Food

Fast and Fun Chili In The Oven #LMDConnector

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Spring has, at long last, finally sprung. And we are back from holidays just in time to see our gorgeous daffodils smiling their pretty faces off at us. That is the kind of thing that makes me happy after a long and dragging winter. I mean snow drifted along hammering us steadily through much of April, wearing everyone down. Soups and stews and crockpot meals got us through those wintery days. But the crockpot is put away now – for a little while at least. 
Today, was a near perfect day here. Temperatures rose. The grass looked greener. I got back to the gym and did a wee bit of work too. We are almost all caught up on the post beach vacation laundry (which is usually our excuse to order takeout) because well, who has time to cook when you are excruciatingly occupied with getting sand out of suitcases and tidying up a week’s worth of shorts and swimsuits? It was time to get back in the kitchen. Back to routine and back to eating here at home, so I hit the Life Made Delicious web site to see what I could concoct that got my creative kitchen skills going and used the ingredients I already have in my home. This is what I found. 
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 jar Old El Paso salsa
1 can of black beans (I substituted kidney beans)
2 cups of water
Taco or chili mix
2/3 cup of rice
1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese ( I had only cheddar and it worked fine)
4 slices of processed cheese
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the beef.
Drain beans and wash. Add to the skillet. Add two cups of water and the seasoning mix.
Bring to a boil and stir in the rice.
Spoon into a 13 by 9 dish with a cover and cook for 30 mins.
Stir in shredded cheese. Cut the sliced processed cheese into triangles and set on top. Cook for another five minutes. Enjoy!
Cooking time 40 minutes total. Prep time – maybe 10 mins. A really simple meal to make and not overly spicy or expensive for ingredients. A nice twist on chili. 
Spring is short and the weather is too nice to be indoors wasting time slaving over a difficult recipe. Chili In The Oven is a great dinner option that gets you out of the kitchen faster, back to the yard or the garden. Now, with all that extra time I found maybe I will also finally have time to put away all of our winter boots too. Have a happy Spring! Spend some time doing something outdoors.
I am part of the Life Made Delicious blogger program and also an #LMDConnector, and as such received compensation for this post. My opinion is all my own. My delicious squash soup recipe that I made from the Life Made Delicious site is here for those who still like to make soup year round. 

Mom of two beautiful active girls, traveller, fitness junkie, social media consultant, and keeper of the sanity.

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