Chili in Whole Wheat Bread Bowls...Yumm!!!

Fall Fun!! Football Fun!! It's the season of warm stews, soups and chilis! My favorite! I've been trying to make healthier options for meals, but you'll see some not so healthy options in there (like buffalo wings!) Today my hubby's favorite football team was actually being televised so I made some homemade buffalo chicken wings and chili in whole wheat bread bowls! The chili in bread bowls were pretty healthy so that counteracts the wings right?!?!!  Either way....Soooo delicious!

Now on to the recipes! :)

Whole Wheat and Oat Bread

Makes 2 9"x5" loaves or 3-4 grapefruit sized bread bowls

What you need: 

• 1/4 c. warm water
• 3 tbs. unsweetened applesauce
• 1- 4 oz. package active dry yeast
• 1/4 c. molasses
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
• 1/3 c. melted coconut oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 c. oats
• 1/2 c. ground flaxseed
• 3 1/2 - 4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. warm water

Mix 1/4 c. warm water, applesauce and yeast packet in large bowl.  Let sit until foamy and doubles in size, about 5 minutes.  Next, mix molasses, honey, lemon juice, coconut oil and eggs into yeast mixture.  Add oats, flaxseed and 3 1/2 cups flour.  Stir in 1/2 c. water and more flour as needed to make a dough. Need your dough until mixed thoroughly, but be careful not to overmix! 

Lightly oil a bowl, cover and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour.  It should almost double in size.  Punch down, knead with a little extra flour (if needed) and separate into loaves, or in my case, bread bowls! If making bread bowls, use lightly oiled glass bowls you have to bake the bread in (I use my Pampered Chef Glass Batter Bowl ). I kept my dough too round so it was more like a ball; you will want to flatten is slightly to have more of that "bowl" effect.  Let the dough rise one more time for about an hour. 

Mist dough with water and bake at 375 degrees for approximately 35-45 minutes.  

While your bread is rising the second time, you can put together your chili.  Here is my very simple but tasty recipe.  I usually season to taste so my spices are "guesstimates". 

Simple Chili

What you need:

• 1 lb. ground turkey, browned
• 2 cans stewed tomatoes
• 1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 jalapeno pepper or banana peppers depending on what you want for spice, diced
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. chili powder

Brown ground turkey and drain, Add ground turkey, stewed tomatoes and kidney beans in a saucepan with diced jalapeno, garlic powder and chili powder to taste.  Simmer for at least 30-60 minutes.  

Bread Bowl Assembly

Cut open your bread bowls, pour in your chili, and top with some shredded cheese.  Enjoy! :)

FREE: Crocheted Adjustable Boot Cuffs Pattern

Adjustable Boot Cuffs

Adjustable Boot Cuffs PDF

Change the size of your boot cuffs as needed with this easy boot cuff pattern!

Boot cuff measures 16” x 5”

Stitch Abbreviations:

Ch – Chain

Sc – single crochet

Hdc – half double crochet

BLO – back loop only

What you need:

• Red Heart Supersaver yarn for my boot cuffs or worsted weight yarn (you don’t want your boot cuffs to be too thick where they don’t fit inside your boot!)
• Hook size H
• 4 -  1/4” buttons for the inside of your boot cuffs to make them adjustable 
• 4 buttons to embellish boot cuffs (optional)

Instructions:

Ribbing (the top):

Chain 11

Row 1: sc in second chain from hook and rest of ch (10 stitches)

Row 2-52: turn, ch. 1, sc in BLO across (10 stitches)

**I crochet until mine are about 15-16” long, but you can choose your length**

Now you are going to crochet the bottom part of the boot cuff.  Turn your work 90 degrees clockwise. You will be working along your crocheted rows.

Bottom of Cuff:

Row 1: sc, one in each row (in my case 52 sc)

Row 2-5: turn, ch. 2, hdc in each stitch across (52 stitches)

Finish off. 

Add 2 ¼” buttons to the inside of each boot cuff along the edge (as shown below)

Add 2 buttons to the outside of boot cuff along the edge of the ribbing (just opposite of the ¼” buttons)

**Make sure you make the boot cuffs opposite each other so that they aren’t buttoning in the same direction (I almost made that mistake!!)

Happy crocheting! Please let me know if you have any questions or need help with a part of this pattern!

**Please feel free to sell your finished products from this pattern! I would appreciate it if you can include a link to this pattern.**

Chicken Parmesan Bake

We were trying to think of something different for dinner that we haven't made in awhile and remembered this chicken parm bake that a friend told me about. Now it doesn't taste exactly like chicken parm (which is some fried goodness!), but it is a healthier option with some of the same flavors.  So simple, even my hubby was able to make it! :) 

What you need: 

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• sauce, about a quart of whatever you prefer
• shredded mozzarella 
• croutons - I make homemade whole wheat croutons for a healthier option a couple days before for ease.  

In a 9x13" pan, layer the following: sauce, chicken, sauce, shredded cheese, croutons.  Cover with foil and place in the oven! 

Bake at 425 degrees for 30-35 minutes (until chicken is cooked). 

Halfway through, take off the foil to make sure the tops of those croutons stay crispy.  Enjoy! :) 

Do you have any favorite chicken dishes that are quick and easy!? I would love to hear about (and make) them! 

Omelettes... for dinner!!

Sweet Potato, Spinach, & Feta Omelette!! 

You know those nights when you are just not in the mood for the dinner you planned??? You think you have everything figured out and all of a sudden you think it sounds crappy.  That's what happened tonight. I was just not in the mood for baked fish.  Blah.  So... I decided to have some breakfast for dinner! My absolute favorite!

Mmmm...omelettes!!

This time, I decided to put a little twist than what I normally do for omelettes (cheese and spinach) and decided to add...sweet potatoes!

I'm not sure if this is normal for some people, but it was actually pretty delicious! I had previously diced and froze sweet potatoes when we wouldn't eat them before they went bad.  So I took a handful of sweet potatoes and sauteed them on the stove until they were golden brown and soft on the inside.

 Then I added the spinach.  Once that was cooked a bit, I took those off the unit, cooked my egg, then added my sweet potato, spinach and added feta cheese.

Fold your omelette in half, cook some more and enjoy!

Delicious!!! What crazy things do you put in your omelettes?? I would love some more ideas!!