Crock Pot Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili

A perfect fall chili made with pumpkin puree, ground turkey, white beans, green chili and spices. Top this with chopped fresh cilantro, scallions, jalapeños, light sour cream, and/or reduced fat cheddar and serve it with baked chips on the side for a wonderful lunch or dinner.

I am so happy to share this one with you!!! Not all my crock pot experiments get me excited, but when they do they wind up here on Skinnytaste. The pumpkin is not sweet at all, in fact, if you don’t mention it, no one would even know it’s there but it does add beautiful color to the chili and for picky eaters, a great way to sneak in vegetables.

This is pretty mild as far as heat goes, if you want more kick use chipotle chili powder in place of the chili powder and use it according to your taste. Leftovers can be frozen, enjoy!

Crock Pot Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili
Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 9 • Serving Size: 1 cup • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 6 pts
Calories: 272.5 • Fat: 2.5 g • Protein: 32 g • Carb: 31 g • Fiber: 12 g • Sugar: 2.4
Sodium: 499 (without salt)

Ingredients:

cooking spray (I used my Misto)
2 lb 99% lean ground turkey
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp chili powder, to taste
2 bay leaves
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
2 (15 oz cans) of white northern or navy beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
4.5 oz canned chopped green chile
2 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
chopped cilantro and chives for topping
salt and pepper to taste
low fat sour cream for topping (optional)

Directions:

Heat a large heavy saute pan over high heat and lightly spray with oil. Add meat and cook, breaking it up until white, about 5 minutes. Add to crock pot.

Add oil to the saute pan, then onions, garlic, sauté about 3 – 4 minutes; add cumin and sauté another minute.

Add to crock pot. Add beans, pumpkin puree, green chilis, broth, chili powder, oregano, and bay leaves. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

Remove bay leaves and adjust seasoning to taste before serving. Enjoy!

Dirty Brown Rice with Shrimp

A healthier twist on a Cajun classic, the addition of shrimp turns this into a fabulous main dish. I’d like to think of this as a Cajun shrimp fried rice.

Dirty rice is a classic Cajun dish made “dirty” by cooking the rice with minced livers or gizzards. I created a healthier version using brown rice and lean ground beef in place of the chicken livers that normally make dirty rice “dirty”.

But don’t worry, this healthier version does not skimp on flavor! It has plenty of spices and a bit of kick, you can adjust the heat to your taste but don’t be shy with the cayenne if you can handle it!
Normally a rice dish like this if made with white rice would be cooked all in one pot, but after several attempts to perfect this I found that cooking the brown rice all together created an unpleasant mushy texture. By cooking the brown rice separate, the texture of the rice was perfect when mixed with the beef and shrimp and made a delicious main dish even my “non-brown rice eating” husband enjoyed.

Dirty Brown Rice with Shrimp
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 5 • Serving Size: 1 1/3 cups • Old Points: 7 pts • Points+: 9 pts
Calories: 346.6 • Fat: 5.9 g • Protein: 27.8 g • Carb: 44.2 g • Fiber: 2.5 g • Sugar: 1.1 g
Sodium: 151.0 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
chicken bouillon cube (Knorr)
2 bay leaves, divided
1/8 + 1/4 tsp cayenne, divided
1/8 + 1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 + 1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp oil
1 onion, diced
2 celery, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb 96% lean ground beef (Laura’s lean beef)
salt and fresh pepper, to taste
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 scallions, chopped

Directions:

Cook brown rice according to package directions in water along with a chicken bouillon, 1 bay leaf and 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 each of salt, cayenne, paprika and thyme.
When the rice is almost done cooking, heat a large heavy saucepan on medium-low heat. Add the oil, onions, green pepper, celery, bay leaf and garlic. Sauté on medium-low heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add beef, salt, black pepper, remaining paprika, thyme and cayenne pepper. Sauté until browned, about 10-15 minutes; add shrimp, cover and cook 5 more minutes.

When the rice is done, toss with beef and shrimp and combine well. Top with scallions and serve.

Makes 6 1/2 cups.