Award-Winning, Hearty Turkey Chilli

No, seriously, I won an award for my Chili. 

Albeit, third, but I placed none the less. 

A little history of how this came to be about. The place I where I work was having a chili cook off to raise money. I decided to enter, but me, being the forward thinking person I am, decided I needed an angle. Something to set me apart from everyone else. 

I figured, why not make a turkey chili. That would be something that no one else would do. And in every competition, you always need an edge. That extra little thing that makes you stand out from the crowd. 

So after scouring the interwebs, mainly Pinterest, I happened upon this recipe.  Silvia from Garden to Kitchen details this tasty recipe. I of course, tweaked it a little bit, as you do.
So on to the Recipe 

Award-Winning, Hearty Turkey Chili

Crock pot portion

• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• 1 large can Tomato Sauce
• 1 - 2 bags Black Beans
• 1 - 2 bags Kidney Beans
• 1 bag Pinto Beans

Instructions



Clean beans, and either follow the quick cook instructions or soak them over night.  If you don't want to do this step, just buy cans of beans and rinse them. 

Add the first 5 ingredients to the crock pot/ slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and turn on high.

Skillet Portion

• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Med White onion
• 4 Garlic Cloves, minced and crushed
• 1 lb Lean Turkey
• 1 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• ½ tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Oregano
• Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, and Paprika enough to cover the meat. 
• 1 Yellow Pepper, diced
• 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• 1 tbsp Flour

Instructions

In a large skillet heat the olive oil. Chop onions, red pepper, and garlic. (Be sure to crush the garlic to release flavor). 

Add to the skillet. Cook until soft and fragrant (3-5 mins). 

Add the ground turkey and cook until no longer pink. Be sure to stir and break the turkey into little chunks (about 10 minutes). 

Add the salt and spices and mix to combine (2 mins). 

Add the tomato paste, chicken broth and flour,  to create a thick and flavorful sauce. When it comes to adding the broth, if it doesn't look like there's enough, add more. If you don't the chili will dry up. 

Add the skillet content into the crock pot/ slow cooker, mix. 

4. Cover tightly and cook on high for 2h to 2½ hours.
Serve!

Details

Prep time: 4 hour Cook time: 2 hour 31 mins Total time: 6 hour 30 mins Yield: 6-8 servings


There you have it. An award winning chili. I made it a second time and gave some to friends, since nearly my entire family bailed on me when I made it the second time. No complaints there!

Enjoy!

VitaFusion Hair, Nails, and Skin Gummies review

@vitafusion let's see if I get #gorgeoushair #gorgeousskin #gorgeousnails

A post shared by Court (@insearchofwonderment) on Jan 28, 2017 at 9:01am PST

A while back I colored my hair a few times, from blonde to auburn to auburn again. I also got dissatisfied with my hair in general and wanted to do something new, so I cut it. Not super short, but short for me. If you look back at old pictures, my hair was fairly long.

Too, I've always wanted long pretty nails. Mine are brittle and break so easily. So I saw the commercial for the VitaFusion skin hair and nails gummies and had thought about trying them.

However, on one of those glorious nights as I roamed Walmart, picking up things I "needed," I happened upon them. Unsure if they were the exact ones, I purchased them anyway. And as, you'll see from the picture above, I started taking them Jan 28.

To take these, you're supposed to take three a day, which I ended up taking them all a the same time, because I would forget. As a side note, they taste pretty all right. They have a berry flavor, which is pretty pleasant.

I can't say so much if it gave me better skin. I have a pretty in depth skin routine. I think where I first noticed was my nails. They started growing like crazy and pretty strong. Then I noticed my hair getting longer. So all in all, I would say that this product works. I wish I had some before and afters, but alas, I'm none so prepared.

I have been trying it against regular old biotin. I find that biotin may work, but it takes much longer to do so.

I had bought more of the Vitafusion, but I got it and had no safety seal, they day I tried to take it back to Walmart, it was 92 degrees at least, and they melted. But hey, they're sanitized right? Anyway, I would recommend this product it does improve nails and hair, and probably skin.

