beans

InstantPot Chili!

Jennifer 3 Comments

Hello friends! Sorry, it has been quite a long time since my last post and to be honest, I’m not sure when my next post might be. After giving birth to my baby girl, who is almost 11 months now, life has been crazy and hasn’t left me much time to blog, let alone cook. My husband is a big fan of this chili recipe so it’s one of our go-to meals. The pressure cooker has been a lifesaver in making meals come together much quicker. Hope you’ll enjoy this one! If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can do this on the stove, but it will need to simmer for at least 2 hours.

Ingredients:

olive oil
2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, diced
2 jalapeños, small dice
3 stalks celery, diced

2 teaspoons cumin
2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
pinch black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 – 15 ounce can kidney beans, with liquid
1 – 15 ounce can pinto beans, with liquid
1 – 15 ounce can black beans, with liquid

1 – 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 – 15 ounce can tomato sauce

Procedure:

1. Set your InstantPot to Saute and add oil to pot.
2. Once pot is hot, add ground beef and cook until browned.
3. Add vegetables and cook until onion is translucent.
4. Add spices and beans. Add 1/2 cup water. Mix well.
5. Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Do not mix.
6. Then place lid on and set to 10 minutes on manual.
7. When done, allow the pressure to release naturally. Enjoy!

Lemony Chickpea Salad!

Jennifer Leave a comment

chickpea-salad

We’ve been experiencing spring-like weather in NYC these days which puts me in a salad mood. This is a refreshing chickpea salad, using minimal ingredients and is great over crunchy chopped romaine or as a side dish or even as a topping on your avocado toast. To bulk it up for a more filling meal, you can add quinoa to the mix. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1- 29 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed OR about 3 cups cooked chickpeas
10-12 black sicilian oil-cured olives, pitted and thinly sliced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley
salt
pepper
olive oil

Procedure:

1. Mix the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Lightly mash chickpeas with a fork, leaving most of the chickpeas whole.
3. Add salt, pepper, and olive oil to taste

Chili!

Jennifer 2 Comments

fancy-chili

After having a spring-like 60 degree day yesterday, winter reminded us that she’s still here with a blizzard that has dropped about a foot of snow so far in New York City. Seems like a perfect day to enjoy a big bowl of chili 🙂 I’ve begun to incorporate more meat into my diet these days, as I’m expecting and need more protein than before. However, this recipe can easily be made vegetarian just by eliminating the ground beef and possibly replacing with crumbled tofu or TVP. The recipe comes together very quickly and is delicious!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped scallion
1 pound ground beef
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
One 28-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
3 cups cooked red kidney beans
2 medium red bell peppers, cored, seeded and diced
6 medium carrots, peeled and grated
1 cup frozen sweet corn
Pinch of salt

Optional topppings:

shredded cheddar cheese
chopped scallion
sour cream
Procedure:

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and green onions and cook for about 1 minute.
2. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder and ground cumin until fully combined.
3. Add the tomatoes, beans, bell pepper, carrots, corn and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer the chili for 15 minutes.

Adapted from Trisha Yearwood’s Fancy Chili recipe