Crock-Pot Verde Turkey Chili

I originally published this post in November 2014. It’s been such a hit with friends and followers (and let’s be honest, with me too), that I decided to update the post and photos. Enjoy!

When someone asks me for a recipe recommendation from my blog, the one I suggest the most is this chili. It’s made in the Crock-Pot so it’s basically no fail, and with minimal ingredients it’s cheap to throw together and relatively healthy.

Once the temperatures dip slightly, this recipe quickly gets thrown into rotation. The temps have yet to drop in Dallas, but it’s October so I’m ignoring mother nature and cooking what I seasonally want.

Crock-Pot Verde Turkey Chili
yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 can white navy beans
1 package frozen bell peppers
2 (12-16 oz) jars of verde salsa, I use Trader Joe’s
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
Topping ideas: Fritos, plantain chips, cheese, avocado, sour cream, greek yogurt, lime and cilantro

Directions:
Cook your turkey meat in a non-stick pan. Once your turkey is cooked through, strain it. Next, strain your beans. In your Crock-Pot, add the cooked turkey meat, drained beans, frozen veggies, salsa and seasonings. Stir to combine.

Set your Crock-Pot to cook 4-5 hours or high or cook 6-7 hours on low. Taste the chili and add more cumin and chili powder if necessary.

Top with your choice of toppings. Fritos and chili go hand in hand for me, but I love swapping the highly addicting (and my favorite chip) for a healthier option like plantain chips.

For a fun side-by-side to show you how things have developed after 6 years of blogging…Picture on the right, currently, picture on the left circa 2014 on my iphone3.

And a note from my original 2014 post “it’s even better the next day.” Which 5 years later I can still attest to.

Annie

Pumpkin Pecan White Chocolate Cookies

Pumpkin cookies let’s go. But not those cakey pumpkin cookies with the icing. I can’t with those. These are dense yet fluffy, soft and chewy, but crunchy with the addition of pecans.

With a light pumpkin taste, but a heavy spice flavor, these Pumpkin Pecan White Chocolate cookies are everything I want in a “pumpkin cookie.”

Pumpkin Pecan White Chocolate Cookies
yields 30-32 cookies

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips (you can substitute for chocolate chips, or seasonal pumpkin chips and cinnamon chips)
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. About 1 minute. Add in both sugars and beat on medium for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. On low, stir in the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract until combined.

Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Once the dough has almost come together, but still a little floury, add the pecans and white chocolate chips.

*I roughly chop my white chocolate chips (just like in my Perfect CCCs). It lends to a prettier, but more rustic looking cookie which I love.

Using a 1 ½ inch cookie scoop, form golf ball size balls of dough. Place them on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Do not overcrowd the pans. I got 12 balls of dough on a pan, at most. Rough the cookies up a bit so they have pecans and white choclate peeking out. Add a few more of each to the top of the cookies if needed. Optional, sprinkle the top of each cookie with flaky Maldon salt.

Bake for 9 minutes, rotating the pan around halfway through. Bake until just barely golden around the edges, the key is to not over bake these! Shy on the underdone side.

Annie

Bites of My Life

Came back from Colorado with a cold, but kid of “took advantage” of the time to lay low and rest. I worked from home most days, drank copious amounts of tea, ate soup and kept my workouts very low maintenance, some days skipping them all together. I started to feel more myself just in time for the weekend and had a really great weekend in my city. Now the countdown is on until my apartment is full of my best friends and everyone is reunited in Dallas for OU/Texas!

-Monday meal prep after the bachelorette weekend. Kept things simple with Crock-Pot chicken and seasonal roasted veggies.
-Return of golden milk this week. Perfect for fall but also perfect for the cold I was battling last week.
-Last week’s recipe post including bulletproof coffee and a Whole30 recap.
-Woke up Saturday craving fried eggs. I normally cook scrambled at home, but two crispy eggs cooked in lots of ghee, really hit the spot.
-Being extra festive at the Farmer’s Market. The Dallas Farmer’s market is a favorite weekend activity for me.
-Harvest Pumpkin loaf from Central Market was obviously a must.
-Post-whole30 l i v i n g at my favorite restaurant in Dallas. Proof that I love this hole-in-the-wall seen in my 3 Months in D post!
-Leftovers repurposed for Sunday lunch. A sweet potatoes filled with Crock-Pot chicken and roasted carrots from my meal prep.
-Since it’s October and still in the 90’s I made my Pumpkin Green Smoothie into a bowl for dinner. Fall-ish but make it weather approp.

