Crock Pot Brown Sugar Chili

I knew I'd be baking a lot this past weekend, so for dinner on Friday, I prepared this Weight Watchers recipe, which had been listed as part of a post on the cooking board I frequent. Super easy to prepare, and pretty tasty, too. I served it with Trader Joe's cornbread (best mix around), prepared in a muffin top pan. The chili is sweeter than I am used to, but that may have to do as much with corn bread that I crumble in my bowl as the brown sugar in the recipe.

This is a crock pot recipe, but I don't see why one couldn't just put all ingredients into a dutch oven and let it simmer for 20 minutes or so, if you don't have the time for it to slow cook.

Now I just need to find a use for all the extra tomato juice I have on hand. Bloody Mary, anyone?

Crock Pot Brown Sugar Chili

Source: Weight Watchers website, via a post on TheNest.com

Yield: 8 servings

1 lb extra lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp prepared mustard

1 medium sized onion, chopped (I used frozen pre-chopped onion)

2 (14 oz) cans kidney or red beans (I used one can chili beans in mild sauce and one can red beans)

2 cups low sodium tomato juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp chili powder

My addition: frozen red, green and yellow bell peppers

Brown ground beef and onion (and peppers) in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Drain. Add all ingredients to crock pot and stir to combine. Cover. Cook on high for 2-3 hours. If possible, stir several times during cooking.

240 calories, 6g fat, 4g fiber = 4/5 WW points per serving (hits right on the line)

Ground Turkey "Stroganoff"

I'm not even sure what to call this. The recipe I used as a base is called "Hamburger Buddy," but I didn't use beef, and "Turkey Buddy" really just doesn't offer much explanation for what's happening here. So I decided that since this incorporates many of the elements of a stroganoff, that's what I'd call it. I'm even using the dreaded air quotes, possibly opening myself up to inclusion on this blog, which I find very amusing.

Now, I've tried making traditional beef stroganoff several times, as I'm a huge fan of comfort food and Michael loves stroganoff. But I've only been truly successful once, and that was long before my blogging days, so I have no idea what I did differently that time. Usually the resulting dish is fine. We eat it. But it's always pretty bland. I can't figure out what to do to fix the problem. I'm thinking it's because the beefy flavor isn't shining through (more Worcestershire?). Someone on the cooking board I frequent suggested the addition of brandy, which I may try next time. If you have a suggestion, please let me know.

(Comments of "You're a moron - use beef if you want it to taste beefy" are already acknowledged).

Anyway, the pseudo-blandness is happening here. But there are far too many reasons to like this dish otherwise (lots of veggies, decently good for your backside, a fair amount of spice, etc.), so I know I'll take a crack at it again. You'll note my ingredients are pretty rough. Since I wasn't baking, I just threw stuff in.

I recently found the website EatingWell.com, which is where I found the original recipe. It's a great alternative to Cooking Light. Check it out.

Ground Turkey "Stroganoff"

Source: adapted from this recipe at EatingWell.com

3 cloves garlic, minced

Few handfuls of baby carrots

Not quite half a bag of frozen spinach

Not quite half a bag of frozen diced onion

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 bay leaf

2 tsp Italian seasoning

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups hot water mixed with beef boullion seasoning (Wyler's), or reduced sodium beef broth

2 cups whole-wheat macaroni noodles

6 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp corn starch, plus more to get desired consistency

8 oz reduced fat sour cream

Finely chop garlic, carrots, spinach and onion in food processor. Set aside. Boil noodles until tender. Drain. Cook turkey and bay leaf in a skillet until no longer pink. Drain fat in collander. Add back to skillet with veggies. Return to heat and stir until mixture is hot. Add seasonings to mixture. Pour mixture into pot with noodles (or use a really large skillet and pour noodles in with meat). Mix 2 tbp corn starch into boullion/water mix. Add boullion mix, Worcestershire and sour cream to noodles and meat. Thoroughly mix and return to heat for 10 minutes or so, until sauce has thickened and flavors have mixed. Remove bay leaf and serve.

I made far to many changes to the original recipe to have a clue what I did to the per serving nutritional information, but am sticking this under "Lite" anyway, as I don't think the changes are so bad for you.