Mona’s Southwestern Chili
Mona’s Family Favorites: This chili may look like it contains a lot of ingredients, but many of them are staples that you most likely already have in your pantry and fridge. Everyone has their own secret ingredient for their chili recipes, and mine is freshly chopped basil! I find it adds even more herbaceous punch than the cilantro you’d typically use in a Southwestern dish.
Mona's Southwestern Chili
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Author: The Perfect Portion
Recipe type: Casseroles & One-Pot Meals
Makes: 5 Lunch or 4 Dinner portions
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound 93% lean ground beef
- 2 cups chopped bell peppers
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon pepper
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
- ¾ cup frozen corn kernels
Directions
- Heat the olive oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat.
- Brown the ground beef until fully cooked. Add the bell peppers, onion, jalapeño, and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes, just until the onion and peppers begin to soften.
- Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper to the pot, and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add the black beans and corn to the chili, and simmer for an additional 5 minutes before serving.
HELPFUL TIP: Topping a bowl of this chili with 1 tablespoon of sour cream will add 30 calories. Topping it with 1 tablespoon of reduced-fat sour cream will add around 25 calories, depending on the brand.
Serving size: ½ cup Calories: 100
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Enchilada Bake
Authentic enchiladas are time consuming, as they require filling and rolling delicate individual tortillas. We capture the same flavors and textures in a fraction of the time by assembling the tortillas, beef mixture, and cheese as a family-friendly Mexican lasagna. It’s hard to beat good food that’s also easy to make! Olé!
Enchilada Bake
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Author: The Perfect Portion
Recipe type: Casseroles & One-Pot Meals
Makes: 12 Lunch or 8 Dinner portions
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1 pound (96%) extra lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- ½ cup diced green bell pepper
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ cups picante sauce (such as Pace®)
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- ½ cup sliced black olives
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 10 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas, halved
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar Jack cheese
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F, and spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spray a large sauce pot with nonstick cooking spray, and place over medium-high heat.
- Add the ground beef to the pot, and cook until well browned, crumbling the beef as it cooks.
- Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, salt, and pepper to the pot, and sauté for 3 minutes, just until onions are translucent.
- Add the picante sauce, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, black olives, and cilantro to the pot. Bring to a simmer, and then remove from the heat.
- Build the casserole by layering ½ of the corn tortillas on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top the tortillas with ½ of the ground beef mixture. Top the ground beef mixture with ½ of the shredded cheese.
- Repeat the last step to create a second layer using the remaining tortillas, ground beef mixture, and cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until bubbly hot.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing. For 100 calorie portions, slice casserole into 24 sections by cutting 4 rows by 6 rows.
Serving size: 1/24 Calories: 100
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Chicken Pot Pie
**Update: Anson did a great job demonstrating this yummy dish on the Today Show this morning.This is a must try comfort food #recipe. If you’d like to, watch Anson from this morning.
Chicken Pot Pie
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Bob's Farm to Table: My mom’s Chicken Pot Pie was wonderful. Over the years I have learned more about how to achieve deeper, more complex flavors in my recipes. I have adapted my mom’s original farm to our table recipe to make it even more delicious, while reducing the calorie count from over 550 calories per 1 cup serving to an even 300.
Author: The Perfect Portion
Recipe type: Casseroles & One-Pot Meals
Makes: 10 Lunch or 8 Dinner portions
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 large egg, beaten
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 2 russet potatoes, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 ½ cups carrots, cut into ½-inch cubes
- ¾ cup celery cut into ¼-inch rounds
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into ½-inch cubes
- ¾ cup diced yellow onion
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups 2% milk
- ½ cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 8 ounces of frozen or fresh corn
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Unroll the puff pastry, and use a pastry or pizza cutter to cut into 32 pieces by slicing 4 rows on the shorter end by 8 rows lengthwise. Transfer to a sheet pan, placing them 1 inch apart. Brush top of pastry with beaten egg.
- Bake the pastry pieces for 10–12 minutes, until they are fluffy and golden brown “croutons.”
- Spray a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chopped potatoes, carrot, and celery on sheet pan, and roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, just until potatoes are lightly browned. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes, lightly browning on all sides. Add the onion to the pot, and sauté for an additional 2 minutes.
- Stir the flour into the pot, coating the chicken and onions, and let cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Stir the chicken broth, milk, roasted vegetables, and all of the remaining ingredients into the pot. Stir constantly as you bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Measure your perfect portion into a soup bowl, and top chicken pie mixture with croutons.
Serving size: ⅓ cup + crouton Calories: 100
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