Chili Baked Potatoes

For Super Bowl Sunday, I made Ted's favorite - chili baked potatoes!  Since we couldn't go anywhere all day because of the blizzard, I let the chili simmer all afternoon to make it more flavorful, and it was awesome. The longer you can let it simmer on the stove, the more flavorful it will be. But no matter what, it always tastes better the second day so leftovers for dinner tonight are not only going to be easy, but really good.

I usually just use ground grass-fed beef in our chili, but we had a ton of leftover brisket, so I cut some of that up and added, and it was a great addition. I essentially used the same general chili recipe that I always do, but tweaked it a bit for using beef instead of turkey, and used whatever leftover stock was in the fridge. You can use chicken or beef stock, and I used a combination of both to use up what was open.

Top your chili potato with your favorite fixings! We put some organic shredded cheddar on the potato, then topped it with the chili and some organic sour cream. 

Chili Baked Potatoes

Makes ~6-8 servings

Chili

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup organic red bell pepper, chopped
1 pound organic grass-fed ground beef
3/4 pound cooked beef brisket, cut into small pieces
1 (28oz) can crushed organic tomatoes with basil, undrained
1 (16oz) can organic red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup organic chicken stock
1 cup organic beef stock
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp hot sauce (I used Chalula)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper and saute until onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until browned.

2. Add remaining ingredients and stir until evenly combined. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes. 

Baked Potatoes

Ingredients

Whole organic russet potatoes
Sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2. Rinse potatoes with water to wet the skin and rub with sea salt. Poke a series of holes in the potatoes with a fork to let steam escape.

3. Place potatoes on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 60-75 minutes, or until soft on inside.  For softer skin, wrap potatoes in aluminum foil for baking.

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Compared with conventional beef, grass-fed beef is lower in total fat, higher in omega-3 fatty acids and higher in vitamins, particularly vitamin E. Onions are rich in quercetin (a type of antioxidant) and vitamin C. Bell peppers are one of the best food sources of vitamins A and C. Canned tomato products contain lots of vitamin C and more bioavailable lycopene than fresh tomatoes. Kidney beans provide lots of protein, folate, fiber, and iron. Potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of potassium - and with the skin, there are even more of these nutrients, plus lots of fiber!

Classic Meatloaf

This is one of my husband's favorite dinners, which works out very well for me because it is so easy!  The great thing about this meal is that all of the prep work can be done ahead of time. I assembled the meatloaf in the pan, cut up the broccoli and put it in a pan with a small amount of water, and peeled and cut the potatoes and put them in a pan with chicken stock - and then put it all in the refrigerator in the morning.  When it was time to make dinner, I just popped the meatloaf in the oven and put the pans on the stove. I like to make my own bread crumbs because it is hard to find pre-packaged bread crumbs that are whole wheat and dairy free. I walk you through how I make them below.

We made these same roasted garlic mashed potatoes last weekend - click here for the recipe! They are completely dairy free and taste every bit as good as traditional mashed potatoes made with butter and cream. The roasted garlic and chicken stock add plenty of flavor and richness.

To make the broccoli, just place it in a pan with a small amount of water (just enough to create steam), and cook over medium heat until tender - about 10 minutes.

Classic Meatloaf

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound grass-fed ground beef
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 organic free range egg
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
2 Tbsp ketchup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. If you make your own bread crumbs: place wheat bread in toaster and toast on medium setting; bread should be toasted enough that it is no longer soft, but crisp. Let toast cool and then break into pieces in small food processor. Grind toast pieces into small bread crumbs.

3. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix together with hands until evenly combined.  Place mixture in a bread pan and pat down until top is flat. Top meatloaf with additional ketchup, if desired.

4. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Compared with conventional beef, grass-fed beef is lower in total fat, higher in omega-3 fatty acids and higher in vitamins, particularly vitamin E. Broccoli is packed with vitamins C and K, and is also a good source of folate and calcium. Potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of potassium. Garlic contains flavonoids (a type of antioxidant), and is a great source of vitamins C and B6, and the mineral manganese.

