White Chicken Chili

There are a few things going at my house that make it difficult to find recipes. One, we are starting a serious new budget.  Two, we have come to accept our "happy pounds" but we don't want to gain more so we are trying eat leaner.  Three, most recipes I find for lean meals are spicy (which I love!) but the pilot's esophagus does not.  Four, with a baby around we do not have much down time to plan, shop, prep, cook or clean so I want easy to make meals.  With all of those requirements, I am on a quest to find cheap, lean meals that are not spicy and are easy to make.  Got all that?

Luckily, after much debate over how spicy I can make the meal we found the perfect solution: White Chicken Chili.  The key to the flavoring is the Salsa Verde which is actually a mild flavor. 

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cans of Northern Beans ($0.
• 1 can of corn ($0.49, Aldi)
• 1 jar of Salsa Verde ($1.49, Aldi)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped (in house)
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped (in house)
• 1 tsp of cumin (in house)

First you take one of the cans of beans and blend it in either a food processor or blender.  This will add a thicker texture to your chili.

Then I place all of the ingredients into the crockpot EXCEPT the chicken and mix it all up with a spoon.  After that I drop in the chicken and set on LOW for 6 hours.

After 6 hours I remove the chicken and shred it with two forks.  The chicken should be super tender and moist, making it super easy to shred.  Here is where I pulled out some chicken to feed the baby.

Return the shredded chicken to the crockpot and cook on LOW for another hour.  After that, remove the lid and let it sit there for about 10 minutes to help thicken up the liquid. 

Pour into a bowl and top with your favorite chili toppings such as sour cream, cheese, avocados, Fritos, etc.  Okay, so it starts off lean but it can also become lethal.  Either way it is delicious.  Oh and more importantly it is cheap, lean, not too spicy and easy to make.  Enjoy!

Guilt-free Broccoli Mac & Cheese

I know, you are probably skeptical because I called it  "guilt-free" and that typically means that it does not taste good but hear me out.  You have seen recipes for macaroni and cheese that are to-die-for.  Ones that have butter or beer, maybe some greasy bacon and lots of cheese.  Well this is not one of those recipes.  Instead, this is a recipe that will NOT make your wallet or gut feel guilty.

Ingredients

• 1/4 box of elbow macaroni pasta (I used Ronzoni Smart Taste - really good!) 
• box of frozen Green Giant Broccoli and Cheese Sauce
• Hormel Real Bacon Pieces (50% Less Fat)
• Garlic Powder
• Parmesan Cheese

Dump the macaroni into a pot of boiling water.

At that time microwave the broccoli according to directions.  It's awesome because it will take the same amount of time.  It's even more awesome because for those of you on Weight Watchers, check out the points plus in the upper right-hand corner.  Plus they go on sale as 10 for $10 every couple weeks so it is super cheap to make.

Now, it is easy.  Strain the pasta, dump in the broccoli and cheese sauce and mix.  Sprinkle in some bacon pieces, garlic powder and top with some Parmesan cheese.

In my mind this is the ULTIMATE recipe because:

1. it is quick (less than 10 minutes!)
2. it is easy (boil water and microwave)
3. it is light (low in WW points plus) 
4. and it is very cheap (less than $2)

Hope you appreciate this recipe as much as I do!

Smoothie Cubes

Unfortunately I do not have time to only focus on DIY projects and organization. There's family, friend, work, my second job and somewhere in there I eat. My family is Italian and we like to eat well. In their Italian vocabulary to "eat well" means to cook with fat, butter, lots of olive oil, cheese, etc.

About 18 months I joined Weight Watcher and took control of the food I was putting into my body. I did awesome! The only problem was that I quickly found that my grocery bills began to sky rocket and I didn't have the luxury to spend that much just on food. I took about a 6 month hiatus from Weight Watchers and now I am back... but with an added challenge to keep costs down. I'll share any recipes / finds that I have that will help you eat light while being light on your wallet.

Aldi is a great place to shop groceries at low costs. While browsing their aisles the other day I noticed a bunch of silicone trays on clearance for $1.49 so I bought the one for 6 cupcakes.

As much as I cook (and I am a pretty good cook if I say so myself), I absolutely do not bake. Never really cared for sweets so I never cared to make them. Once I saw this tray I had a different plan.

Yogurt has been one of those foods that I eat because it is good for watching your weight, but I really do not enjoy eating yogurt. I typically add cereal or blend it in a smoothie. Last year I tried something with one of my smoothies and it became on of my favorite snacks. I froze the smoothie and then let it sit out while I worked. After a few hours out, it became soft and had a creamy texture just like... well, frozen yogurt.

My new kitchen tool was going to help me portion smaller snack sizes of the smoothie. First I made a smoothie with yogurt, mixed berries, frozen banana and some almond milk. Once it was totally blended I poured in into the silicon tray and froze. Once frozen I put them in a ziplock baggie so it would be easier to store.

Now I have healthy snacks already made for work in the perfect portions! Already I got my money's worth in the tray.