Pin this Mexican Chicken Soup recipe here.

MEXICAN CHICKEN SOUP

We had a cold snap this weekend (nothing compared to everywhere outside of Florida) and with the colder weather I knew I was making soup on Sunday. Let’s be real though, I like to make soup almost every week no matter the weather or season. I also love making soup in my Instant Pot – it has been a game changer as far as hands-off cooking goes. I put the ingredients in, set the cook time and walk away to do the things I need to do. Next thing you know, dinner is ready.

I’m really starting to believe in the Instant Pot Magic I’ve been hearing so much about.

I love a good chicken and vegetable soup and this time around I was craving Mexican spices so I made this quick and easy Mexican Chicken Soup recipe in the Instant Pot based on mostly pantry ingredients with a few staple veggies I always have in the fridge. The best part is I’ll be having leftovers all week for lunch.

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First post of 2019! I’m excited to finally share with you a reader favorite slow cooker recipe of mine that I updated into an Instant Pot recipe. This Slow Cooker Lentil and Quinoa Chili has been one of the most popular and most cooked recipes from the blog, I love that everyone enjoys it so much! Now you can make it in the Instant Pot!

I’ve had my Instant Pot well over a year now and cook a lot of basics in it (chicken, pork, spaghetti squash, hard boiled eggs and now rice), but I don’t make enough full meals in my Instant Pot. I am going to change that this year, that is my goal – starting with this Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili recipe.

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Click here to pin these Vegetarian Enchilada Stuffed Peppers!

If you’ve been reading my blog a while, then you may remember when vegetarian meals were more of the norm here. There was a good couple of years that I cut a lot of meat out of my diet (sticking with mostly seafood and whole grains for protein). I have always enjoyed eating meatless meals but I’ve learned it’s not always easy to pull those off with the entire family. I still try, though not as often as I used to…and honestly, sometimes I end up eating most by myself (makes lunch during the week extra easy this way!).

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Click here to pin this delicious one-pot meal!

We are into the second of week of school in these parts and are finally starting to settle in our new routine that entails 3 kids in 3 different schools. That is, until next week when I start my fall classes at our local community college (for those that don’t know, I’m back in school working towards my second Bachelors degree, this one is in Nutrition and Dietetics). I’m so excited about getting back to class, but next week will be the true test of my sanity!

Like every year during the back to school season, I’m feeling refreshed, excited and determined to send my kids off to start a successful and fun new school year.

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I’ve been eying this refried bean recipe from Bush’s for a while now. Refried beans are one of my favorites when eating Mexican food whether it be as a side dish with rice, part of my taco salad or as a dip for our chips. I love refried beans (even more so when made vegetarian). I have to admit, I’ve always just opened them straight prepared from the can not even considering making them on the stove top myself like this. I doubt I’ll do that again, the few extra steps taken to make them this way was definitely worth it.

This refried bean recipe came together so easily and is so delicious, it’s definitely going to be a regular part of taco/taco salad night in our house. I adjusted a few things in the original recipe based on what I had in my house, for example instead of chicken stock I used more beer, making these refried beans a bit “drunk” (kinda like these ). I also didn’t have any chili beans so I used all pinto beans and added some chili powder for flavor. Now obviously, if you don’t like your beans drunk, stick to the original recipe and use chicken stock instead of beer.

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Somehow, I’ve avoided the “winter blues” this year. I know a lot of it has to do with the truly beautiful weather we’ve been getting here in Florida, a blue sky and bright sun never hurt anyone that’s for sure.  I’ve been staying active, getting my workouts in, as well as spending the month of January really getting my house in order…lots of decluttering, deep cleaning and freshening up. I’ve kept myself so busy that I haven’t really had time to settle into that funk that I tend to settle into after the holidays.

I think what I’ve been eating and cooking has also played into it too. Lately I’ve been finding myself cooking up a huge pot of soup or chili on Sunday or Monday, and having it for dinner and lunches throughout the week. When I think of soup or chili, I think of big bowls of comfort, especially during the cooler months. Once it’s cooked up, it can last for days as leftovers and right now, for me, that’s a really good thing.

When I make soup, it’s all about nutrition. I try to pack in as many vegetables, beans and sometimes lean protein as possible. I don’t like to feel gross after eating soup or chili, I like to feel good. This Two-Bean Turkey and Vegetable Chili makes me feel good. It truly hits the spot when you don’t have time to make lunch or you need a dinner that pulls a double duty. I enjoyed this chili as is for days, but my husband and kids loved it over whole wheat macaroni. However it’s eaten, I know you’ll enjoy it.

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Bush’s Two-Bean Turkey and Vegetable Chili

• Author: Aggie's Kitchen
• Category: Ground Turkey
• Method: Stove

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Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 bell peppers (any color), chopped
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• big pinch salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 15 oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 can Bush’s Red Kidney Beans, drained
• 1 can Bush’s Pinto Beans, drained
• 3 cans of water (I use tomato cans to use all the leftover flavor)

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Instructions

1. In a large heavy bottomed soup pot, cook ground turkey and onion until browned. Add carrots, bell peppers and seasonings and cook for 5-8 minutes until veggies are softened. Add tomatoes, beans and water to pot. Bring to a slow boil. Turn down heat and let simmer for 20-25 minutes until chili starts to thicken. Taste for salt and pepper, most likely it will need salt. Adjust to taste.

