crock pot – The Clean Eating Mama

breakfast, chili, crock pot, halloween, jordan, life

A cozy Sunday

November 3, 2013 CleanEatingMama

Hi friends! Happy Sunday!

I love Sunday! It’s my day to cozy up inside and relax. Usually my Sundays include meal prepping, soup making, cleaning, playing games with Jordan, blogging and catching up on my blog reading, business (writing E-Books, editing photos, talking to clients) and just doing what my heart tells me! I also loving waking up early and pounding out some journal pages and squats! 😉 Oh, and FOOTBALL! I love watching football! I have blogged about our Sunday Football watching before… we have been doing Fantasy Football for about 7 years now, too! It’s so much fun!

Oh, and it’s daylight savings time today! I remember hating daylight savings time when Jordan was a baby because of course it messed his schedule up for a good week or so. Now it’s not so bad.

This morning I was taking care of two sick boys – hubs and bubs! Hubs woke up with a sore throat and pounding head, and Jordan has been dealing with an ear infection this week. Moms = Doctors! ❤

I also prepped a batch of Crockpot chili this morning – the house is smelling soooo good right now!

Chili is one of my favorite things to make and eat! Most of the time I will make a vegan chili but today I am making it with ground turkey. And instead of jalapeño peppers I used a poblano pepper – I think it will taste pretty darn amazing!

After I placed everything in the crock pot, I made myself a yogurt bowl! Man, I love yogurt bowls!

I used coconut yogurt, a sprinkle of trail mix and granola and a cut up organic apple. I haven’t had a yogurt bowl in soooo long… I really missed them!

Jordan and I also wrote out his Thank You cards from his Birthday. Teaching children to say Thank You is so important!

I also love seeing him write his words! Each day I am so amazed by Jordan! I still can’t believe how fast he is growing!

Here are a few pictures from Halloween! He was a Ghost this year! I bought white facepaint but he didn’t want it one – he’s funny like that! He hates to be dirty or have anything on him! lol

We went out for only an hour and a half and he ended up scoring a lot of treats! Of course when we got home he had to line them up on the couch… did you do this when you were younger? I know I did!

Here is my take on Halloween and candy: I know candy is not good for kids. But it’s one of those childhood memories that I want him to have! Since he does not eat candy or sweets on a regular basis, he hasn’t really ask me to eat any of his candy. He still has the entire bucket full and he likes to play with it and count it! lol I have been throwing away his candy when he isn’t looking. But if he wants one piece here or there I will allow him to have one. We live in an imperfect world! And as long there is moderation and teaching involved, kids should be able to be kids!

Here is a look at Jordan from the past 5 years!

2.5 weeks old vs. 1 year

2 years vs. 3 years

4 years vs. 5 years

It amazes me how fast he has grown!

Questions:

Do you watch football?

Did you go out Trick or Treating?

Have a wonderful day!

XxOo Tasha

chili, crock pot, halloween, jordan, life, recipe

A cozy Sunday

November 3, 2013 CleanEatingMama

Hi friends! Happy Sunday!

Oh, and it’s daylight savings time today! I remember hating daylight savings time when Jordan was a baby because of course it messed his schedule up for a good week or so. Now it’s not so bad.

This morning I was taking care of two sick boys – hubs and bubs! Hubs woke up with a sore throat and pounding head, and Jordan has been dealing with an ear infection this week. Moms = Doctors! ❤

I also prepped a batch of Crockpot chili this morning – the house is smelling soooo good right now!

After I placed everything in the crock pot, I made myself a yogurt bowl! Man, I love yogurt bowls!

I used coconut yogurt, a sprinkle of trail mix and granola and a cut up organic apple. I haven’t had a yogurt bowl in soooo long… I really missed them!

Jordan and I also wrote out his Thank You cards from his Birthday. Teaching children to say Thank You is so important!

I also love seeing him write his words! Each day I am so amazed by Jordan! I still can’t believe how fast he is growing!

Here are a few pictures from Halloween! He was a Ghost this year! I bought white facepaint but he didn’t want it one – he’s funny like that! He hates to be dirty or have anything on him! lol

We went out for only an hour and a half and he ended up scoring a lot of treats! Of course when we got home he had to line them up on the couch… did you do this when you were younger? I know I did!

Here is a look at Jordan from the past 5 years!

2.5 weeks old vs. 1 year

2 years vs. 3 years

4 years vs. 5 years

It amazes me how fast he has grown!

Questions:

Do you watch football?

Did you go out Trick or Treating?

Have a wonderful day!

XxOo Tasha

crock pot, recipe

Crockpot of Chili

January 14, 2010 CleanEatingMama

I love chili. On a cool night what better way to spend it than with a hot bowl of chili, a blanket and a movie! It’s even better the next day, too.

This has a ton of variations – items can be added or deleted. I am posting my basic chili recipe here, then scroll down to read my tips!

Ingredients:

1 pound of lean, organic turkey of beef (omit to make vegan)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and dices
1-2 medium jalapeño, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic or 2 tablespoons garlic powder
1/4 cup chili powder
2 tablespoons cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 can tomato paste, 6 oz can
1 large can whole tomatoes with juice, quartered
7 cups kidney/pinto beans soaked overnight, or 2-3 cans of kidney/pinto beans with liquid.
2-3 cups of water
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
hot sauce (sriracha) to taste

Heat olive oil in large skillet with half of the onion, all of the garlic and half jalapeño. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add meat, if using, and brown. Salt and pepper to taste. When meat is browned, add the remainder of onion, jalapeño and bell pepper. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the mixture to a crock pot/slow cooker.

Turn you crock pot to the highest heat. Add beans to crock pot and stir together. Then add 2 cups of water water, spices, tomatoes, tomato paste and cilantro. Blend well and cover.

Check every half hour, stirring. After 2 hours taste to see if you need salt and pepper or more spice.

It will take 6-7 hours to fully cook. Do not add flour as the chili will thicken the last few hours of cooking.

Serve with cornbread or a salad. Garnish with fresh cilantro, cheese or avocado.

Serves 6-8 people.

TIPS & HINTS:

The jalapeno doesn’t add spice, only flavor. When I want to spice it up I add chili flakes, sriracha (hot sauce) or use your own favorite way to spice up food. Add a small amount at a time and taste 30 minutes later. Use this same technique with salt and pepper, onion powder(optional) and garlic powder. I never use the same amount for each batch.

When soaking the beans over night, do not measure out 7 cups as the beans will expand. 4-5 cups will be plenty of beans for soaking. I use a mixture of pinto and kidney beans. You can even use black beans if desired.

Enjoy!