Nursing makes me hangry. HANGRY. No joke. I know some of you can relate. And it can be sometimes frustrating because half the time, I’m craving granola or something slightly sweet and the other half, I need a heavy dose of protein. It makes for interesting meal and snack planning. Anyway, this past week, I was trying to figure out what I was going to have for lunch. The meal needed to be quick but hearty. I needed to be able to make it between feedings and scarf it down before baby Grace had a meltdown. Soooooo simple (as I say that with a thick layer of sarcasm).
As this was my primary meal for the day, I started going through the pantry, freezer and fridge. I knew what would work and that I could make it in no time. (And with the weather being so rainy/chilly, it made perfect sense.) Thirty minutes to pull together, but in fairness, the ground turkey was already cooked – meal time saver! And it was so good.
Lunchtime Chili
16 oz pinto beans, undrained
16 oz tomato sauce
16 oz diced tomatoes
1/2 cup ground turkey, browned
1 yellow pepper, chopped (any color will do)
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
- Add the pinto beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, onion powder and garlic powder to a pot. Heat on the stove on medium heat.
- Add in chopped pepper and simmer for twenty minutes.
- Add in ground turkey and continue to simmer for another ten minutes.
- Serve. Add salt and pepper if needed. Top with cheese if you’d like.
And that’s it. It was extremely quick and totally satisfied the craving. I added quite a bit of chili powder, but that is personal preference. The amount could easily be reduced to 2 tablespoons. That’s the thing that I just love about chili – it can be made a million and ten ways. Completely customizable to your taste buds and cravings. Let me know what you put in your chili. Enjoy!
