Chilly weather chili

In anticipation of a snow day, I decided to make chili to have for supper and keep leftovers for a treat in case I got snowed in. Well, today ended up being a snow day so am I ever glad I had this tasty treat to tide me over! The chili was delish last night and even better today for lunch. Here's what I did (and why it's healthy):

Ingredients:
1 can crushed tomatoes (as low sodium as you can find)
1 can kidney beans (I used a can of Hunts chili style beans which had kidney and pinto beans)
1 can mushrooms
A whole lot of garlic (I mean at least 5 cloves)
.25-.5 lbs of ground meat (I used lean ground beef but you could use turkey, chicken, pork or veggie ground round....or leave it out all together, in which case I'd substitute chickpeas)
5tbs chli powder (ie. a good hand full)
1tbs dried chili flakes
1 tbs dried basil
salt & pepper to taste

What to do:
- Brown you meat in a skillet first until cooked through; add the chili powder and chili flakes to the meat and stir;
- In a large pot on medium, saute garlic until aromatic and browned. you can add chopped onions here if you'd like and/or chili;
- Then add your other ingredients in one at a time starting with the mushrooms, then the beans, and finally the tomatoes. You want to let each ingredient cook for a few minutes before adding the next one so you layer the flavours. Once the mixture is saucy from the tomatoes, you can add in the meat mixture;
- Once everything is simmering together, take a taste of the chili to see if it needs anything like salt, pepper, more chili powder or chili flakes.


I served this chili with very lightly warmed asparagus and some organic corn chips (Que Pasa brand) for dipping. For a treat, I put some shredded mozza on top but it's a President's Choice light cheese so not terrible for my diet.

This whole meal comes in at approximately 650 calories, 27g fat, and 32g protein (made with the lean ground beef) and is a welcomed and filling meal on a stormy day!