Crock Pot Turkey Chili with Orange

When I was in college my parents would send me a care package of oranges during orange season. There's no way a college student could eat a dozen oranges and not get sick of them. That's when I started looking up recipes that required oranges and orange zest, which led to my Basic Black Bean Chili.

Now as an adult with a full time job, I realize that I don't have time to attend to the chili cooking in a pot so I just put everything in a crock pot and let it cook for 8 hours.

Usually chili has diced tomatoes and tomato paste/sauce, but I never remember the tomato paste. I was pleasantly surprised that the color and texture of the chili I made without the tomato sauce or paste was just as rich and tasty as chili with tomato paste. It only takes 8 hours to get there.

Turkey Chili over rice. 

Crock Pot Turkey Chili with Orange

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 orange: zested and juiced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 15.25 oz can of reduced sodium black beans
• 14.5 oz can of reduced sodium petite diced tomatoes
• 1.25 lb 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 cup reduced sodium, fat free chicken broth

Procedure

1. Add all the ingredients into the crock pot. Make sure that the chicken is submerged in the liquid so that it doesn't dry out.
2. Cook on low for 8 hours.
3. Serve over rice, noodles, or a hot potato.

 

Crock Pot Turkey Chili with Orange Estimated Nutrition Facts per Recipe
Total calories	1391.5
Total fat  (g)	42.02
Saturated fat  (g)	15
Unsaturated fat (g)
Trans fat  (g)	0
Cholesterol  (g)	400
Sodium (mg)	1415
Potassium (mg)	2285.7
Total carbohydrates  (g)	109.6
Dietary fiber (g)	30.1
Sugar (g)	31.35
Protein (g)	140.3

 

 

Crock Pot Turkey Chili with Orange Estimated Nutrition Facts per serving (1 cup)
Total calories	231.92
Total fat  (g)	7
Saturated fat  (g)	3
Unsaturated fat (g)
Trans fat  (g)	0
Cholesterol  (mg)	66.67
Sodium (mg)	235.83
Potassium (mg)	380.95
Total carbohydrates  (g)	18.28
Dietary fiber (g)	5.02
Sugar (g)	5.23
Protein (g)	23.38

 

Super Garlicky Hummus

I really like garlic--perhaps too much. This hummus turned out a little spicier than expected. It may have to do with the 3 cloves of garlic I put in it or the fact that I accidentally poured in too much black pepper. I only intended to put in 1/4 tsp of black pepper but there might have been more like 1/2 a tsp. But back to the point, hummus makes for a great snack with crackers or pita and is also a good sandwich spread. It's rather addicting, at least for me.

Everything in the food processor.

Garnished with sliced pimentos and capers. Looks so pretty!

It's a hummus and pita flower!

Super Garlicky Hummus
Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic
• 15.5 oz can of chick peas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/3 cup water
• optional: sliced pimentos and capers as garnish

Procedure

1. Measure out all ingredients and place in food processor. 
2. Process until desired smoothness is achieved. Add more water if the hummus looks dry.
3. Serve with pita bread or as a sandwich spread.

Garlicky Hummus Estimated Nutrition Facts per Recipe
Total calories	669
Total fat  (g)	20
Saturated fat  (g)	3
Unsaturated fat (g)
Trans fat  (g)	0
Cholesterol  (g)	0
Sodium (g)	2
Potassium (mg)	0
Total carbohydrates  (g)	103
Dietary fiber (g)	20
Sugar (mg)	420
Protein (g)	23

Garlicky Hummus Estimated Nutrition Facts per serving (1 tbsp)
Total calories	20.9
Total fat  (g)	0.625
Saturated fat  (g)	0.09
Unsaturated fat (g)	0
Trans fat  (g)	0
Cholesterol  (mg)	0
Sodium (g)	0.0625
Potassium (mg)	0
Total carbohydrates  (g)	3.22
Dietary fiber (g)	0.625
Sugar (mg)	13.12
Protein (g)	0.72

Chicken and Quinoa Stir-Fry

I was trying to make a simple, healthy dish but simple went out the window when I started throwing everything that I found in the fridge into this dish. If you don't have all the ingredients for this dish, you can simplify it by grabbing a bag of frozen stir fry veggies.

Chicken and Quinoa Stir-Fry
Ingredients

• 2 oz (56 g) diced red bell pepper
• 1/4 med red onion, finely chopped (1.8 oz/ 52 g)
• 1 med sweet potato, chopped (8.7 oz/ 248 g)
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4.4 oz (124 g) baby bella mushrooms, quartered
• 2 cups frozen broccoli (6.2 oz/ 175 g)
• 10 oz (283 g) chicken breast, diced
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1.5 cup cooked quinoa
• salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1. Cook the onion and the mushrooms in a wok or a large pan with the olive oil.
2. Add the sweet potatoes, ground ginger, and soy sauce in the pan or wok. Cook until sweet potatoes have begun to soften.
3. Add the chicken and the broccoli to the wok or pan. Cook until chicken is no longer pink and the broccoli is no longer frozen.
4. Finally add the red pepper and the quinoa into the wok or pan and stir until well-mixed and warm.

