A Girl Named PJ

White bean chili recipe

White Bean Chili Recipe | A Girl Named PJ

Between the polar vortex and the Super Bowl this weekend, could there be a more perfect time to prepare a pot of chili?

Chili is one of those cold-weather comfort foods I come to crave as the temperature begins to dip in the fall, although I could honestly eat a bowl of chili any time of year. And I dare say it’s become the unofficial food of the Super Bowl. Think about it: how many Super Bowl parties have you attended where chili has been served or where there has been a chili cook-off?

Meat or vegetarian, I enjoy a variety of chili — except, perhaps, chocolately sweet chili or runny chili that tastes like the meat sauce you’d pour on top of spaghetti. (Sorry, Skyline chili lovers!) One of my favorites, though, is white bean chili.

I don’t often cook for my family (bad wifey! bad mommy!), but when I do, I love to make this white bean chili recipe that I adapted from a recipe found in Fitness magazine years ago. It’s easy to prepare, and the leftovers taste just as delicious.

Confession: I either use frozen chopped onion or have my husband do the chopping because my eyes are especially sensitive to raw onions.

White Bean Chili Recipe | A Girl Named PJ

White Bean Chili

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. lean ground turkey
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2-1/4 cups water
  • 2 cans (15 oz. each) Great Northern or Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles
  • 2 tsp. instant chicken bouillon
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper
  • 2 tsp. flour
  • red pepper, to taste
  • salt, to taste

Directions:

  1. Cook turkey, onion, and garlic in large saucepan until turkey is no longer pink
  2. Stir in 2 cups of water, beans, undrained chiles, bouillon, cumin, pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt. Bring to boil.
  3. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1/4 cup of water and the flour. Set aside.
  4. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
  5. When chili is ready, stir in flour mixture and cook for an additional minute or two to thicken.
  6. Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!

(serves 4-6)

PS – Another easy recipe for my fellow non-cooks!

Nursery inspiration board for a second baby

second baby nursery before Baby boy is due to arrive in less than a month, and his nursery (which is also our guest room and my office) still looks like this. Why are we so unprepared?

I suppose it all comes down to a combination of denial and procrastination.

It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that we’re having another boy. I used to “joke” that one reason I was hoping for a girl was because the nursery was already painted pink, a color I chose before I was even pregnant. I couldn’t deal with the thought of bringing more boy-related things into the house, and selfishly, I didn’t want to lose my girly space.

Plus, when we learned the baby’s gender in the fall, my due date of February 20th seemed so far away. “We have plenty of time to prepare,” I foolishly told myself. But once we turned the corner on Thanksgiving, time sped up, and before I knew it, we had entered 2014.

And now it’s nearly February.

second baby nursery beforeRather than let myself experience full-fledged panic, I’ve decided to give myself permission to not have the baby’s room ready before his arrival.

See, we need some of the furniture from Levi’s current room (the glider, the crib, and possibly the dresser), and I haven’t started thinking about redecorating his space either. (Surprise, surprise!) But the baby will be sleeping in a bassinet in our room in the beginning, so he doesn’t actually need a completely decorated nursery, as nice as it would be to have.

(Although the room will need to be tidied up for my mom, who will be moving in with us for a month or longer.)

second baby nursery inspiration board

So I’m finally doing what I should have started months ago: planning.

Combining what we already own with items from some of my favorite brands, I created a nursery inspiration board for the space that will continue to serve as a guest room and office. To play down the pink walls (which I refuse to paint over — they’re so pretty!), I’ve chosen a navy, grey, and white color scheme with pops of turquoise. What do you think?

1. West Elm desk (already own) | 2. West Elm chair | 3. Lamps Plus table lamp | 4. Serena and Lily duvet and shams (for queen bed already in the room) | 5. BabyJive mobile | 6. Blabla knit doll | 7. Land of Nod dresser | 8. Land of Nod crib (similar to what we will be moving from Levi’s room) | 9. Land of Nod art print | 10. DwellStudio crib sheet | 11. Land of Nod basket | 12. Hazel Village stuffed animal | 13. All Modern floor lamp | 14. Land of Nod glider (already own and being used in Levi’s room) | 15. Land of Nod nightstand | 16. Blabla cloud pillow | 17. Land of Nod pouf | Note: Color palette via Color Collective

Which is the best Greek yogurt?

yoplait greek yogurt taste offI love to eat, but I don’t have a very discerning palate. Unlike my husband, who’s also a fantastic cook, I’m not particularly good at noticing the nuances in a dish. I can hardly taste the difference between diet and regular soda, and I’ve never been able to distinguish between Coke and Pepsi.

The difference between regular and Greek yogurt, however, has always been obvious, even to me. Greek yogurt is thicker than its traditional counterpart, which is why I’ve never been able to jump on the Greek bandwagon. It may have more protein than regular yogurt, but I’ve never been able to get past its glue-like consistency–and texture plays a big part in my food preferences. (It’s the primary reason why I’m not crazy about bananas.)

