Cold Weather Recipes

This week, I picked up all the ingredients to make "my" Three Bean Chili. I'm not sure when I found this recipe, maybe in college, but it is SO delicious, filling, and pretty healthy too. I make it with the leanest ground turkey, and don't put in the pepper since I'm not a fan, but I love this chili recipe; plus, it's super easy!

Three Bean Chili cooking up in the crock pot

I'm also a HUGE leftovers queen, so I put these in Tupperware and put them in the freezer, and they last forever (almost), so that way we don't have to eat high sodium, no nutritional value Lean Cuisines when we need a quick lunch, we've got chili bitches! (I guess this chili makes me so excited, I swear about it).

The crazy party in all of this, is I grew up hating chili (probably because I would never try it with the tomatoes, still not a tomatoes fan); my mom made it every Halloween and I wouldn't eat a bite. However, when I went to college and was looking for options in the cafeteria, I decided to try it, and LOVED it!! In fact, I still think that the UDS Chicken Chili at the University of Minnesota is a meal fit for a king, and will stop and buy a cup whenever I'm in the area.

Last night, my friend Kelsey came over to enjoy the chili, so I made some Apple Crisp as well from the apples I sliced up this fall that came from Ben's uncle's organic farm in Southeastern Minnesota. This is a great recipe, that always produces rave reviews and is super easy. Again, not sure when I found this, but Ben's eyes light up like a kid's on Christmas morning when I say I'm going to make this apple crisp.

Kelsey enjoying her apple crisp

A tip for any recipe that calls for apples, ALWAYS use fresh (not canned) apples, and always cinnamon and sugar the apples. My mom always did for her apple pie squares (when I share that recipe, you will melt, not just over how fatty it is, but how delicious it is!), and I think it really does the trick on this delicious dessert. Plus, it's fruit with oatmeal, so I can justify eating seconds of this dessert, right??!?!!