Short Nerd Chief

I’m always on the lookout for fast, easy, tasty and healthy meal ideas as a recovering Fat Guy with a full-time job and two kids. Between work, basketball practice, basketball games, homework and PTA meetings, it’s just a little to easy to fall into the burgers and pizza trap, and there’s only so much damage one can counteract with lunchtime at the YMCA.  One of our local Krogers has started carrying three varieties of Signature Family Recipes crockpot meal starters from Trinidad Benham, a Denver-based private label distributor of dried beans, rice and popcorn products.

I’ve tried the chili mix, which contains pinto beans and various spices, as well as the Louisiana Cajun Red Bean mix, red kidney beans with cajun-style seasoning.  Of the two, the chili is superior. Mix it with a couple of pounds of cubed bottom round beef, 4 cups of water and a can of diced tomatoes with chilies, and the crockpot does the rest.  The packaging calls for diced tomatoes with green chilies, but Del-Monte’s Diced Tomatoes with Zesty Jalapenos adds a necessary extra kick without being ridiculously spicy (I add hot sauce to tip the balance toward ridiculously spicy).

As with all dried bean mixes, cooking the chili on low results in significantly undercooked beans in our crockpot, so be sure to cook on the high or time shift setting. This wasn’t a huge problem with the chili, but the red bean entree was inedible until it had cooked a while longer cranked up to high.

As with most chili, it’s even better the next day.  Unfortunately, many of our Krogers don’t carry the mixes at all, so planning ahead is a must.  I used to get an even better southwestern bean bake mix from Ukrop’s, but they’ve stopped carrying it, so Maria is a good substitute.  With the added ingredients but without cheese or sour cream, one good-sized serving is less than 500 calories, perfect for a fatblogger.