Turkey Schnitzel Oktoberfest Feast

Saturday was the perfect Fall day - it was beautiful and sunny outside, with a nice cool breeze, and Ted cooked an amazing Oktoberfest meal!  As I have mentioned before, Ted is a really good cook, and this meal is definitely up there as one of the best that he makes. He only makes it once or twice a year in the Fall because it is very rich, and I always look forward to it! This is a mostly dairy free meal. The turkey and potatoes contain no dairy, but the dill sauce is not dairy free (but thankfully Charlie doesn't seem to mind not eating any since he has never really liked creamy things anyway). The cabbage can be made dairy free with dairy free margarine in place of butter.  This is the first time Ted has made this red cabbage, and it was by far the best red cabbage I have ever had! To complete our German meal, we paired it with an Amber Marzen, the traditional beer of Oktoberfest - delicious!

Oktoberfest Feast

Serves 6

Turkey Schnitzel

Ingredients

1 pound extra lean turkey breast cutlets
3 organic free range eggs, beaten
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Dash of celery salt
1 1/2 cup canola oil

Directions

1. Wash and pat dry turkey cutlets and season with half of salt and pepper. 

2. Mix flour, bread crumbs and remaining seasonings in a shallow dish. 

3. Place beaten eggs in a separate shallow dish.

4. Wash turkey cutlets in egg, and then dredge in flour mixture; repeat egg wash and dredging in flour a second time (so each cutlet should have 2 layers of the egg wash and flour mixture)

5. Heat oil in large pan or pot over medium high heat. Place turkey cutlets in hot oil and cook for 3 minutes per side. You will know they are done when they float on top of the oil and are golden brown. Place finished cutlets on a wire rack while cooking remaining cutlets.

6. Serve with green dill sauce (recipe below)

Green Dill Sauce

Ingredients

3 hard boiled egg yolks
Juice of half of a lemon
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup sour cream
6 oz fresh organic dill
2 oz fresh organic thyme
2 oz fresh organic parsley
2 oz fresh organic chives
Black pepper to taste

*You can use any fresh herbs that you like. The traditional German herbs that are used to make green sauce are difficult to find in the U.S. so we used the herbs that we like.

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in large food processor and process until smooth

2. Serve cold

Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds organic yukon gold potatoes
1 yellow onion
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried thyme
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp canola oil

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Wash and pat dry potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Rough-chop onion and combine with potatoes. Add remaining ingredients and toss until evenly combined and coated with oil.

3. Spread potato mixture on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour (stir after 30 minutes), or until golden brown

Red Cabbage

Ingredients

2 Tbsp butter or dairy free margarine
5 cups red cabbage
1 cup organic apples, sliced
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp water
1/4 granulated sugar
2 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp allspice

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a large pot and stir to combine. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 1 1/2-2 hours, or until cabbage is tender.

2. Serve warm

(Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com)

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal?  This dinner would probably considered more of a "splurge" for us - but there are still a lot of great things in this meal! For starters, using extra lean turkey for the schnitzel instead of pork cuts down on the fat and calories. Additionally, using canola oil instead of butter for frying the turkey greatly reduces the amount of saturated fat (and makes it dairy free). Canola oil is the lowest in saturated fat of any oil, and is rich in healthy unsaturated fats. Dill activates antioxidants in the body and is a good source of calcium, manganese, iron, magnesium, and fiber. Thyme is rich in antioxidants, vitamin K and iron, and is a good source of calcium, manganese, fiber. Parsley is packed with vitamin K, and is a great source of vitamins C and A. Chives supply antioxidants, potassium, calcium, beta carotene, folic acid, and vitamin K. Yukon gold potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of potassium. Red cabbage is packed with antioxidants and vitamins K and C, and is a good source of folate, fiber, manganese, molybdenum, and vitamin B6. Apples provide even more vitamin C and fiber.