Pastel Easter Look with Nude Lip

I know it's been a long time, but here is a video finally. To get back into the swing of things, I did a pastel makeup look for Easter. It's my favorite holiday.

Foundation
Maybeline BB Creme
Ulta Mineral powder

ELF Blush
Shannxo Palette second color first row

Eyes:
Ulta Palette Naked (Base color)
Urban Decay NYC Palette
Ecstasy (Crease, outer third, under eye) Any purple lavender
Aquarius (Lid, inner third under eye) Any bright light blue
SWF (Inner third) Any light pink

NikkiTutorails Too Face Palette
Painkiller (Blending Shade) Matte mid Tone shade

ELF liquid liner pen: Teal

Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy (Inner Corner, brow bone)

Lips:
Lipliner Star Looks: Sultry Sangria
BH Cosmetics Liquid Matte Lipstick Serena
BH Cosmetics lipstick Nudie Love

Heart to Heart and April Goals

All right, it's been a month. Annnndddd before we dive head long into the April Goals, I think I'd like to take a minute and just chat.

Last year was chaotic for me. I went to Israel, for a second time. (Which if you all are interested, I might be inclined to share.) To do that, I took on a second job, which is why I wasn't posting as much after September. 

I think that's when things got difficult.

I won't say I work harder than anyone else, but what I do for a living, working with the elderly is draining. I was working in a memory care unit at the time, which is more emotionally and mentally involved. Then I would work at an Escape Room on the weekends and some week days. (For those of you who don't know what it is, I'll explain. You're "locked" in a room with a group of people; sometimes friends, sometimes strangers. You must all work together to escape the room. It's a lot of fun, and it's even more fun to be the game master, which I was.) 

That job wasn't hard at all, just a lot of extra work, and then I was trying to maintain a social life, blah blah blah. 

And I think I've said it before, I always get sad during the winter months. Maybe it's lack of sunshine; maybe it's negative connections. Probably both, but it got really bad last year. The worst it's been in a while. I was letting what other people thought about me control how I viewed myself.  It amplified my own insecurities. and then we being the spiral downward.

 To put it plainly, I wasn't doing well. 

Anyway, I started going to the gym. I quit the second job. (Well, went to an on call sort of status.)  I pushed some people away that weren't healthy while I healed. 

I realized that I needed the gym.  

I won't say I suffered from diagnosed depression. I haven't been diagnosed so I can't suffer from it, and I intend to keep it that way. But I get the blues really easily. Especially if there is the slightest hormone fluctuation in my body. The gym dispels a lot of that. I feel it mentally and emotionally if I skip too many days. I literally need the gym. 

I'm going to say to all you out there who have depression or something of that nature. Hit the gym. Maybe find a buddy to go with you at first. Because it's intimidating. I'm still intimidated by the buff people who know the machines. Doesn't matter though, I still go. I have every right to be there, and so do you.

 I say the gym because it's easy to fall off the work out band wagon. It doesn't have to be big, it can be walking on the tread mill, or something. Join a yoga class.. Make an appointment with a trainer/buddy so you have to go. It had a two fold effect, for me. You get endorphins.

Then, on top of the endorphins that keep you from killing people, you also start to look better. You feel yourself loosing weight gaining muscle. Then suddenly you'll  notice that daunting 30 mintues on the treadmill becomes an hour. When I started going to the gym, the elliptical kicked my butt. Now, I actually half trot/half walk on the treadmill. 

But enough of that. I got better was my point. Now, I want to get back to blogging, maybe not as much as I was, but this whole sporadic thing has got to stop. Writing is my art. Blogging my medium. I'll never excel if I don't use it. 

As I was deciding what I should blog about, I realized I missed doing monthly goals. It kept me accountable. 

So here we are. April Goals

Blog Goals

Post once a week.

Add cooking to the blog.  

Life Goals

Keep up with the chore chart. 

Only buy coffee two times a week. 

(It doesn't help Dunkin Donuts is 7 minutes away from work.)

Health Goals

Go to the gym five times a week. 

Prep two meals a week.