Simple Whole30 Chili

I just realized that I had this shared on my other blog and NOT here, which is geared for WHOLE30 and PALEO stuff ... doh! So, here you go! Enjoy!

Yes, I do have a Whole30 Compliant chili recipe but Hubby isn't a HUGE fan of the chocolate in it ... as minimal as it is ... so when I saw this recipe, I thought, sure, why not, lets give it a whirl.

I'm glad I did!

AND ... it's perfect for the Sunday Soup theme!

Here's how I did it!

2 pounds ground beef (score, I even have marked down grassfed stuff in the freezer!)

1 onion, chopped fine (hubby hates chunky onions)

4 tbs tomato paste (you know to freeze your leftovers in a Ziploc bag and just break off what you need, right?)

3 tbs chili powder

1 tbs garlic powder

2 tbs cumin

1 carton of beef broth

2 14 oz cans of roasted fire roasted tomatoes or just plain diced tomatoes. The fire roasted ones are really worth looking for though, trust me!
generous dash of salt & pepper

In large pot, cook your ground beef and onions til no longer pink.

Drain the excess fat from the pan.

Add the rest of your ingredients and stir well to combine all.

Allow to simmer 45 minutes or so, giving a stir occasionally. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

NOW.

I had this as just a simple bowl of chili. Topped it with some sliced green onions and a little chopped cilantro.

THEN.

I had this over a bowl of spiralized zucchini ... topped with some diced onions and a squeeze of lime ... oh yeah ...

AND THEN ...

I cooked up some spiralized WHITE sweet potatoes aka HANNAH (them things are HARD to find, by the way!) in some ghee on the stove, laid the taters out on a plate, added the chili and topped with some guacamole and a little salsa ... O M G! That was the BEST!

I need to make these again soon so I can get better pics and share the process!

SWOODLES ... to die for!

See, this Whole30 thing ain't so bad after all, is it?

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post may contain affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)

Spaghetti Squash - InstantPot Style!

*Hey hey, it's a repost but squash season is in full swing here so I figured I'd share this again!*

For Christmas this year, I bought myself an InstantPot Duo Pressure Cooker from Amazon during a big sale they were having. I think it was priced at $78 or so and I had a credit and a bunch of gift cards so I applied all and paid $16 and change.

Yeah. That was a deal.

Of course, Hubby was NOT thrilled with another bulky gadget coming in the kitchen and even though it was very inexpensive, he felt I could have done something different, besides buy another "gadget" ... ho hum .... blah, blah, blah.

So the box sat under the tree, unwrapped until AFTER New Years.  Then the tree was relocated outside and the box was moved to the other side of the room. 

That Saturday evening, Hubby brought the box over to the kitchen, opened it up, grabbed the instruction manual and started reading.

We made pork chops and cauliflower that evening in the InstantPot. It was good and pretty neat, although, we will both admit, a little scary ;-)  Hubby freaked when he released the pressure as he wasn't expecting THAT much pressure to be released. It actually made us both laugh out loud!

Since that night the PC has been hanging out in the main kitchen on the counter, all shiny and waiting for another adventure.  Sunday was the day!

You know that we have this Whole30 thing going on, right? Well, not WE but ME, I, MYSELF, am following Whole30 for the month ... and as a side note, it's freaking hard as hell to stay on course and not be distracted by all that yummy, non-compliant stuff out there ... so I had to get focused and make more arrangements to make sure I was able to eat with the family in a somewhat similar fashion ... and Aldi had the spaghetti squash for $2.19 so I said YES and pulled Nom Nom Paleo's recipe for guidance.

Here's what you need:

2 pounder spaghetti squash

1 cup of water

Cut the spaghetti squash in half through the center, NOT long ways. Be careful as this is the WORSE thing to cut. I used a non skid mat I have and a small paring knife.  I didn't push the knife all the way to the hilt and as you go around, you will hear the squash cracking open ... 

Once open, scoop out as much of the seeds and gunk that you can.  Add a cup of water to pressure cooker and set your trivet or steamer in the insert.  Place squash on the trivet, cut side up. 

Lock lid in place, make sure vent is closed and set pressure cooker on 9 minutes.  Remember, just because you say NINE MINUTES does not mean that this will be ready to eat in 9 minutes ;-) My pet peeve ;-)

After the pressure cooker comes to pressure (Hubby timed, it took 7 minutes) THEN the 9 minute countdown starts.

After timer goes off, release the pressure (quick release), using caution when you flip the vent open.

Using tongs and a large spoon, ladle, pour out any excess liquid from the squash and place on plate to cool for a few minutes. Once cool enough to handle, grab a fork and start scraping.

Beautiful!  And look, no need to turn the oven on and bake for 40 minutes! Always a bonus in steamy Paradise!  I ended up serving mine with the red sauce and meatballs for dinner while the rest of the gang had regular ole' spaghetti ... 

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post contains affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)