No, I didn't leave you

Hey, I'm back with lots of recipes up my sleeve. Here's the deal. I took a week off for general r&r and fully planned to post from home everyday, but I couldn't log on to the blog program. After a day of trying I gave up. Hopefully, absence makes the heart grow fonder ... or the stomach hungrier?

I made this Beef and Bean Chili Verde last night for dinner tonight. My family thinks I'm so smart when I do that. If you've been following the blog, you know I've started doing that. I find it really simple when I'm in the cooking mode to make two meals. So last night I did beef strogonoff (again. boring but they love it.) but before I made that I threw together this chili and popped some homemade croutons in the oven. Go here to watch me make them.

The recipe calls for green salsa and I found a new version by Pace. It was quite tasty. This is an Eating Well magazine recipe so there's lot of nutrition. See the tale of the tape at the end of the recipe. We're having it with cornbread ...   

Beef and Bean Chili Verde
1 pound 93-percent lean ground beef
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 16-ounce jar green salsa, green enchilada or taco sauce
1/4 cup water
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese and sour cream for garnish

Cook beef, bell pepper and onion in a large saucepan over medium heat, crumbling the meat with a wooden spooon, until the meat is browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin and cayenne; cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in salsa and water; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in beans and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Garnish with cheese sour cream if you'd like.

Makes 4 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each.

Per serving: 307 calories, 8 gm fat (3 saturated), 29 gm carbs, 27 gm protein, 6gm fiber, 516 mg sodium. Nutritional bonus: 100 percent RDA of vitamin C.

Source: Eating Well magazine. Photo from Eating Well magazine.