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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These Salsa Chicken and Bean Baked Tostadas frequently make an appearance on our dinner table during the week. Tostadas in general are a go-to (we love these Turkey and Spinach Oven Baked Tostadas as well as these Salsa Verde Pork Tostadas), because they are one of those meals I know everyone in my family will eat and I can easily switch up the toppings based on what I have on hand that week.

Have I mentioned how quickly they come together making them incredibly convenient for a school night too? I may have mentioned that once or a thousand times.

From what I gather, tostadas are typically fried correct? I don’t think my way of preparing them would be considered very traditional or authentic, but baking the corn tortillas as opposed to frying them definitely keeps this recipe on the lighter side. The tortillas crisp up just enough to be picked up and eaten by hand, making it fun for the kids of course.

Here are a few more healthy dinner ideas for you.

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I’m not sure how it happened, but Tuesday is my little guy’s First Birthday. How in the world is that possible? It sounds so cliche, but it feels like just the other day that he was all teeny tiny, snoozing throughout most of the day, snuggling in my arms or in his rock ‘n play, by my side.

Now he’s a wiggly, giggly, fast moving little baby who is super curious and literally always on the go. He’s in such a fun phase, just learning so much and soaking everything around him in.

He loves being outdoors and going for walks with me in his stroller…we like to call it our “zen time” and it’s one of my (our) favorite parts of the day. Balls have become his favorite toy, he knows exactly what they are if you ask him and he’ll throw them your way too.

He loves dogs too and smiles real big and points when he sees one. He’s currently a super fast crawler who is starting to stand a little on his own. He likes to take steps while holding onto my fingers, we are taking quite a few laps around the house that way these days.

Mama is on a mission to tire this guy out any way she can!

We are seriously having so much fun together.

His sweet face and big personality has brought us all so much joy – he truly completes our little family. We are excited to celebrate him and his big birthday all week!!

I guess I should stop rambling about my baby, and tell you more about this chili. This vegetarian Slow Cooker Lentil and Quinoa Chili was my answer to the start of a busy week after an indulgent weekend. It was the Monday after my brother’s wedding weekend, we were all feeling a little sluggish after all the food and festivities and I felt we all needed to have a few clean meals right off the bat. Since I hadn’t spent time grocery shopping after being away for the weekend, I used pantry staples (lentils, quinoa, tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices) and some peppers that just happen to be waiting for a recipe in the fridge. Everything went in my slow cooker and that was that.

Voila…a good for you, stick to your ribs, vegetarian chili. My meat eatin’ husband enjoyed this chili, a couple of times during the week actually. My kids ate it too (1 in the bunch wasn’t very excited about it), including my baby boy who is in a “loving everything mama makes” phase.

This Slow Cooker Lentil and Quinoa Chili is full of good vegetarian protein from the lentils and pinto beans, and of course a bowl of it was filled with plenty of nutrients. I always top my chili with plain Greek yogurt and some cheese to make it even more delicious. Leftovers are great over sweet or baked potatoes too!

Hope you have a great Monday! Enjoy the week!

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 7 reviews

Slow Cooker Lentil and Quinoa Chili

• Author: Aggies Kitchen
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 4 hours
• Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings
• Category: Soup
• Method: Slow Cooker
• Cuisine: Vegetarian

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Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 can water (I use the can of diced tomatoes to grab all the leftover flavor)
• 1 cup dried lentils
• 1 15 oz can Bush’s Pinto Beans
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

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Instructions

1. Place all ingredients into slow cooker. Cook on low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 4 hours.
2. Serve chili with your favorite fixings:  shredded cheese, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, avocado, green onion, cilantro

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Notes

Salt will need to be adjusted according to taste, depending on the broth you use as well as the canned tomatoes and beans. I added 1/4 teaspoon to the recipe initially and then after tasting added a pinch or two until I thought it was right.

I use the Crock Pot 6-Quart Programmable Oval Slow Cooker with Stove Top Browning (affiliate link).

Store leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator for 3-4 days. I love storing my leftovers in these glass storage containers.

More vegetarian chili recipes:

Slow Cooker 3 Bean Pumpkin Chili

Vegetarian Chili with Cilantro Lime Cashew Sour Cream

Vegetarian Quinoa Chili

Smoky Black Bean and Corn Chili

For more slow cooker recipes follow along on Pinterest. Follow Aggie’s Kitchen’s board Slow Cooker Goodness on Pinterest.