**Stay tuned for the Bush’s Beans Winter Comfort Foods Virtual Recipe Exchange and Linkup hosted here and on Real Mom Kitchen on February 4th. You’ll have a chance to link up your favorite Winter Comfort Food recipes that include beans for a chance to win a pretty nice giveaway (that may or may not include a big and pretty heavy pot 😉 ). Get your recipes ready!!

(I am in a paid partnership with Bush’s Beans. All opinions are my own)

Linking to:

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I try to listen to my body when it comes to cravings. I have heard often enough that when your body is craving certain foods, it could mean that maybe it needs or is lacking a certain nutrient that is found in the food you are craving.

Or that could all be baloney and you’re really just hungry, obsessed with food, stubborn or all of the above. I choose all of the above (most of the time).

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I don’t know about you but it’s feeling a little like Christmas this weekend. It snuck up on me, but it’s definitely here. And we are excited!!!

Hello college football weekend!

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We’ve been eating a lot of great veggie meals lately.  I gave up meat for the last two weeks of Lent and have kind of been on a roll since then.  I haven’t completely given it up, I won’t be able to resist my grandpa’s homemade Italian sausage or chicken parmagiana, but for the most part am trying to cut down a bit and incorporate more veg meals during the week for the whole family.  My husband has surprisingly embraced our “new” way of eating (he’s also been enjoying Jamie Oliver’s new show with me and thought Food, Inc was a huge eye-opener…so happy about that!)…and though he’s not complaining about our veggie meals, I know he’s missing his steak.

So the other night, I pulled a nice piece of flank steak out of the freezer and grilled it up.  It was seasoned nicely and simply with salt and lots of fresh ground pepper…and after it cooked and rested, I sliced it up real thin and assembled these Steak Fajita Enchiladas.  I actually made the enchiladas three ways that night to suit all of our tastes.  My husband ate his as shown…I opened up a can of vegetarian refried beans and used it as the filling along with the sauteed peppers and onions and of course cheese for myself…and for the kids, it was simply refried beans and cheese.  It was easy enough to accommodate everyone’s requests and we all really enjoyed our dinner.

Steak Fajita Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• flank steak, seasoned with salt and pepper, grilled or broiled, sliced thin against the grain
• 2-3 peppers sliced thin (red bell, poblano, hungarian - your choice - I used all three)
• 1 large onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano (or regular oregano)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups Pepper Jack cheese (or something milder), shredded
• can Old El Paso Verde Enchilada sauce
• 2 green onions, chopped (optional)
• whole wheat wraps or tortillas

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tb oil and add sliced onion and peppers.  Add chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
3. Warm tortillas in microwave (on plate with moist paper towel) for about 20-30 seconds.  Start to assemble tortillas by first adding a small amount of cheese, sliced steak and vegetable mixture.  Roll up tortillas to form a "cigar" and place into a baking dish sprayed with non stick spray.  Once all enchiladas are assembled, pour sauce over all of the wrapped tortillas.  Add a layer of cheese and place in oven.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned and sauce is bubbling.  Garnish with chopped green onion if desired.

Serve with Spicy Slaw Salad for a great meal!

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I am one tired mom. I have never been so happy for a weekend to end. I have been solo since Thursday while Daddy was in Phoenix for work. My daughter has been sick the last two days so we’ve been cooped up in the house, not a good scenario when you have to entertain a 4 year old active little boy who is constantly moving and bouncing around. Luckily I have great neighbors with kids the same age that he was able to play with a bit while I stayed in with little Gina. If I really think about it, I’m basically tired from doing nothing! I’m just so happy that Daddy will be returning tomorrow and things will get back to normal around here.

I made these sandwiches last week before the big trip. My 4 year old son, Sammy, is a bit of a picky eater and doesn’t always like trying new foods so I wanted to stir up some excitement about dinner by telling him we were eating Sloppy Sammies that night. Boy, did that make his eyes open wide…he liked that a lot. Of course, he had no idea what Sloppy Sammies were, nor did he ask either. He happily ate his dinner that night.

Yes it was that easy. Amazing.

Sloppy Sammies

Ingredients:

• 1.25 lb lean ground turkey
• 1-2 tsp olive oil
• 1 med onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 small can of tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 TB mustard
• 2-3 TB brown sugar

Directions:

1. In large non-stick skillet over medium high heat, saute onions, carrots and red pepper until softened. Add ground turkey and continue to cook until browned. Add seasonings to meat and veggie mixture and cook through.
2. In small bowl combine tomato sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, mustard and brown sugar. Add sauce to turkey and veggie mixture and stir. Cook for about 5 minutes until sauce is warmed through and starts to thicken.
3. Serve on whole wheat or potato rolls.

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(for a printable version of this recipe click here)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

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