Paleo Leftover Chili & Chicken Taco Soup & Some Paleo Tips

The full title of this should be:

Leftover Venison Turkey Chili and Chicken Taco Soup

or 

What To Do When The Husband Wants Lunch and You're Too Busy to Cook

or 

What I'm Learning About the Paleo Diet and a Good Recipe All Together in One Blog!

So, just call it whatever you want, here's how it all began:


When my husband asked at 12:30 what we were having for lunch, I knew I had to think of something quick...really quick.

Before I tell you what I came up with, let me say a few things:

I am by no means a Paleo expert, having only been doing this for around six months, but I'm learning.

I'm learning that the best way to do Paleo is to buy the right type of food.

I'm learning that spices play a big role in preparing good dishes.

I'm learning to look at what I have bought and then figure out what to cook. In other words, I don't really plan menus before shopping.

Why?



You don't always know what to buy until you look at the produce and natural items that the grocer has in stock. So, I go with a general idea of what I need and then I see how that works out when I get there.

Now, obviously you will have staple items you need to keep stock of, like your flours, oils, nuts,etc., but here's how it works for me:

For instance, I might not normally buy celery, but if it's on sale I'm going to put it in the cart, I'll figure out something to add it to later. (I actually do buy celery normally, it's great in soups) Another tip, if your neighbor has a big turnip patch, go dig a few(with permission, of course) I guarantee you, they'll be glad you took a few! Turnips are awesome in soups and stews!

So I buy lots of fresh veggies and fruits, making sure I get the ones I know I use more frequently, such as avocados, tomatoes, carrots....the list is an individual one, you make it work for your needs and your tastes. In addition to those frequently used items, I look for what's in season. I also buy what I can from roadside vendors, such as a box of sweet potatoes that will last for several months. They are a frequent item in our diet also.

Lastly, I'm learning to be creative. I'm learning not to throw out the leftovers because they might be the beginnings of a tasty new creation.

Which brings me back to the reason for this blog.

The husband wants lunch....it's actually simmering on the stove while I type.

A few days ago, we had The Great East Texas Blizzard of January 2014(we had a 3 inch snowfall, which is definitely classified as a blizzard.) I mean, seriously...the wind blew and everything. We had four and five inch snowdrifts! My porch was covered in snow, my flag was frozen to the roof of the porch.

I am seriously digressing, aren't I?

Anyhow, during the blizzard, I cooked a pot of Paleo chili using ground venison and ground turkey. I promise I'll get to today's soup, but I know some of you will want to know how it all started, so here's the chili recipe in compact form.

Basic chili recipe

One pound ground venison
One pound ground turkey
One can organic tomatoes(diced, crushed or whole) Or...if you have fresh, frozen or home canned tomatoes, even better! I'm out right now due to a not so good crop last year.
Onion
Bell pepper(optional)
Chili Powder to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
If you have reserved chicken broth, a pint or so in this is really good also.

Brown the meat, add your seasonings, tomatoes, onions and broth if you have it and simmer until the flavors have combined.

This was our meal on Saturday.

For Sunday, I put a whole organic chicken in the crockpot on Saturday night with onions and plenty of liquid to have broth. I reserved the three pints of broth to use later. We had the chicken and some stir fry for Sunday lunch.

Now, it's Monday and Mr. White is wanting lunch. This is the beauty of what I've learned about eating Paleo.

You look at what you have and figure something out. I had about 1 1/2 cup of leftover venison/turkey chili and some leftover chicken.

I was a bit lazy so I had just stuck the chili in the fridge in the pot it was cooked in, so I just set the pot on the stove, cut up the leftover chicken(it was about 1 1/2 cups also), added it to the chili, threw in another can of organic diced tomatoes, added some Salt Grass 7 seasoning, and some garlic powder. Oh, remember those three pints of chicken broth I reserved? I added one pint of that to the pot. 

I garnished with avocado and Mr. White said it was some good stuff. When he goes back for seconds, I know I've got a winner.

The hardest part of this was figuring out what to call it. With the avocado, it just looked like it should be a taco soup, so it is. That's the other beauty of making stuff up, you can name it what you want to.

The purpose of this blog was really to show you that you have a lot of options with Paleo. I hear so much about how it looks too hard, it's too expensive, etc. I've learned that it's no more expensive than buying processed and junk food, and once you learn to be creative with your cooking, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy and not so expensive it really is.

Eating healthy is so worth it! I just wish I had known all this before my children were born so they would have been raised knowing no other way of eating. They are now learning to eat this way, but their children are not very happy with it, because they weren't started out knowing no other way. It's a cycle that has to be broken and it's all about taking that first step.

If you're interested in learning more about the Paleo/Whole30 lifestyle, here's the best place to start:

It Starts With Food

If you browse Pinterest , here's a link to my Paleo and Whole30 Board and I am constantly adding links to new blogs and recipes.

Patti's Place Paleo and Whole30 Pinterest Board

There's no time like the present to make a fresh start! You'll be amazed at the difference in the way you feel and the way you look at food.