The post Slow Cooker Lentil and Quinoa Chili appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

My kids went back to school this week. I find it incredibly hard to believe that another summer has flown by, I’m actually still processing the fact that I now have a 4th grader, 2nd grader and 10 month old. How in the world did that happen?

Back to school week always energizes me. I don’t know about other moms, but summer leaves me feeling a little ragged. I love the laid back relaxed feeling of summer break, but by now I’m starting to crave a bit of routine and order around the house. I’m also craving time to cook and blog more, so hopefully you’ll start seeing posts and recipes a little more frequently again.

This past weekend I attended my future sister-in-law’s bridal shower. My “baby” brother is getting married next month and I am so excited for the both of them. Bridal (and baby) showers are always fun to be a part of, not only for the obvious reason of showering the bride with gifts and love, but let’s be honest…the food is always something to look forward to. I love party food! When I started to make my plate my eyes spotted a good looking bean and pepper salad on the table. It was made by the mother of the bride and I helped myself to it a couple of times. It was so simple and that’s what I loved about it. I was inspired to recreate it immediately to serve as a side dish for one of our dinners this week. I made it earlier in the day and stored in the fridge so it was ready to go – to help with typical school night dinner prep madness. This Pinto Bean and Pepper salad is a perfect side dish recipe for tacos, quesadillas or even grilled chicken. It’s also a great (healthy) potluck dish (obviously since that’s how I first tried it), so consider making it for the next barbecue or get together you are invited to!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

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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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The post Half-Smashed Drunken Refried Beans appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

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:

The post Bush’s Two-Bean Turkey and Vegetable Chili appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

But I have been riding horses…

I just got back from a pretty cool trip to Montana to cook alongside Connie Guttersen, Jeffrey Saad, some of my favorite blogger friends and some peeps from Bush’s Beans. Not only did I get to ride horses and enjoy the breathtaking scenery of Montana…I got to COOK. And when I say cook, I mean I got to cook in peace…with no rushing, no kids screaming in the background, and no complaining. I think if you are a mom you probably get what I’m saying right now.

We spent our entire time at Paws Up, an absolutely fantastically gorgeous ranch in Montana. Talk about wide open spaces. We stayed in the cabins and cooked on the grounds in one of their kitchens as well as in the great outdoors at one of their ‘camps‘. I honestly was ready to apply for a job washing dishes in their restaurant just so I could stay there.

Sigh.

So anyway…needless to say, this cooking adventure was pretty inspiring in more ways than one. We made some pretty tasty stuff and ate almost the entire time. I have so many new recipes to share with you bean lovers out there (I know there are lots of you). In the meantime, here’s a quick and easy one to hold you over until I get myself situated again.

You know beans are considered a vegetable right? So they make the perfect side dish in my opinion. Especially when you don’t have a whole lot of time. I love making beans this way when my brain is fried on a Wednesday night and I have nothing planned for dinner. Enjoy this simple (and pretty healthy!) Cheese Quesadillas with Pintos and Peppers meal on your busiest of nights!

Cheese Quesadillas with Pintos and Peppers

Yield: 4 side dish servings

Ingredients:

• 1 can of Bush’s Pinto Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 or 2 peppers of your choice, chopped (I like using red bell and poblanos, but use whatever you have on hand!)
• 1/2 large red onion, chopped
• pinch of chili powder
• pinch of cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

For the quesadillas:

• 4 whole wheat flour tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cheese of choice

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil to a medium skillet. Add onion to pan and cook 2-3 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add peppers to pan, season well. Cook peppers for about 8-10 minutes until they are soft. Add beans to skillet and gently toss to combine and heat through. Taste for seasoning and adjust.
2. To make quesadillas, place tortilla in a dry skillet over medium heat. Spread 1/4 cup of shredded cheese over half of tortilla. Fold tortilla and let cook for about 1 minute. Carefully flip and cook up other side from 1-2 minutes until browned and cheese is melted. Repeat for all 4 quesadillas.

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Enjoy stories and recipes from other bloggers that spent time Bush’s Beans and me:

Reluctant Entertainer: The Table Experience

Dine & Dish: Room To Breathe {Recipe: Red Beans & Rice}

Good Life Eats: Wild Mushroom and White Bean Tart [giveaway]

The post Easy Weeknight Meal: Cheese Quesadillas with Pintos & Peppers appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

I really hope this recipe doesn’t scare you off. I know that it’s a little…different. It is honestly so delicious…I was hooked on it for days when my husband was out of town and I was dining alone in the evenings. Well, I wasn’t exactly alone, but when it’s just me and the kids, the kids are pretty happy with a bowl of buttered noodles and veggies while I am usually looking for something a little more exciting.

