Easy Crock Pot Chili

I was craving chili the other day so I modified a recipe that I found in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and made a huge batch. We have neighborhood dinners on Tuesday nights so this was a good recipe to feed a crowd. I know that everyone and their mother already knows how to make chili but this recipe was easy and tasty so I thought I'd share. Also, you can save a buck and buy all the ingredients at Trader Joe's! :)

Easy Crock Pot Chili

2 lbs Grass Fed Ground Beef

1 large onion diced

1 4 oz can of fire roasted diced green chilis

2 14 1/2 oz cans of Organic Tomatoes Diced and Fire Roasted w/green chilis

2 14 1/2 oz cans of Organic Kidney Beans

1 15oz can of Organic Tomato Sauce

2T Chili Powder

1 1/2 tsp Cumin

2 cloves minced garlic

Brown beef on stove top, drain fat and then transfer to crock pot. Stir in all other ingredients. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Serve with sour cream, cheese, oyster crackers and corn bread.

This recipe can easily be tweaked to fit your tastes. :)

Photos by Trisha Abaca

Ruby is pooped out after rockin' it

This picture captures Will's personality so well.

Blue-eyed Ruby with the Black-eyed Susans

The cool old bridge in the middle of our backyard

Ruby Jean Beauty Queen

The Body of Christ in Physical Form

Nothing has been more impactful to me in recent years than watching my dear friend and spiritual mentor Michelle "do life" after her husband Mike lived through a brain aneurism. Michelle befriended me and invested in me as an annoying high schooler and I was changed by that relationship. I have sat back and watched her hold-fast to God's promises and struggle with His painful providences. I've been able to see what long-suffering looks like. I've also been able to see the righteous right hand of the Lord strengthening, upholding and protecting his beloved daughter and her family. Here is a link to her blog. If you are like me it will make you cry and it will encourage you. Here is an article that was in the paper about them 2 weeks ago.

My heart was heavy after reading it so I thought I'd share!

Meatloaf Muffins

Meat loaf just sounds like something old ladies make so I didn't make it forever. Once I found a recipe I liked it became a staple in our home. I make a pan full of these and we eat half and freeze half for another night. Meatloaf is great for hiding veggies.

Meatloaf Muffins

• 1 1/2lbs Grass-fed Beef 
• 1 T Olive Oil
• 1/2 C chopped carrot
• 1 C chopped onion
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 C ketchup (make your own!)
• 1 C breadcrumbs (also, make your own from sprouted bread!)
• 2 T mustard
• 1 tsp naturally fermented soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• Butter for greasing

* You can easily add other veggies like zucchini or squash. You can also use ground turkey to cut back on fat.

Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and saute onion, carrot, oregano and garlic for 2 min over med/high heat. Allow mixture to cool.

Combine onion mixture with remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon mixture into 12 muffin cups coated with butter. Squirt the top of each "muffin" with ketchup before popping in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes and enjoy!

Mango Chutney Tuna Salad

I ate this all the time when I was teaching full-time and then not at all when I was pregnant. It is a yummy twist on a lunch time favorite.

Mango Chutney Tuna Salad

• 2 cans of tuna in spring water
• 2 T lime juice
• 1/4 Cup Mango Chutney (I get the Mango-ginger Chutney from Trader Joe's)
• 1/4 Cup Mayo (make your own, its easy)
• 1/2 tsp curry powder

Combine all ingredients and enjoy as a sandwich or with pita crackers. :)