Simple Beef Chili

I mentioned on Facebook that I hadn't been posting as much because my husband and I have been very serious about a deep freezer/pantry clean out! I love having about 5 times the amount of storage space for food versus our old apartment, but I didn't want things to become lost or forgotten. I've been coming up with interesting meals lately. Usually something frozen, with a can of something, and some veggies. Nothing blog-worthy. I did however spot canned tomatoes, canned black beans, canned kidney beans, canned corn, and frozen ground beef the other day; these ingredients just scream homemade chili. I'm surprised I've never posted a recipe for basic beef chili, but this one is so easy to follow and completely customizable. You can use beef, ground turkey, ground chicken, shredded chicken, veggie crumbles, or no meat at all. You can use black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, etc. It's up to you, so use whatever you have on hand.

Low Calorie Curried Chicken Salad

I love all of the cold salads: potato salad, macaroni salad, and especially chicken salad. This recipe is really simple and all I had to go buy was the celery and butter lettuce, chances are you also have the ingredients you need already in your pantry and fridge.

Thick and Savory Beef Stew

This recipe was completely inspired by my mom. I went over to my parents for dinner and my mom used left over pot roast and gravy she had made to make a beef stew. It was the best stew I'd ever had, I was pretty sure it was because of the gravy. And I was right, the gravy makes a world of difference. I don't know why I never thought to try it that way, but it works so well. It's thick and very beefy, but overall about the same nutrition as using plain beef or chicken broth. You can fancy this up with additional spices and fresh herbs, but this is a great basic stew recipe.

Small disclaimer, hideous picture quality! This was probably day 3 of the stew, I had been getting home from work after day. So instead of having time to take a good photo when it was hot and fresh, I just snapped a quick picture at work with my phone so I could post this recipe!

Single Serving Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup

I had a sweet potato hanging out on the counter, and some leftover pumpkin puree in the fridge. I've been making pumpkin spice lattes in the morning, but that only uses one tablespoon of pumpkin at a time. I really wanted to use up these ingredients before they went bad, so I made myself a single serving of soup. It turned out great! It was quick and easy.

Spicy Peanut Chicken and Noodles

  If you love noodles but hate the carbs that come with them, this recipe is for you. I try to keep it low carb most days. Eating high carb meals gives me stomach aches and makes me feel tired and sluggish. The problem is, I love carbs! It's a struggle, but meals like this give me my carb fix with doing damage. This noodle dish is creamy, spicy, sweet, crunchy, and satisfying. 

Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto

Shrimp Ceviche

>

 This is one of my all time favorite ways to eat fish and shrimp. Ceviche is a raw dish that uses the acid from the lemon and limes to "cook" the fish. It will cure pretty quickly, but I like to let it sit in the fridge overnight for lunch the next day just because it's less fuss. Growing up close to the border I've had a lot of ceviche in my life. My best friend from high schools mom made this for every family party, and there were a lot of parties! =P Originally from Peru, I'm not sure if my version is legit or not. All I know is it's delicious!