This tortilla pizza was exciting.

It was a random put together. I had sauteed some rainbow chard (oh how I love rainbow chard!!!) in a little olive oil and Aleppo pepper…and needed to eat it with something. I had some homemade salsa in the fridge, and the rest just happened. It was a building process…the beans and Ezekiel tortilla were my protein, the greens my super veggie, and the salsa was the flavor.

I can seriously eat like this everyday.

Rainbow Chard Tortilla Pizza

Ingredients:

• Ezekiel Sprouted Tortilla
• Sauteed Rainbow Chard with Aleppo Pepper
• Pinto Beans, drained, rinsed and dried (I prefer Bush's Beans pintos)
• Red Onion, sliced
• Homemade Salsa

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven or toaster oven to 400.
2. Take your defrosted Ezekiel tortilla and place on baking sheet (tip: to keep bottom of tortilla crisp and to avoid getting too soggy, I preheat baking sheet with the oven so that it's already hot when the tortilla hits it). Spread thin layer of salsa on tortilla then top with thinly sliced red onion, sauteed rainbow chard and pinto beans.
3. Bake in oven for about 5-7 minutes or until tortilla is crisp and slightly browned. Take out and let cool. Drizzle salsa over top, slice and serve (to yourself).

Check out my Pinterest board for more pizza recipes.
Follow Aggie’s Kitchen’s board Pizza & Flatbread on Pinterest.

The post {Dinner for One} Rainbow Chard Tortilla Pizza appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Click here to Pin the recipe for these Pinto Bean Burritos!

So remember how I was saying the other day how I’ve been in serious need of easy but tasty meals? Well I found one.

I felt like celebrating after making this Pinto Bean Burrito recipe at lunch the other day. Super simple, and you can make them ahead of time to keep in the fridge for lunch or dinner. And hey, can I mention that they are actually pretty good for you? I mean, really, what more can you ask for.

The best part of these is that they are totally portable too. So if its one of those days that you are running out the door and there’s no time for a real sit down lunch (you know we all have these), heat up one of these babies and enjoy it in the comfort of your car seat. Or if you and the fam are playing poolside in the evening and you don’t really feel like fussing over setting a table for a meal, these are your answer. I even think they’d warm up nicely on the grill to be honest…or even…a camp fire?

Yep…nice and easy like just like that.

How to make pinto bean burritos

First things first, make the filling. I used a can of rinsed pinto beans, a nice bunch of torn cilantro, half an onion chopped, a couple of splashes of red wine vinegar or a squeeze of lime, and a chopped up anaheim pepper (use whatever pepper you have on hand or like, jalapenos would be great in this). Mash your filling together in a bowl with a fork until everything is just combined.

Add your filling to the center of a tortilla (I love the whole wheat ones from La Tortilla Factory). Top with a bit of your favorite salsa and some shredded cheddar cheese. Tuck in the sides of your tortilla, fold over one side, and roll up tight.

Cover up in foil and decide if you are going to eat now…or later. Easy peasy right?

Now I know this isn’t a super original recipe or anything, but think of it more like an idea. Fill your burritos up with leftover shredded chicken, ground beef, black beans, rice…anything that suits your liking. With these hanging out in the fridge waiting on you, your mealtime will be a breeze. Oh happy day.

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews

Pinto Bean Burritos

• Author: Aggie Goodman

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Ingredients

• 1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 2 peppers (anaheim, cubanelle, poblano or jalapeno) of your choice
• squeeze of fresh lime juice or a couple splashes of red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• handful of cilantro, torn
• whole wheat tortillas
• shredded cheddar
• salsa (here’s my favorite homemade salsa)

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Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine beans, onion, pepper, lime or vinegar, salt, pepper and cilantro.
2. Using a fork, gently mash all the ingredients until they just start to come together.
3. Spoon your filling into the center of your tortilla, topping the filling with shredded cheese and a tablespoon or two of salsa.
4. Tuck in the sides of your tortilla and tightly roll up your burrito.
5. Wrap in aluminum foil and bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

More Mexican recipes my family loves:

Turkey and Black Bean Burritos

Oven Baked Black Bean and Cheese Quesadillas

Mexican Black Bean Pizza

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