp red curry paste
1 c. coconut milk

Directions:
Heat large, deep frying pan with 1-2 tbsp EVOO, add onion and garlic and stir until they start to get soft.  Add squash and veggie broth cook for about 5 mins on med, stirring occasionally.  Add zucchini, curry, coconut milk and chickpeas. Cook for another 5 mins, then turn heat on high for about 5-10 mins.  The sauce will thicken up a little.  Once squash is soft (pierce with a fork), it's done.  Serve over brown basmait rice.

About Me

My name is Jessica Burrell.  I'm a mother of 3 beautiful, smart and impressionable girls.  I started this journey so I could be the best version of myself I could be.  I strive daily to be a role model for my girls and teach them that in order to love others we must love ourselves which is not always an easy thing to do.  This journey brought me to Beachbody, and everything felt so good and positive and it changed my outlook dramatically.  I knew that I wanted to share my journey with other people and ultimately help other people do the same things I was doing.
I have had a transformation in my body, my workouts, my eating habits, but the transformation I am most rewarded with is the one with my outlook and my thinking.
If you are feeling like I was and would like to make some positive changes in your live as well, message me and I would love to give you more information.

Lasagna Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Now that our family is eating clean, I'm always on the search for creative and yummy new recipes.
Every Sunday I sit down and meal plan and post dinners on a whiteboard.  I will post more details about this in the Meal Plan and Prep section on Sunday.
The family has been looking forward to dinner tonight. In fact the kids come home from school and the first thing they do is check out our whiteboard instead of asking 'what's for dinner?'. I have to admit I was equally excited. Best part about dinner - it was super easy, clean eating and delicious!!! This is a definite repeat dinner, next time with the variation!!!  I adapted this dinner from thekitchn.com website.

Lasagna Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients:
1-2 medium sized spaghetti squash
1 lb moose meat (or very lean beef)
1 small onion diced
1 can no salt diced tomatoes
1/2 c. cottage cheese (divided)
1/2 c. shredded marble cheese (divided)
EVOO
oregano
pepper
parsley

Directions:
1) Slice squash in half, remove seeds with spoon, brush with EVOO and place flesh side down on cookie sheet. Bake in oven for 45 mins @ 400 degrees.
2) While squash is in oven, brown moose in a deep frying pan with 1-2 c. water (if beef, omit the water). When it is more than half way cooked, add the onion.  Once the meat is no longer pink, add the tomatoes, oregano and pepper.  
3) Once the squash is done, pull out of the oven, but leave the oven on.  Flip the squash over, and using a fork, scrape the flesh out (leaving a little inside as a bowl) and add it to the meat mixture. 
4) Add the cottage cheese to the empty squash (divide it between the amount of squash you have)
5) Add the meat mixture on top of the cottage cheese
6) Add the shredded cheese on top and sprinkle with parsley
7) Put back into the oven for 15-20 mins or until cheese is melted and bubbly

Variation:
Follow steps 1 and 2.
3) Once squash is done, pull out of the oven and leave the oven on.  Flip the squash over and using a fork, scrape ALL of the flesh out and put it on the bottom of a square, greased baking pan.
4) Spread all the cottage cheese over the squash
5) Spread the meat mixture over the cottage cheese
6) Sprinkle with all of the shredded cheese and sprinkle with parsley
7) Put back into the oven for 15-20 mins or until the cheese is melted and bubbly

Lazy Moose Cabbage Rolls

I love cabbage rolls!  I don't make the time to learn how to make them.  So I make lazy cabbage rolls in a deep frying pan or add a lot of broth and make it into a soup.
One more thing...we usually only have ground moose meat in the freezer, so we substitute it whenever beef is called for.  I'm so used to it now, I can barely tell the difference.  Moose is extremely lean.  I've been cooking with moose for a few years now.  I recently bought some extra lean ground beef and fried it up and was shocked at how much fat there was and how my meat was cooking in the fat, ew!  When I cook the moose, I have to add 1-2 cups of water just to give it something to cook in.

Lazy Moose Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients:
1 lb ground moose meat
1 med onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 head of cabbage, chopped
1 can low sodium diced tomatoes
pepper
oregano
1-2 c. low sodium beef broth

Directions:
Cook moose meat in frying pan with 1-2 c. of water.  While the meat is cooking, dice the onion. When the meat is a little more than half cooked, add the onions and garlic, finish cooking until the meat is no longer pink.
If your pan is big and deep, add the chopped cabbage directly to the meat mixture. Add 1c. beef broth. Cook on medium heat, stirring often. You will have to watch the cabbage mixture to see if you continue to need some moisture. Once the cabbage has cooked until soft, add the can of tomatoes and season with pepper and oregano.

Serve alone, with a side salad or over your favourite cooked rice.  Or, if you would like some soup, take the mixture and throw it into a crockpot with more beef broth for about 1 hour or so.

Thai Shrimp Curry

While I was digging through the freezer to look for chicken breasts, I came across a bag of shrimp we had gotten on sale a few months ago. I knew exactly what I wanted to make! Thai Shrimp Curry! I've only ever cooked with curry once but it's one of my favourite dishes to order. 
Ingredients:
3c mixed veggies (I like carrots, peppers, celery and snow peas)
1/2c low sodium chicken/vegetable broth
2 tbsp red thai curry paste
1c coconut milk (carton, not canned)
1 tsp natural peanut butter
1lb cooked shrimp (deviened and peeled)
1c fresh pineapple chunks
brown basmati rice (I usually cook it in advance and just warm 1/2c per serving)

Stir fry some veggies in chicken/veggie broth till tender. Mix red curry paste with coconut milk and 1 tsp peanut butter. Once the veggies were soft, add the sauce, shrimp, pineapple chunks and snow peas. Served with brown basmati rice. It was so yummy!!! My man had 2 helpings.  Dinner was the best thing I've ate all day, probably all week smile emoticon !!