Monday, January 30, 2012

Lean Beef Chili!!

I have the best chili recipe EVER! It's quick, easy, healthy, and DELICIOUS! Whenever I type out my weekly menu planning, I always call this meal turkey chili soup and link it to the skinnytaste.com website where I originally found it.  However, I don't follow that recipe at all for a couple of reasons. 1.) I'm not a big soup fan. I feel like soup is drinking a meal and I like to chew my food to feel like I've really eaten. 2.) I'm cheap and I have really simple taste buds, so a lot of the ingredients I find too hot/spicy, and all those cans of stuff really start adding up on the grocery bill. So I concocted my own recipe that is a spin-off on the skinnytaste version. I always leave mine as chili - I never add the chicken broth like Skinnytaste suggests. 

Here are the ingredients that you will need:

1 lb. of lean ground beef, 1 packet of taco seasoning, 1 can of red kidney beans (dark or light), 1-8 oz. can of tomato sauce, 1 can of black beans, onion (all the ingredients together cost about $7!)


First, brown the ground beef in a pan.


Next, chop the onion. I use about a half of a large onion, or a full medium onion.


 After the beef is browned, and has been drained, add the onion and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes until it starts becoming tender.


Finally, add in the red kidney beans, black beans, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning. Stir together until well-combined. Cover the pan and let simmer on medium heat for about 12 minutes, and then enjoy!


 We like eating our chili with some Baked Tostitos, sour cream (Julie), and hot sauce (Michel).


It's a great meal to whip up if you're in a hurry, it's incredibly filling for 1/4 of the chili, and it's only about 5 WW+ points (if you do Weight Watchers). Of course, adding chips and sides are extra. We eat this about once or twice a month, so it's become a definite staple in our house! If you try it out let me know if you like it!

Meal Planning Monday

Monday: Lean beef chili, Baked Tostitos, sour cream, hot sauce
Tuesday: Cheddar's Chicken Pecan salad
Wednesday: Monday night leftovers
Thursday: Grilled chicken breast, green beans, corn
Friday: Leftover Bubble pizza
Saturday: Oven fried chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese
Sunday lunch: out to eat
Sunday dinner: every man for himself


Monday, January 16, 2012

Meal Planning Monday

Monday:
Marinated chicken breast, brown rice with pineapples, broccoli and cheese
Tuesday:
Michel's homemade chicken noodle soup, salad
Wednesday:
Tuesday night leftovers
Thursday:
I'm on my own...I'll figure it out later
Friday:
Out to eat
Saturday:
Eating at a wedding
Sunday:
I'm on my own again :)

Monday, January 9, 2012

Meal Planning Monday

Monday:
Turkey chili , Baked Tostitos, sour cream and hot sauce

Tuesday:
Grilled ham and cheese sandwich

Wednesday:
Monday night leftovers

Thursday:
Spaghetti with meat sauce, salad

Friday:
Thursday night leftovers

Saturday:
Heading to Longview to celebrate Mom's birthday! (plus, maybe we want to see a couple of sweet kids)

Sunday:
Lunch: out to eat
Dinner: every man for himself :) 


Sunday, January 1, 2012

Books To Read in 2012

1. Thunder Dog: A True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero
2. Without a Word: How a Boy's Unspoken Love Changed Everything
3. Sacred Marriage
4. Redeeming Love - I have read this before and absolutely LOVED it!!
5. The Vow - It's not out yet, but I want to read it, and will most certainly go see it when it comes to theaters!

These are the only 5 that I know for sure that I want to read. The last 7 will be random ones of my own choosing, but I'll be sure to post about them as I read them!

Goals for 2012


Happy New Year! I'm copying an idea that I got from a friend of mine, as well as a coupon blogger (Money Saving Mom) whose blog I read a lot. I'm not really making "resolutions", but more like setting goals that I would like to accomplish this year. Money Saving Mom will post her list at the end of every month with what she has accomplished in that month. I'm going to try and do the same thing. This way I'll be a little more accountable :)

1. Read the Bible/have quiet times 4 days/week (I know that you're really and truly supposed to do this daily, but I will admit I do this very rarely as of right now, so I feel like if I'm doing it 0 times right now, and I aim for all 7 days of the week then I will just be setting myself up for failure)
2. Make 4 creations (recipes or crafts) from Pinterest
3. Resume couponing
4. Read 12 books this year (again, this might be a low goal to some, but I spend way too much time watching mindless TV and not nearly enough time reading. The list of books I plan on reading will be posted separately).
5. Resume meal planning for the entire week 

6. Buy living room furniture

7. Buy bedroom furniture

8. Remodel the master bathroom (on a budget!) using this as my inspiration!

9. Hang ALL our pictures/knick-knacks

10. Complete the guest bathroom



I'm pretty excited about everything that I hope to accomplish this year! Everything seems very doable, and definitely budget-friendly. Can't wait to update my blog as I check things off my list :)