Chili Cheese Fries 🍟
You know those times where you’re craving takeout or restaurant food? Like you want to give your taste buds a treat? Indulge a little bit? Well that was me this week. Except the takeout options are few and far in between in our neck of the woods, so that just wasn’t an option.
Enter these chili cheese fries.
Believe it or not, this meal came together in about 40 minutes – only because that’s how long it took to bake the fries in the oven (I like them extra crispy, so really, this could have been done in 30 minutes).
When I served my 5 year old his plate, his eyes widened, he looked at me and said with excitement: “we’re having POUTINE for dinner???” Because obviously, that’s a pretty rare occurrence around here. Essentially, he was right. But little did he know that I packed that chili with as many veggies as humanly possible! Mouahaha!
Here’s how I made this easy meal:
👉 Start by slicing 4 russet potatoes into fries (make them as thin or thick as you like!). If time allows, soak in cold water for 5-10 minutes, rinse well and pat dry (I like to use a dish cloth for this). Place the fries in a single layer on a sheet pan, and coat with a few tbsp avocado oil and season with salt. Place in a 400F preheated oven and set a timer for 15 minutes. When it dings, flip the fries over and set for another 15. Once that time is up, decide if they need a bit more cooking time, depending on how you like your fries!
👉 While the fries are going, make your chili! I used Epicure’s Cha Cha Chili seasoning package here, so all I had to do was chop my veggies: onions, carrots, celery, broccoli and cauliflower and sautee for a few minutes in a cast iron pan. Then, add your ground meat and kidney beans (I used turkey here, but you can choose any meat you’d like, or even make it vegetarian by doubling up on the legumes). Once the meat is cooked, add your seasonings, one can of diced tomatoes and ½ cup of water. Simmer until your potatoes are done cooking. During the last few minutes of cooking, add 2 cups chopped baby spinach and stir to combine.
PRO TIP: I used a hand mixer to blend my chili a bit, this makes the vegetables almost undetectable to the eyes of a 5 and 2 year old 😉
👉 To finish, remove the fries from the oven, and set to broil. Pour ½ cup prepared Epicure Beef Gravy over the fries, and cover with chili, and top with about 1 cup shredded mozzarella. Broil in the oven until the cheese is nice and golden brown!
👉 Once removed from the oven, top with chopped green onions and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt. And voila! Healthy “takeout” food!
Bonus!: I had enough chili leftover for 3 lunches throughout the week!!
Yes! It’s possible to have healthy AND tasty food! And it’s probably much easier than you might think. Are you a busy professional woman looking to prioritize her health? Are you tired of dieting and eating too many processed foods? Do you have a closet full of clothes that don’t fit? I can help! Get in touch to learn more, or fill out this coaching application to set up a FREE consultation with me to learn more about how I can help!https://form.jotform.com/horizoncoachingsolutions/11-coaching-application