My Recipe for "Quarantine Chili"

Yesterday I decided to make what I’m going to call “Quarantine Chili.” Now what is the recipe for Quarantine Chili you might ask? Well pretty much you take whatever fresh veggies or meat you have in your fridge that you worry may go to waste soon and throw them into a big crock pot of chili before they go bad. Waste not, want not!

Now for my chili I started with my typical chili “base”:

• 2 cans of tomato sauce

• 1 can of red beans (rinsed and drained)

• 1 can of garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained)

• 1 can of lentils (rinsed and drained)

• 2 tablespoons chili powder

• 1-2 teaspoons of jarred garlic

• 1 teaspoon of turmeric

• 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning

To that I then added all the things I wanted to use up - this will vary depending on what you have in your fridge:

• 1 lb of cooked ground lamb (lamb is definitely an unusual choice for chili. I had originally planned to make lamb stuffed peppers with it, but by using it in chili I am able to stretch it farther and get more meals out of it… And surprisingly lamb in chili is just fine! I was worried it would taste weird but it’s still great)

• a lot of carrots (we had a bag of carrots that have been in the fridge for awhile and were close to being done. I wanted to use them up and not go to waste so I added them to the chili… it was definitely heavy on the carrots but I’m glad we used them up)

• handfuls of spinach (we have a big container of spinach that will be getting wet and smelly soon… better use some of it up!)

• green pepper (the ones I was originally going to make the stuffed lamb peppers with)

• a large onion (that one has been hanging out on the counter for awhile…)

Then combine all ingredients in a large Crock Pot and put on high for several hours until it’s cooked through and ready. We’ll be eating this for dinner for two nights and then I will portion out and freeze the rest to eat later.

Definitely be aware of what you’re using - you don’t want to use any ingredients are actually spoiling (very bad idea!) - but by using up what good ingredients you have by making a healthy, hearty chili you will not let your precious groceries go to waste and will make something nutritious to feed your family during this time.

Stay healthy friends!

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A Message of Hope Facing the Unknowns of Coronavirus

Definitely a very weird and uncertain time right now, but the sacrifices we make to stay home and away from others will hopefully make a huge (positive) impact in the trajectory of what's going on in the world right now.  I hope this time of home-quarantine for much of our society will have some very positive side effects - like quality time with our kids, the wonderful challenge of learning to homeschool, a renewed sense of frugality and being less-wasteful, and using social media as a beneficial tool to stay connected with family and friends.  And with the world learning to "work remote," hopefully there will be more work-from-home job opportunities going forward which will lessen society's need for commuting, large office buildings, and pollution.  

It definitely will be a very challenging time these next few weeks and months.  But I hope we remember what’s truly important, can support and learn from each other (from a safe distance), and realize that the sacrifices we make are for the greater good.  We will come out on the other side of this more resilient, self-reliant, and stronger than ever.  Stay healthy everyone!  <3

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• Preparing for the Novel Coronavirus

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• My Recipe for “Quarantine Chili”

• Emergency Preparedness Ideas and Planning Tips

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