Not too long ago, I was craving some sort of comfort food, like warm soup. I ended up searching for healthy, paleo-friendly chili recipes. I found one and I’ve since tried it out several times with a few of my own modifications. Chili is an excellent staple dish that can yield plenty of leftovers and portions can be easily frozen.

One thing to keep in mind is that the following recipe yields two large pots of chili, enough to feed many, many friends or give you enough left overs for lunch for an entire week, plus 3-4 more servings that will need to go in the freezer. I did not know that the first time I made this. If you’re just cooking for yourself, consider halving the recipe.

Ingredients

Olive oil
2 large onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
9 regular size carrots, chopped
3-4 zucchini, chopped
3-4 yellow squash, chopped
2 bell peppers chopped
2 lbs ground turkey
4 tbsp. chili powder (use less than half this amount if you don’t like spicy food, as it can be pretty spicy!)
2 tbsp. paprika
3-4 tsp red pepper flakes
3 tsp cumin
Dash of cayenne
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 28 oz. can tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Green onions, diced (optional)

Directions
1. Chop ALL veggies (this might take a few minutes – make some friends help!) Coat the pot(s) with olive oil. Add in all veggies and garlic. Add salt and pepper.
2. Add the meat, some more salt and pepper if desired, and let the meat coat for a little.
3. Add the spices and stir.
4. Add the liquids (diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and apple cider vinegar) and bring to a boil.
5. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 60 minutes.
6. Take off the cover for the last 10 minutes.
7. Garnish with diced green onions, enjoy!

I made this for friends and it was a huge hit! It easily fed eight people, and still, several servings were leftover.

You guys, it’s high-blueberry season. And blueberries are having a bumper crop, which means they’re cheap, they’re plentiful, and they’re EVERYWHERE.  Which means I bought a two pound box of them, and then promptly had to find a use for them.

This was an easy peasy recipe to put together, and smells amazing as it’s cooking up in your oven. Thanks to Two Peas & Their Pod for coming up with such a delicious way to celebrate the seasonal fruits!

Here’s the recipe:

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups blueberries
5-6 peaches, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

For the crumble topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold butter, diced

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine blueberries, sliced peaches, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, and flour. Gently toss until fruit is well coated. Let the fruit mixture sit while you prepare the crumble topping.
3. For the crumble topping: in a large bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Stir together with a whisk. Mix in the butter with your fingers until the mixture comes together and you have big crumbles.
4. Place the fruit mixture in a 2 quart ceramic or glass baking dish. Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over the fruit. Place the pan on a baking sheet pan lined with a Silpat or parchment paper and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note – you can make the crumble in individual ramekins. You can also make the crumble ahead of time-just store the unbaked crumble in the refrigerator and bake when ready! Store the crumble in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Serve your crisp with frozen yogurt or ice cream – whatever you prefer. I served it with froyo and I was definitely not disappointed – the tartness of the yogurt went perfectly with the sweetness of the blueberry.

Happy Tuesday, everyone, and happy National Lemonade Day! Today, we celebrate the wonderful drink that is Lemonade – and what’s not to love? Lemonade reminds everyone of summer, and fresh lemon juice, and whimsy, no? But, alas, Corelyn and I aren’t too keen on super-sweet drinks, so we opted for a not-so-sweet version of the drink to celebrate summer and everything it brings.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 cup lemon juice
2-3 sprigs rosemary
1 cup blueberries

Directions:

1. Mix the sugar with one cup of water over medium heat. Once all the sugar is dissolved, add a few sprigs of rosemary, and turn off heat.
2. While your rosemary simple syrup is melding, prepare a pitcher with a handful or two of berries, and lots of ice.
3. Freshly squeeze lemons to get about one cup of lemon juice. I used about eight lemons, but honestly this can vary depending on the size and juiciness of your lemons. The good news is you can never have too many lemons, so just grab a bag and you’ll be OK.
4. Put your lemon juice in the pitcher. Remove the sprigs of rosemary and add your simple syrup to your pitcher. Now, add water to taste – keep in mind that the ice will dilute the drink, too!

Serve over ice with blueberries, and if you’re feeling feisty, a sprig of rosemary! Enjoy on hot summer afternoons while you play Scrabble, reminiscence about old times, or while watching, perhaps, Shark Week.

What is your favorite flavor of lemonade?

Happy Monday chickens!

Every now and then, you’ll see collaborations between our contingent and FBC – our fave Fanboy site on the web. Such a crossover happened this week when Corelyn, Rebecca, and I were all on the Fanboy Scoop Podcast – check it our here.

And be sure to check out our Fanboy-specific recipes over at FBC, including a Hunger Games Lamb Stew (and look out for a new Hunger Games specific recipe on its way!)

Hey y’all! We might have been a wee bit quite over here, but it’s for good reason – we’re busy basking in the summer sun, eating all the veggies and fruits we plan, and generally adventuring around California (and beyond!)

As we’re adventuring about, we’ve been trying to diversify our weekly meals (sometimes Jeff and I get stuck in a cycle of same-old, same-old, while I save the good stuff for you guys ;)) but also not spending too much time in the kitchen – it’s too hot, too nice out, and there is always Shark Week to catch up on.

That’s where my blogger-network comes in – I always am seeing delicious recipes online of things that are easy to put together and full of fresh ingredients Jeff and I love! Without further ado, here are a few meals you should add to your weekly rotation!

First, look at this simple pasta by Daily Waffle. It’s only a few ingredients, can be changed based on what you have in the fridge, but looks delicious. Did I mention it’s fast?

Next, look at these Zucchini Boats from Big Girls Small Kitchen. Full of tomatoes and cheese (and other delicious pizza ingredients) this might be the perfect recipe to get Jeff to eat all these zucchini that threaten to overtake our home.

Finally, look at this pile of delicious, delicious kale from Smitten Kitchen’s Kale Salad recipe. I have an intense love of kale, but eating it raw in my salads every day can wear on my taste buds. But this recipe is guaranteed to make the haters love kale, and who can blame them? Walnuts and cheese make just about anything better.

What do you guys have going on? What are your go-to weeknight recipes? Let me know, Jeff and I are looking for a switch up!

Happy Weekend, y’all.