Green Chili

Green Chili

This summer with my CSA I had more spinach then I knew what to do with! My solution? Put it in the blender with some water and freeze it. The plan was to use it as a base for soups this winter. I did the same thing when we had an overwhelming amount of squash or zucchini.

My goal for our new(ish) journey in clean eating is to still make meals that make my husband happy. He is definitely a meat and potatoes guy so it has taken him sometime to come around to trying new fruits and veggies and limiting processed food.

For dinner tonight, I wanted to make chili with a twist. I ended up going with my standard 'dump' approach for chili but added pureed spinach and squash. The flavors and the colors in the chili masked that I added some extra vegetables.

Ingredients

-2 cans of kidney beans

-1 can of diced tomatoes

-1 can of tomato sauce

-1 lb of ground turkey (browned)

-2 cups of frozen spinach puree

-2 cups of frozen yellow squash puree

-Cumin and chili powder to taste

Directions

1) Add beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and frozen vegetables to a large pot. Cook on medium heat until well mixed, stirring occasionally.




2) Add the browned turkey to the pot and season with chili powder and cumin. I start with about a tablespoon of each and adjust accordingly until I've reached the correct level of spice



3) Allow ingredients to simmer for approximately 15 minutes. Garnish with cheese, green onions, or avocado.



My favorite part of the recipe is that I can make it the night before a busy day and just put it back on the stove to warm up for dinner the following night.  This recipe makes about 6 servings.

And an added bonus!  My husband gets heartburn from eating tomato based and spicy food - he thinks that the addition of spinach and squash reduced the acid level in the soup.  Score - feeling good and extra veggies!