Hello friends! Over on my Instagram page, I've started a series of videos of "One for Now, One for Later" recipes.  Why? Well, I've found that cooking once and eating at least twice is key to my meal planning sanity.  It also helps the grocery budget, time with my family, energy spent decision making and helps me eat healthier, homemade food more often. My goal with these videos is not to provide you with the most gourmet, homemade, executive chef award winning meals.  I'm a part time working mom of 4.  Two of those kids are 2 and under. I want to help you get a great tasting family dinner on the table without losing your sh%$ during the witching hour. That, my friends, is the real, raw and honest answer as to why I'm making these recipe videos.  

What will you get in these videos? Simple, homemade, nourishing, tasty and easily customizable family recipes.  I intentionally use simple ingredients, including a lot of pantry spices, because I want you to be able to throw in your customizations without breaking a sweat. So, here we go.  First up: One Pot Corn & Black Bean Chili.

Ingredients
-approximately 2 lbs of ground beef or ground turkey
-1 small onion
-1 x 28oz cans crushed or diced tomatoes
-1 x 15 oz can corn kernels
-1 x 15 oz can black beans
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp cumin
-2 tsp chili powder
-2 tsp dried cilantro leaves
-salt/pepper to taste
-2 to 3 TBS olive oil

Optional toppings/sides: avocado, tomato, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, corn bread, sour cream

Directions
Chop your onion and heat a large saucepan on medium heat. Add 2-3 TBS olive oil.  Then add your chopped onion and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until softened.  Add the meat and stir fry until completely browned.  While the meat is cooking, drain and rinse your can of corn and beans.  Once the meat is browned, pour in the large can of tomatoes and stir.  Then add the corn and beans.  Stir.  Add in your spices (note: you can customize here however you like!) and stir again. Keep on medium heat until the entire recipe is slightly bubbling.  Then reduce heat to low/medium, cover and let simmer for approximately one hour and occasionally stir.  Serve half for one meal.  Allow the other half to cool and then place in a fridge/freezer safe container and store according to your preference (Note: store in the freezer if not going to be consumed within the next 2 to 3 days).

I hope you enjoy this meal and I would love to hear from you if you give it a try!

I've got a whole wheat muffin mix that you can easily customize and make a huge variety of muffins from it.  Think pumpkin cranberry, banana chocolate chip, double chocolate zucchini, cranberry orange, banana blueberry, apple pecan and so many more! I made 4 batches one Saturday afternoon and filled the freezer, my bread cupboard and a friend's house with muffins.  Keep this one on file for when that summer harvest comes along and you're wondering what to do with it.

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients
Base Mix
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 cup fruit/veggie puree
-1/2 cup oil
-3/4 cup sweetener
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-2 eggs

Notes: Substitute in 1/4 cup baking cocoa for flour if you would like chocolate muffins.  You could also substitute in other extracts like orange or almond and use a variety of sweeteners like sugar, coconut sugar, honey or maple syrup.  Feel free to add any spices you like such as cinnamon, nutmeg etc.

Topping ideas:
-chocolate chips
-chopped nuts
-coconut
-dried cranberries
-raisins

Directions
Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees and prep a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.  In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and any optional spices. In another large bowl, stir together your eggs, oil, sweetener, vanilla or other extract and your choice of fruit/veggie puree.

Mix the wet into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.  Add in your optional toppings.  Scoop into the wells of the muffin tray and bake at 375 for approximately 20 minutes. Allow to cool, serve and enjoy!  You can also place cooled muffins in a freezer bag and store in your freezer.  Heat 'em up and serve with a teeny bit of butter!

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