Author: Sarah Marshall

Great Game Day Snack: Chili Dip

Chili Dip has been a family favorite for over 30 years. The recipe originated from the instruction manual for an electric skillet my parents received as a wedding gift. I remember it being the main event at many birthday parties and family events.

As I started my own family, I made sure it was a regular feature of our special occasions. And at our house, two of the most special occasions are Christmas & the Super Bowl. So you can be sure Chili Dip will be on our menu every Christmas Eve as gather to watch our traditional movie, Elf. And you can also be sure we’ll be snacking away at it this weekend for the Super Bowl.

Chili Dip

One of my favorite aspects of this dip is that it is entirely made in a skillet so, other than rinsing cans to be recycled, there is little mess left behind. This is something I definitely take into consideration when I’m hosting!

You definitely don’t need to have an electric skillet to make this dip. I use this skillet that was a gift from my sister that I use almost daily!! You could probably make this and transfer it to a slow cooker before you put the cheese on to keep in warm. Personally, I haven’t tried it but might next time I make it!

Chili Dip

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb ground turkey or beef
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1/2 Tbsp cumin
  • 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 32 oz. refried beans
  • 15 oz black beans drained & rinsed
  • 15 oz diced tomatoes & green chiles
  • 8 oz tomato sauce
  • 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
  • Sliced black olives optional
  • Sliced green onions optional

Instructions
 

  • Brown ground meat. Add onion and cook until translucent.
  • Add chili powder, cumin & garlic and stir until combined.
  • Add refried beans, black beans, tomatoes & green chiles and tomato sauce to meat mixture. Stir until combined.
  • Lower heat and simmer 10-15 minutes.
  • Add cheese and leave on low heat until cheese has melted. If desired, add olives and/or green onions.
  • Serve warm with chips. I suggest wavy potato chips, tortilla chips or corn chips, preferably Fritos Scoops!

Meal Plan & Aldi Grocery Haul | January 23, 2017

This week I’m sharing a meal plan & grocery haul combo!! I’ve tried something new which was to have planned & shopped for two weeks’ worth of meals. I hope this will prove to help us save both time, money and possibly even the amount of effort put into the meal planning & grocery shopping process.

Meal Plan Aldi Grocery Haul

We do the majority of our shopping at Aldi – we love that place!!! As with almost all of the meal plans I’ve shared, I used PlanToEat.com to organize my recipes, schedule our meals and create the shopping list.

And here’s our family meal plan for the next two weeks – note it is very likely these meals will get switched around:
Monday – Taco Salad Leftovers (http://bit.ly/1XmHyzs)
Tuesday – Chili from the freezer (http://bit.ly/2jrlEfj)
Wednesday – Breakfast Burritos
Thursday – Meatballs & Noodles Leftovers (http://bit.ly/1TQBKhM)
Friday – Aldi Deli Pizza
Saturday – Chili Dip (coming soon!)
Sunday – Meatball Stew (http://bit.ly/2jT6jXZ)
Monday – Pasta & Meatballs
Tuesday – Chili Dip Leftovers
Wednesday – Slow Cooker Pot Roast (http://bit.ly/2jLEyhR)
Thursday – Open
Friday – Pizza Night
Saturday – Sunday Chicken Dinner in Slow Cooker (http://bit.ly/2iYISgt)
Sunday – Open

Below is the video of our two week meal plan as well as our Aldi grocery haul. If you enjoy it, I hope you will subscribe to be notified of future videos and check out my playlist of Grocery Haul videos.

If you’re interested in using Plan To Eat to simplify your meal planning and grocery shopping, they offer a free 30-day trial!! You can import your recipes and use them to quickly and easily make your meal plan. Print the shopping list organized by category for you and head to the grocery store (or send your husband – that’s what I do!!)

Do you meal plan on regular basis? If so, do you do it weekly, bi-weekly or monthly?

{This post contains affiliate links. Purchases made after clicking these links may result in compensation for me. All opinions in this post are honest and completely my own.}

Operation Christmas Child | Dollar Tree Haul

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

One of the most important things we can teach our children is to be compassionate & giving. The holiday season is a great time to really focus on putting these values into practice. There are many wonderful organizations to which families can give their time and money….food banks, homeless shelters, Angel Trees. This year, one of the organizations with which our family is getting involved is Operation Christmas Child.

Packing Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

What is Operation Christmas Child?

Operation Christmas Child is a program that coordinates an effort to provide gifts to children in areas of the worlds where Christmas or birthday gifts are an afterthought. It is also a way to share the word of Jesus with these children and show them the love of people around the world.

Through Brooke’s Girl Scout troop and Leah’s daycare, we were given the opportunity to join in two Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing parties. To prepare for the parties, the girls and I made a quick trip to Dollar Tree where we were able to gather up more than enough for two shoeboxes for about $40!!!

Below is a video of our trip to Dollar Tree and all the items we bought to fill the boxes.

How To Get Involved With Operation Christmas Child

There are many ways to get involved in the Operation Christmas Child project. You’ll want to get moving if you’d like to do it this year because the collection time period is November 14 – 21. For more information & drop-off locations, you can check out their webpage at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/

OCC National Collection Week

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