Day 245 - Autumn Sweet Vegetarian Chili

So I LOVE chili.

Here you can find my usual go-to fall favorite made a bit healthier. Today's yumminess is brought to you by my lovely boardies over at Weight Watchers : )  It's also brought to you because I tend to over-buy. I get excited about odd things, and the sweet potatoes and squash got me on one particular shopping trip... I digress.

So my lovelies at WW suggested a few good uses for my overabundance and this is what I did for dinner last night. Well, I did a slight variation on it. My variation is below, this link takes you to the original at Eating Well magazine.

Sweet and Spicy Vegetarian Chili

Served over a bed of brown rice.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
• 1 small acorn squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 4 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile (see Note)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
• 1 14-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
•  2 limes, juiced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a large, heavy stock pot over medium-high heat. Add sweet potato, both squash and onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is beginning to soften for about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle and salt and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the sweet potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Add beans, tomatoes and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

Yields 10 - 1 cup servings (approximately) at 2 Points Plus for Weight Watchers (I build my recipes without the veggies added into the builder... It adds points that it shouldn't. Feel free to ask me more about this.)

I would easily count this as 2 servings of veggies, and I would add a teaspoon of safflower oil when serving to get in a heart healthy oil. I'm serving this over a bed of brown rice (left overs from the previous night) and perhaps having a cup and a half : ) Yay Autumn flavors!

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Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

• Note: Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers. Ground chipotle chile pepper can be found in the spice section of most supermarkets (I got mine at Wegman's... McCormick Spice Islands line) or online at penzeys.com. 

Tomorrow- Weigh In number 2. Let's see how well I've readjusted to eating well again. I did have a few cookies this week. Not good with cold turkey type behavior.

Day 154 - Play With Your Fruits and Veggies

Yesterday I told you I was going to let you into my pantry again. Well, kind of...

I always, always, always have fresh fruit and veggies on hand for meal times. And to keep myself interested and my creative juices flowing, I like to buy the non-standard items. Yes, I'm practically required by my boys to have bananas and apples on hand. And berries and grapes are most often found in my icebox, too. But hanging in one of my three suspended baskets, or in the basket on my counter, you'll also find some less traditional selections. Have a look at yesterday's shopping trip.

From right to left, let me introduce you to:

• Graffiti Eggplant

• Pluots

• Acorn Squash

I have many ideas for the eggplant (check back tomorrow morning to see what I did with it tonight for dinner) and some involve the great new Corningware ramekins that I found at Target yesterday. The plouts are quite simply the yummy love child of the plum and apricot. Yes, love child... And I recently featured a great recipe of the acorn squash and have another in mind to try. They keep almost forever in a cool dry place, so don't hesitate to include them in your grocery adventure, even if you don't quite know what to do with them yet.

If you have any insights for any of the above mentioned botanical wonders, please feel free to share below. I (we) love fresh thoughts : )

Tomorrow: Tonight's dinner (don't worry, I won't push the leftovers on you) and fun cookware! (I'm cookware junkie. I see it, I buy it.)

Day 145 - Weigh In Day!!!

And If you are seeing this message, this one, right here, it means I have no internet and am unable to post due to Irene's crabby attitude. She stole our power and thus our internet. So instead of my Sunday waistline info, instead I will charm you with my culinary skills... And if I'm lucky, you may have to wipe a bit of drool from your chin when we're done : ) Either way, enjoy!

Friday night, while I should have been preparing for the storm, I was instead looking for ways to have acorn squash with my dinner. In a former life I would have roasted it on a sheet pan, then put a Tbsp or two of butter in the cup along with brown sugar (and perhaps maple or vanilla). Though that is one of the yummiest things to do to an acorn squash, it's an aggressive enemy attack against my midsection. So I searched around and found this instead... Give it a try!

Orange and Ginger Glazed Acorn Squash

• 3 acorn squash, halved length-wise and seeds removed
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 2Tbsp. crystallized ginger, minced
• 2Tbsp. butter (unsalted is better)
• 1Tbsp. packed brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375F; line a baking tray with aluminum foil and lightly spray with vegetable spray
2. Place squash cut side down on the tray and spray back sides lightly with vegetable spray
3. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until tender
4. Approximately 10 minutes before they are done roasting, combine the remaining ingredients in a sauce pan and heat just to melt butter and dissolve sugar.
5. To serve: place 1 half acorn on a plate and spoon 3Tbsp. glaze into the center.
6. Eat before someone else does.

For Weight Watcher's: 2 points for one half with 3Tbsp of the glaze.

This is an amazing way to highlight the beautiful sweetness of the squash without masking it with flavorings. The ginger and citrus are surprisingly gently and compliment the squash deliciously.

Monday: Check back to see how I weathered Irene.

Day 133 - What's For Dinner

As I mentioned yesterday, I have planned out my meals for the entire week. The only short coming: eating the same things, each meal, everyday. I'm not terribly opposed, but many people would be (I know, it's boring, lacking variety, etc...). So I'm going to let you in on a little secret that makes these plans not only manageable but exciting!

Starting with 4oz. sauteed chicken breast, 1/2 cup of sauteed zucchini, mozzarella and Parmesan (all of which are completely yum-o to begin with) we can gussy it up in a different way each night of the week. Try this:

• Served with cheeses melted, and half of a garden fresh tomato, garnished with a 'just cut' sprig of basil.
•  Tuck a bed of bibb lettuce and tomato slices into two pita halves, add warmed chicken, squash and cheeses, drizzle with light balsamic dressing.
• Prepare 1oz. fresh whole wheat pasta, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and a crushed clove of garlic. Toss with chicken, squash and cheeses.
• Spread basil pesto over a pre-packaged flat bread or pizza crust, top with chicken, squash then the cheeses and make it toasty in the oven for a great take on pizza.
• Top 1/2 cup brown rice with the chicken and squash; for a little extra crunch add half a cup of pico de gallo into the rice.

Each of these variations provides at least 2 servings of veggies, 1 serving of heart healthy oil and 4oz. of a lean protein.Oh! And yumminess,  that's the most important part : )

There are so many other ways to elaborate on this simple combination of delicious and versatile flavors. To make being creative even easier, I prepare all of the chicken and squash on Sunday, portion it (refrigerate some and freeze the rest) that way I only have to figure out the fun part each night for dinner. Doing this saves a bunch of time during the week nights when I would rather be hanging out with my hubby or playing with my boys.

Tomorrow: Hand Over Your Lunch!