Annie

Pumpkin Spice Bulletproof Coffee + A September Whole 30 Recap

Bulletproof coffee became a staple for an easy breakfast while on Whole30. However, I fully plan to keep sipping on bulletproof post W30, especially with this seasonal spin. There is so much on the internet about bulletproof coffee and I encourage you to do your own research to see if it’s right for you.

The quick synopsis of bulletproof coffee is, it’s a high caloric drink made from coffee, butter (or ghee) and brain octane oil to be used as a meal replacement at breakfast. It’s benefits include increase in energy, spike in metabolism, improved mood and extra brain power.

Now most of you know I don’t do caffeine, so I make mine with decaf and still love the affects it gives me. It really does keep me full for around 4 hours. It also helps reduce my bloat first thing in the morning. I love eating breakfast, but get easily bloated after the first meal of the day.

In honor of the season, I really leaned in and created this pumpkin spice seasonal twist to my bulletproof!

Pumpkin Spice Bulletproof Coffee
serves 1

Ingredients:
1 cup of brewed coffee, organic is best
1-2 tbsps. ghee
1-2 tbsps. MCT brain octane oil
1 scoop Vital Proteins collagen peptides
1 tbsp. Pumpkin Spice Nutpods*
big shake of pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
In a blender combine all ingredients for 15-30 seconds until frothy. Pour and top with more pumpkin pie spice.

Note: I say 1-2 tablespoons of ghee and brain octane oil because these two ingredients need to be eased into. Start with one tablespoon for the first few times drinking bulletproof, then ease your way up.

*If you do not have the Pumpkin Nutpods it is okay to omit. No need to replace with an alternative milk. The best thing about bulletproof coffee is it is free of dairy and non-diary, yet still creamy from blending in the ghee. However, I love to add a splash of Nutpods to ramp up the pumpkin spice flavor.

Now let’s talk Whole30 while I have you. Yesterday was my last official day of September Whole 30. I can’t say I ended it feeling amazing. I definitely cheated here and there. If you follow me on social media, you saw this, but I’m still really proud of myself at how I stayed strong a majority of the 30 days.

Some major benefits people claim from Whole30 are clear skin, more energy and better sleep. Unfortunately I didn’t reap any of these benefits. I broke out bad around week 2, my sleep was all over the place, and about week 3 I was taking a nap after work most days.

That being said, it wasn’t all bad. There were days I felt great and so confident! It also felt good to take a breather from the carbs and alcohol. I actually for once had some willpower while on Whole30 to say no to sweet treats and cheese. And as the food nerd that I am, I loved trying new recipes and getting creative with what I was cooking and eating. I would still recommend Whole30 to those looking to give themself a reset. Just make sure it’s a time of year that works best for you so you can really devote the attention to it it needs! Anyone else just finish up September Whole 30?

Annie

Bites of My Life

Home from the most amazing bachelorette party in Vail, CO. Unfortunately I brought a cold home with me. Here’s a quick recap of my last full week of Whole 30, mountain time and the start of October!

-Tahini Chicken Salad hit the blog and my lunch last week. This no-mayo Whole 30 chicken salad recipe was a hit with more than just me. Y’all were loving it, and I love that.
-Currently still eating this Thai Pumpkin Soup because it made so much. Not mad about coming home from my trip with a meal already made for the week. I froze half this batch and thawed it over low heat.
-Going on a bachelorette trip while on Whole30 isn’t ideal, but the trip > w30. My plan of attack was to order best I could while out to eat, pack plenty of approved snacks, and indulge where I wanted. Here is a glimpse of my travel snack pack (which are all things I take even off W30): RXbars, pre-portioned bags of mixed nuts and plantain chips, Chomp sticks, almond butter packs, loose packets of tea and a few apples.
-Perks of accidentally booking your flight a day early, equals more time in Vail and a seriously good dinner at La Bottega.
-Followed by the famous hot chocolate at the Four Seasons. It was incredible, but so rich and TMI sent my weak stomach straight to the bathroom…This was not necessarily the first thing to dive into off Whole 30.
-The trees changing in Colorado this time of year was insane.
-Après naps (lol) cheeseboard time.
-Hiking aka trail walking in gorgeous Vail.
-Homemade za by moi for Saturday night in, in Vail. With tips I know from What’s Gaby Cooking, these supreme pizzas turned our perfect in the oven.

Annie