What we ate last week... (First published 1/22/2012)

So sorry I did not get this out last week, our schedule has bee a bit nuts!

Meal plan for week of 1/15 – 1-21
Sunday, Enchiladas

Monday, French dip sandwiches

Tuesday, Tortellini

Wednesday, Bacon and Cheese Chicken This was new for us and it was THE BOMB! It will be added to our regular rotation!

Thursday, Quinoa Chili Printable recipe / Quinoa Chili  This Recipe is below...

Friday, Home made (frozen) Pizza

Saturday, Hubby’s choice ( I will be out of town Scrapbooking all day, Yay me! )

Quinoa Chili
Adapted from All Recipes.com

Printable recipe here...

We really like this! So far I have made it twice and it has become my "go to" Chili recipe. The great thing is it can easily be converted to a Vegetarian dish by omiting meat and adding in extra veggies like zuchini and summer squash.

This week I tripled this recipe and made it in my large 8 Quart Crockpot. (Crockpot directions are below for same day and night before prep)

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed

2 cups water

1 pound extra lean ground beef

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

3 cups home cooked or 2 (19 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1 teaspoon dried parsley

salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Optional: Zuchini & Summer Squash

Directions:

1.	Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes.
2.	Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the ground beef. Cook and stir until the beef is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease; set beef aside.
3.	Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, garlic, and jalapeno pepper; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with chili powder and cumin; cook 1 minute more to release the flavor of the spices. Stir in the tomatoes, black beans, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, oregano, and parsley (also add zuchini and summer squash now if using it). Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Simmer until the bell peppers are tender, about 20 minutes.
4.	Once the red and green peppers are tender, stir in the quinoa, beef, and corn kernels. Return to a simmer, and cook 5 minutes to reheat. Stir in the cilantro to serve.

*** I make this in the crockpot. We feel that chili is best when cooked low and slow. The flavors are much deeper.

Here is what I do…
Add defrosted ground meat and set on high for about an hour… break up meat and add the rest of the ingredients stir and cook 3 hours on high or 5-8 hours on low.

You could easily prep this the night before Here is what I would do…

If your crock is removable add the meat to it, cover and put in the fridge. (Otherwise just add the deforsted meat to the crock in the AM)

Dice up all veggies and put them covered in the fridge.
Combine all spices in a small bowl or baggie>

Cook and refrigerate Quinoa
In the morning 1^st thing before you do anything else get the meat  statrted and turn to high.
Before you leave the house, break up the meat, add everything else, give it a stir and turn it to low.   Viola!… you come home to a nice hot meal :)