Chili with Squash and Beans Recipe

How are you doing with your weight loss efforts? What about other goals you set for the new year? Are you staying on track? My eating was not stellar last week, but I did lose a pound. Naturally, I want to lose five pounds a week, but that is not going to happen. We all know that losing slowly is the most effective way. A pound may not sound like much, but that is four sticks of butter -- and I am glad to have it gone from my waist! This week, I intend to pay more attention to serving sizes and try to reach for the vegetables rather than meat or bread when I need a second serving. I also plan to move more. With homeschooling, working with the children, and playing, er, working at the computer, I am on my bottom A LOT.

We tried a few new recipes last week. The split pea soup will not make it to our table again -- yuck. However, the chili with squash and beans...oh, you must try it. It's so simple, easy, and good for you, not to mention really, really yummy! We will definitely make this again, especially this summer when the squash and zucchini are taking over the garden. Let me know if you try it and what you think!

The original recipe for this dish came from Cook Once, Eat for a Week (2003 edition), but as always, I tweaked it a bit to suit our tastes. The recipe calls for almost 60 ounces of diced tomatoes with green chilies. It has a bit of a kick that my daughter did not like, so I will probably sub half of that with plain diced tomatoes the next time.

Chili with Squash and Beans
(from Cook Once, Eat for a Week, 2003 edition)

¾ lb. ground beef or turkey
1 medium diced onion
1-2 cloves minced garlic
¾ tsp Mrs. Dash seasoning
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chili (for less kick, sub plain diced tomatoes, as much or as little as you wish)
1 pkg chili seasoning, or chili powder to taste
2 (14.5 oz) cans (nonfat) beef broth
1-2 cans black beans (or 2-4 cups if you cook from dry)
2 medium zucchinis, diced
2 medium yellow squash, diced (peels on zucchini and squash)
2 diced green (or any color) bell peppers
1-2 stalks diced celery
1-2 diced carrots

Brown the ground beef with the onion and peppers. Drain any fat. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 25-30 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

Yields 8-12 servings. This dish will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or can be frozen and reheated in the microwave. It's also great the next day!

Blessings,
Bev

PS -- Tiffany at Eat at Home nominated me for a blog award. I am really excited, but I've been so busy I have not had time to play around and learn how to post it on my site. I will work on it and pass the award along very soon, though!