So THAT's why I use the CrockPot

Don't tell The H, but I burned the chili tonight. I've been meaning to make CrockPot chili since Monday, so when the turkey was still in the fridge today I knew it had to get cooked or tossed. But I still didn't have 6 hours to devote to dinner, so I had to do it on the stove... you know, the old-fashioned way. :D Chili without a slow cooker is really just about a 20-minute meal, so I don't know why I put it of so long, but that's beside the point.

For those of you who just can't stand the suspense, it turned out fine. Delicious, even. Perhaps one of my favorite batches (since we all know I don't really measure, it's hard to duplicate things we like). The point is that when you are used to putting all your ingredients in a slow cooker and literally walking away from it for 6-8 hours, you may need to watch your pot a little more carefully if you choose to make dinner on the stovetop for a change.

But like I said, it was delicious: Ground turkey breast, two small red onions (co-op), one small Yukon Gold potato (co-op), kidney beans rinsed and drained, 1/2 diced red bell pepper, tomato puree, and canned tomatoes with garlic and onions, seasoned with sea salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, cumin, and ancho chili powder. And once I realized that after 40 minutes it has ZERO liquid left and had begun burning to the bottom of the pan, I quickly added some water and a reduced-sodium beef broth packet (Trader Joe's) to bring it back to life. Crisis (and takeout pizza) averted! We served it with some rice elbow noodles, freshly grated mild white cheddar (co-op), grapes, and gluten-free bread. Thanks to some creative thinking, my son ate nearly his entire bowl of "bean soup!" The kid goes ape over canned beans but wouldn't touch the spoon when we called it chili. Whatever works, you know?

A typical Wednesday

Just a peek into what I'm up to mid-week...

8am - Glass of water, sprouted grain toast with honey and natural peanut butter, cup of coffee with half and half while baby played in the kitchen. Started soaking the black beans I meant to do yesterday.

9:30am - Short run through the neighborhood with my son in the jogging stroller, followed by core work and more coffee while baby played in the living room. He loved doing "stretches" on the yoga mat with me. I showered while he had his quiet time with Little Einsteins and his lovey.

11am - Steel-cut oats with flax seed, dried cherries, chopped raw almonds, agave nectar, MORE coffee (mental note: need more water) while Einsteins was wrapping up. By now it's close to noon and lunchtime for the little guy. Oh, I also had to get him dressed. Keeping him in the sleeper for our (cold and windy) run kept him warm without having to pile on too many blankets, which he hates. It wasn't pure laziness, I promise.

1:30pm - Baby was down for a nap by 1:20, time for my lunch: Whole-grain tortilla with 1/2 can albacore tuna mixed with 1 wedge French Onion Laughing Cow, Dijon mustard, and two small chopped dill pickles; 2 or 3 glasses of water. Three small squared Trader Joe's 72% dark chocolate. Started some laundry and the dishwasher and did a little paid work before my son woke up.

3:45pm - 1/2 D'Anjou pear with mild cheddar cheese, water. Baby and I had a floor picnic, which he thought was a hoot.

5:45pm - Turkey chili (turkey, white and red kidney beans, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, onion, red bell pepper, cumin, chili powder, and black pepper) two squares of gluten-free cornbread (corn meal, rice flour, egg, milk, oil, baking soda, baking powder, salt, maple syrup). This was one of the best cornbreads I've made from scratch, GF or otherwise; also one of the best pots of chili I can recall. 1 Reese's peanut butter cup (darn that leftover Halloween candy!), more water. Trip to Target at 6:30.

8:30 pm - Baby is finally in bed after procrastinating with the best of 'em. Time for coffee (decaf!) and one little fun-size bag of peanut M&Ms. I need to watch myself and stop eating sugary junk after every meal, which always makes me break out and feel gross. The coffee was supposed to stand in its place, but I caved. Time to do a little paid work and maybe some reading for a bit before bed. I'll finish my coffee and have some water.