Sunday Chili, Pesto Skillet

Today I made crock pot chili for lunch for after church. As with most crock pot (slow cooker) recipes, it's very flexible, including in the timing, but I'm just reporting what I did.

CROCK POT CHILI

1 lb lean stew beef in chunks
2 large cans diced tomatoes (with their juice)
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium-hot anaheim peppers
3 ribs celery
1/4 cup McCormick chili seasoning
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cans kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
salt to taste

Start beef and tomatoes with juice on high in the crock pot. After two hours, add chopped veggies and spices, and after a half hour more, turn pot down to low. After three hours, turn to high again and add beans, drained or undrained, as desired.

My family ate this over rice, as we like to do, and I had it over shredded romaine and spring mix salad, with chopped bell peppers and onion and tomato as a garnish. I picked out the beef chunks and left them for others. :-)

Verdict--Very Good. Ours, with the liquid from the pintos but not from the other beans, was a bit on the watery side, but it will probably be fabulous as leftovers.

PESTO SKILLET

1 zucchini, sliced into finger-size pieces
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup sliced onion
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 lb bag frozen Italian vegetables (my mix has broccoli, cauliflower, Italian beans, lima beans, and carrots)
1 tablespoon homemade pesto (heavy on basil, light on oil)

In a heavy iron skillet, heat olive oil and then add zucchini, garlic, and onion and saute until browned on the edges, then add bag of frozen vegetables and stir frequently over medium heat until tender. Stir in pesto.

Verdict--Good. The carrots in this mix, as well as the fresh zucchini, really appeal to me today. About half of it is a good supper serving and about 200 calories.

TODAY'S MENU

Breakfast--Banana spread with peanut butter and sprinkled with flax seed meal

Sunday Dinner--CROCK POT CHILI over shredded romaine and spring mix salad, with chopped bell peppers, onion, and tomato as garnishes (I added a couple of teaspoons of a yogurt-sour cream topping just because); honeydew melon.

Snack at a Party--small handful salted almonds, apple I brought along to eat in the car before church (I passed up nice bakery cake, tortilla chips, and a kind of open-faced banket!)

Supper--PESTO SKILLET, pink grapefruit, one bite of potato-crusted cod the rest were eating