So when I was asked to take part in the Yoplait Greek Taste-Off, it was my inherent prejudice against Greek yogurt that prompted me to say yes. The challenge: Yoplait Greek Blueberry vs Chobani Greek Blueberry Fruit on the Bottom. yoplait greek yogurt taste off

yoplait greek yogurt taste offLevi and I tried both varieties over lunch. Obviously, it wasn’t a blind taste test, as I was the one stirring up the Chobani and scooping both yogurts into tasting bowls!

Levi loved picking out the real pieces of fruit in both of the yogurts, and at one point he mentioned that the Chobani yogurt had “different blueberries.” So I asked him which blueberries he liked better. His reply? “Chocolate.”

He quickly gobbled up his servings and asked for more of both. When I pressed him to pick a favorite, he chose Chobani, although he wasn’t able to articulate why. He is, after all, only two and a half.

yoplait greek yogurt taste offMy preference? Yoplait Greek Blueberry. Although I didn’t find it quite as flavorful as the Chobani Greek Blueberry Fruit on the Bottom, its lighter, smoother consistency was more palatable; I could more likely finish a cup of the Yoplait than the Chobani.

Surprisingly, the Chobani was not as glue-like as I had anticipated, but it was still thicker and slightly grainer because of the fruit on the bottom that had to be mixed in. Neither were overly sweet nor artificially tasting–a plus for both brands, but the Chobani was definitely more sour.

Naturally, I’m now curious to taste Yoplait’s other Greek yogurt flavors. Have you tried any of them yet? There’s a coupon on the Yoplait Greek Taste-Off website if you’d like to try one (plus, you can see which Greek yogurt other taste-testers preferred). You could even do your own Yoplait vs Chobani taste off!

What do you think is the best Greek yogurt? There are quite a few options besides Yoplait and Chobani, and I’d love to know if you have a favorite I should try (preferably one that isn’t too thick or sour-tasting).

Today’s #TasteOff was sponsored by Yoplait, but the winner was my honest choice.

Being Pregnant: Emily from A Denver Home Companion

a second pregnancy experienceBecause every woman’s pregnancy is unique, our Being Pregnant series is a way to share a variety of maternity experiences on the blog.

I’m happy to finally share this pregnancy interview with long-time friend of the blog, Emily from A Denver Home Companion. I say “finally” because the process began back in November when Emily was 22 weeks pregnant. Now she’s 32 weeks along!

So why the delay? Well, Emily is also pregnant with her second baby, and she and I have been commiserating over email about how much more challenging our pregnancies have been this time around–physically and mentally. (That’s one of the reasons I like Emily: She’s not afraid to be honest about real life struggles like pregnancy brain.)

Thankfully, I finally got my act together on this post! Read on to learn about Emily’s pregnancy essentials, her criteria for picking a baby name, and how she’s preparing to become a mom of two.

… READ MORE!

Baby registry ideas for a second baby

second baby registryDid you have a baby registry for your second pregnancy? Since I’m not having another baby shower, I wasn’t planning on creating one. Plus, we received so many lovely gifts after Levi was born that it seemed presumptuous and even a little bit greedy to have another “want” list.

However, as I started nesting like a hormonal pregnant woman earlier this month, I realized we were missing a couple of big ticket baby items. Things that we either borrowed (a breast pump) or didn’t need (a second camera for the baby monitor) the first time around.

Then family members and close family friends began asking how they could contribute towards preparing for the baby, and I didn’t know what to tell them. After all, baby boy will be getting quite a few hand-me-downs from Levi!

That’s when I decided a second baby registry might actually be a helpful organizational tool.

When I was pregnant with Levi, we registered at Babies R Us, Amazon, and Target. This time I’m using BabyList, a baby registry website and mobile app, to keep track of the important items we still need — and the few wish list items that would simply be nice to have.

babylist baby registry

babylist baby registry mobile appThe benefit of using BabyList is that I can easily add anything from any store (including Etsy) to my registry, whether I’m at my computer or on my phone.

In no particular order, here’s what’s on my list so far. But I’d love to know if you have any additional baby registry ideas for a second baby. As I’m now 36-weeks pregnant, my mind is starting to get a little bit fuzzy!

  • A portable changing pad (that’s machine washable!) for JB’s diaper bag
  • A RumbleSeat to convert our UppaBaby VISTA stroller into a double stroller
  • A car seat cover to keep baby warm en route (something we didn’t have to worry about with Levi because he was born in July)
  • The three major items I borrowed from a friend last time: a breast pump, baby swing, and baby carrier
  • An additional camera so we can watch both boys on our Motorola baby monitor
  • A layette gown, which Levi never wore, because I imagine they’d make diaper changes (especially at night) much easier
  • A lightweight cradle that we can keep in our bedroom at night and move around the house during the day
  • Additional burp cloths because you can never have too many (and we’ve undoubtably lost several since Levi was a baby)
  • A custom baby book to note all of the small details I may not write about on the blog
  • Milestone cards to include in photos as an adorable prop
  • A pair of Freshly Picked moccasins because they’re just too darn cute (and I don’t want baby’s feet to get cold!)

PS – High tech baby monitors to consider

This post was sponsored by BabyList. As always, all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support this blog!
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