 

Chicken and Quinoa Stir-fry Estimated Nutrition Facts per Recipe
Total calories	837
Total fat  (g)	9
Saturated fat  (g)	1
Unsaturated fat (g)
Trans fat  (g)	0
Cholesterol  (mg)	163
Sodium (g)	2
Potassium (mg)	0
Total carbohydrates  (g)	112
Dietary fiber (g)	30
Sugar (g)	19
Protein (g)	82

 

 

Chicken and Quinoa Stir-Fry Estimated Nutrition Facts per serving (approx. 2 cups)
Total calories	239
Total fat  (g)	3
Saturated fat  (g)	0.3
Unsaturated fat (g)	0
Trans fat  (g)	0
Cholesterol  (mg)	46.6
Sodium (g)	0.6
Potassium (mg)	0
Total carbohydrates  (g)	32
Dietary fiber (g)	8.6
Sugar (g)	5.4
Protein (g)	23.4

 

Oatmeal, Nutella and Coconut Cookies

These cookies were surprisingly delicious. I almost forgot to take pictures of them before I ate them all. Unfortunately they were rather crumbly and had a hard time staying in cookie form.

Super moist and delicious awesomeness

Oatmeal, Nutella and Coconut Cookies
Ingredients

• 1 1/4cup oatmeal 
• 3/4 cup nutella 
• 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes 
• 1/2 cup water or nonfat milk 

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a cookie sheet or place parchment paper on the cookie sheet. 
2. In a medium bowl, stir all the ingredients together until well-mixed. 
3. Spoon out a tablespoon of the mixture and roll into ball and place on cookie sheet. Leave about 1 to 2 inches between each cookie. 
4. Bake for about 16 minutes and check to see if the oatmeal is cooked through by sticking a toothpick in a cookie.

Oatmeal Nutella Coconut Cookies (Estimated Nutrition Facts)	Per serving (1 cookie, about 18 per recipe)	Per serving (with milk instead of water)
Total Calories	103.06	105.56
Total Fat (g)	5.31	5.31
Cholesterol(mg)	0	0
Sodium (mg)	9.44	13.19
Potassium (mg)	32.78	44.44
Total Carbs (g)	12.53	12.89
Fiber (g)	1.89	1.89
Sugar (g)	8.25	8.58
Protein (g)	1.58	1.83

Baked Coconut and Oatmeal Breaded Chicken Nuggets Revisited

I originally posted a baked coconut and oatmeal breaded chicken nuggets recipe in January, which I completely forgot about. I thought I had come up with a new recipe this weekend, but it turns out it was just a rehash of the recipe I did in January. One of the major differences between this recipe and January's recipe is that in January I didn't have a food processor. This time I had fun pulverizing oatmeal into an almost powder. Unfortunately this time I had the opposite problem of January's recipe--not enough moisture. I was essentially eating raw oatmeal. It seems like I need to come up with a third recipe to perfect the baked coconut and oatmeal breaded chicken nuggets. Oh well, everything tastes better with a little honey mustard.

Pulverized oatmeal

Oatmeal and coconut mixture

Nuggets fresh from the oven

Served with sweet potato fries!

Baked Coconut and Oatmeal Breaded Chicken Nuggets Revisited

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 10 oz of chicken breast cut into nuggets
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup old fashioned oatmeal

Procedure

1. In a food processor, blend, pulse, pulverize (etc.) the oatmeal into a powder or as close to a breading texture as you can.
2. In a small bowl or dish mix the coconut flakes and the pulverized oatmeal together. In another small bowl, beat the egg.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover a baking sheet with foil and then grease the foil covered baking sheet with a little oil.
4. Bread the chicken by coating the pieces with egg and then covering each piece with the oatmeal-coconut mixture.
5. Place the pieces of breaded chicken about 1 inch apart from each other on the foil covered baking sheet.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until chicken pieces are cooked through.

Baked Coconut and Oatmeal Breaded Chicken Nuggets Revisited (Estimated Nutritional Facts: Per serving. 2 servings per recipe)
Total Calories		450.30
Total Fat (g)		21.11
Cholesterol(mg)		183.92
Sodium (mg)		144.46
Potassium (mg)		499.59
Total Carbs (g)		26.18
Fiber (g)		7.33
Sugar (g)		5.77
Protein (g)		36.66