#Recipe for a Busy Mother a la Mothering Solutions

Hello and welcome!! Thank you for checking out my blog! I am so grateful to be able to share with you solutions to the everyday challenges that face mothers and the "tools" I use for keeping my family healthy and happy.

Mothering is a challenge enough without adding the task of figuring out how to feed a family of five a nutritious and taste bud satisfying meal every night.  It feels especially challenging in our family because we have many different kinds of eaters.  My husband, thank goodness, is easy. He eats a standard diet that could most easily be called a Mediterranean diet.  He is thrilled with any healthy cut of meat, a vegetable and a bean dish or whole grain bread with a salad as a meal option.  Our son, like his father, loves meat and certain vegetables and fruits, and grains. The major categories to stay away from when considering our son’s dietary needs are eggs, and leafy greens.  His dislike of eggs is a result of a 7year allergy to them and the leafy greens? He says they feel like tissues on his tongue.  Now, these seem like surmountable issues, except when you throw in the “female-eating-factor”: Our two daughters and I are vegetarians who prefer no dairy and eat eggs. Let me restate that: we don't just eat eggs, we LOVE eggs! And since we have chickens, our eggs are fresh, delicious and plentiful! What a lovely, quick and easy meal a vegetable frittata and salad make for us vegetarian egg lovers! This simple solution becomes more complicated with the addition of our son in the kitchen "scrounging"** for his dinner.  As you may guess, finding recipes that everyone enjoys in this family is always greatly appreciated and this one meets the test!  The following recipe is adapted from a recipe I found on epicurious.com. It is a simple, delicious recipe that has quickly hit the top of the request list by all members of our family.


 Enjoy :) 


** "Scrounging" is the term we use in our family when what has been prepared for a meal is considered unacceptable by a family member, so they are put in charge of preparing their own meal. In other words, it is a fend-for-yourself situation.

Vegetarian Slow Cooker Black Bean Chili:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cups chopped onions

1 2/3 cups coarsely chopped red bell peppers

(about 2 medium)

1 cup coarsely chopped green bell pepper

(about 1 medium)

6 garlic cloves, chopped

4 tablespoons chili powder

4 teaspoons dried oregano

2 1/2 teaspoons roasted, ground cumin

1/2  teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 cups mild salsa ( I uses Herdez, it does not

have added sugar :)

28 oz chopped, unsalted canned tomatoes with

the juice (I use Pomi diced tomatoes)

2 cans chopped mild, green chilies

4 cups Not Chick'n Broth

1 pound dried black beans, soaked overnight

rinsed and drained

2-4 tablespoons chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:

Sour cream

Chopped fresh cilantro


Chopped green onions

Grated Monterey Jack cheese

Preparation:

Heat oil in heavy, large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté until onions soften, about 10 minutes. Mix in chili powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne; stir 2 minutes. Add the sautéed ingredients to a slow cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients on the list to the cooker and set on high for 6 hours.  Stir occasionally and add water throughout and/or toward the end of the cooking time to reach a desired consistency. 

Ladle chili into bowls. Pass chopped cilantro, sour cream, grated cheese, and green onions separately.

Enjoy!



Would you like a simple mothering solution offered to you? Leave a comment and let me know what you need :)