What's for dinner?

Something about a cold, rainy day screams big meal and a delicious dessert. We have had tons and tons of soup so I didn't want to make more soup. I had very little time so I settled on Chili and apple pie for dessert. (The pie was really prompted by the fact that we had a pie crust leftover from the holidays taking up space in my crowded freezer!)

Black Bean Chili

• Two cans of organic black beans (can obviously use kidney beans)
• 1 pound ground turkey or chicken
• 1 14 oz can diced tomato (if your "people" like heat add rotel or diced tomatoes with some zing)
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 8 oz can tomato paste
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 small green pepper diced
• 2 TB chili powder
• 2 TB worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

1. Cook the ground turkey and drain any fat (I usually don't have too since it's so lean)
2. Put ground turkey in the crock pot
3. Drain and rinse the beans then place in crock pot
4. Put remaining ingredients in the crock pot. 
5. Cover and cook high 4-6 hours or low 8-10. 
6. You can add some cooked elbow macaroni before serving if you like. 

We serve ours with a little cheddar on top and the kids LOVE to scoop their chili with the Frito's scoops.  

Apple Pie Crumble

• 2 cans apple pie filling (we use two jars of our home canned apples)
• Single pie crust (I don't like to make my own!)
• Crumb topping
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup quick cook oatmeal
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Thaw the pie crust and poke holes throughout. 
2. Place the apples in the crust and spread them throughout the pie plate to make an even surface. 
3. Mix crumb mixture (keep in mind you want cold butter to make better crumbles)
• My secret crumb topping maker is Jack's baby food masher. 

It's the perfect crumb topping musher :D 

4. Top the pie with the crumbles.                        

5. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes or until the apples are bubbly and topping is browned. 

The Easiest Dinner you should be making

We are not much for take out around here. It's a 50/50 split between being frugal and limitations by Abby's allergies. For the most part I am thankful to have reasons to not do take out often. However, there are many days where I would love to "phone in" dinner. One of our favorite easy go to's is homemade pizza. We use store bought crust, top and bake. Easy, popular and cheaper than take out.

When we were in Disney the resort we stayed at had a wide variety of dining options on site. Their pride and joy were the Tandoor ovens they used to bake chicken and fish and also make the mosy delicious Naan Bread I have ever had. When we got back I was craving the Naan bread but the store bought was nothing like the fresh baked. We decided to compromise and use store bought to make delicious Naan Pizza. It is outstanding and so, so simple!

Naan Pizza

• Naan Bread (any flavor you like is perfect)
• Pizza sauce (we use canned tomato sauce and "doctor" it with garlic salt, oregano and basil)
• Cheese (or soy cheese... or even no cheese in Abby's case)
• Toppings (green peppers, pepperoni, ham and pineapple, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, etc)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Place naan on baking sheet. 
3. Top with pizza sauce (don't use too much) and spread
4. Add your cheese and toppings
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. 

I definitely should have remembered an "after" picture since it is a pretty pizza. We also like to make an olive oil and herb dip for the crust. Just add a big drizzle of olive oil to a bowl with salt, pepper, garlic, basil and oregano and enjoy!