Crock Pot: Ground Turkey "Gumbo"

I absolutely love my Turkey Chili recipe as one of my go-to's for weekly meal prep, but I wanted to mix it up a little this time!

Introducing...Ground Turkey "Gumbo"! 

I used my crock pot along with these main ingredients:

-1 lb lean ground turkey

- 2 bell peppers

- 5(ish) radishes

- 3 large carrots

- 3(ish) celery stalks 

- 1 can black beans (or beans of choice)

- 1 carton vegetable broth (could use chicken or beef)

- 2 cups brown rice

- salt and pepper to taste

I chopped up all my veggies and put them in my crock pot (on high) with the 1 lb of ground turkey and 1 can of black beans:

To get the cooking started I added 2 cups of the vegetable broth and the salt and pepper. I let all of this cook for a couple hours because I didn't want to over cook my rice. 

So at about the 2 hour mark I added 2 cups of brown rice along with two more cups of vegetable broth:

I let this all cook for another couple hours so that all of the broth could be soaked up by the rice.

And there's the Ground Turkey "Gumbo"! 

It's a nice alternative to the chili since it adds a little grains in there and I was glad I added the radishes for a new twist! It's fun to experiment with winter time veggies :)

Super simple and easily modified for whatever you'd like to add! 

Make it vegetarian style with more brown rice and beans!

Add tons of your favorite veggies and it's a great way to pack them into your diet!

Spaghetti Squash "Pasta"!

If you haven't figured out yet, I am a huge fan of creating healthy Italian inspired meals!

Here's how I made my spaghetti squash pasta dish:

Start out with one whole spaghetti squash:

Preheate the oven to 350 and stick the whole squash in on a baking sheet:

I let the squash bake for a bit before cutting it, since it was WAY too hard at first :) so when it is partially baked, pull it out of the oven and slice it in half and put it back in the oven:

I put it in cut side up, but I think you can do it either way. 

When the squash was getting close to done, I started to heat up a skillet with olive oil and some seasoning for the "pasta" fixins:

Tonight's was fresh green beans and chicken meatballs:

As those are cooking up, I took the spaghetti squash out and started shredding it!

I shredded both halves and got so much "pasta"!

For the sauce I used some fresh pesto from the refrigerated section at the store:

I threw about half of the container in the skillet with the meatballs and green beans, and that was that!

This came out so great! The feeling of eating a big plate of pasta with out the bloated feelings later! 

And did I mention the spaghetti squash was only 99 cents?! A lot of bang for your buck! We had lots of spaghetti squash left over.

What I also love about this meal is it can be done multiple ways, so look out for my recipes for leftovers!

Winner Winner! Chicken Dinner!

Here's a healthy Italian style chicken dinner!

My portions will make a hearty dinner for two :)

Start by peeling up four small squash:

Once that's done start heating up a skillet with olive oil and red chili flakes:

After it has gotten nice and hot, add the peeled squash "pasta" and veggie of your choice (mine was broccoli!):

While those start cooking up I get out two skinless chicken breasts:

I don't know why that's upside down? Hehe

Anyway, I throw them into a separate skillet with olive oil, some Mrs. Dash and fresh ground pepper:

I like when the chicken gets I little brown on the outside! Cooking each side as needed:

When they are getting close to done add a little sauce of your choice (mine was plain diced tomatoes in garlic and olive oil) to your "pasta":

And Winner Winner!

This meal was filling, delicious, and fiancé approved! I grew up with Italian food, so it has always been my favorite so I am glad to be able to make some healthier options :)

What about you?!

Easy Pork loin Dinner

Tonight's dinner was yummy and easy to make!

I bought a pre-marinated pork loin from Trader Joes: 

Trader Joes has some nice meat selections :) this peppercorn-garlic marinated one has no added sugars and minimal ingredients which is great! 

First, I browned the two sides of the pork in a stove top pan with a little bit of olive oil.

Next, placed it in a Pyrex pan and into the oven at 350:

While it was cooking, I sautéed up some broccolini and cauliflower:

I let the pork loin cook till about medium-well, sliced it up, and dinner is served!

Minimal work, with lots of yum! 

Also, the pork loin is huge and great for leftovers!

Meal Prep: New Chili Attempt!

I am a huge fan of my turkey chili! I make it for our house almost every other week! 

This week was a little different...

We had so much left over sausage from our 4th of July BBQ I decided to chop it up and use that instead of ground turkey!

Here's what I started with: 

 

-1 can diced tomatoes

-1 can black beans

-1 can kidney beans

-1 can chili peppers

-1/2 can of jalapeños

-2 fresh bell peppers

-2 fresh carrots 

Next, I cut up a package of sausages that had been left over: 

I basically quartered the sausages and then added them to the batch of ingredients:

First I brought everything to a boil, and after that, let it simmer for a few hours ( I don't have a crockpot yet!). 

It got a little more soupy than the traditional ground turkey recipe. I think the sausages sweat out more than the turkey. 

In the end it came out great!

 

Simple and yummy! What more could you ask for!?

What's your favorite chili recipe!?