Love your Leftovers: Two Meals in One

Some people are big fans of leftovers. Some are not. I fall into the former category. My husband falls into the latter. I must admit, he has gotten much better, and as a reward for his increased willingness to eat leftovers, I have made an attempt to make the leftovers seem a little less like, well, leftovers. Here is one way I have succeeded. (In fact, my husband says he probably won't want to eat chili without a baked potato again.)

Meal No. 1: Three Bean and Corn Chili
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 package mild dry chili seasoning
1 16-ounce can red kidney beans, drained
1 16-ounce can black beans, drained
1 16-ounce can white kidney beans, garbanzo beans, great northern beans, or pinto beans, drained
1 16-ounce can sweet corn, drained
14 ounces tomato juice or tomato sauce (for thick chili; use more if you prefer soupier chili)
 2 tsp. sugar or brown sugar
Instructions
1. Brown beef/turkey in skillet. (I have skipped this step before and found that the meat cooks just fine in the slow cooker for 8-10 hours.)
2. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
3. Cover. Cook on low 8-10 hours.
4. Serve with shredded cheese and/or sour cream and crackers.
Makes about 8 servings.

*This recipe is a modification of "Three-Bean Chili," which can be found on page 178 of Fix-It and Forget-It Recipes for Entertaining: Slow Cooker Favorites for All the Year Round by Phyllis Pellman Good and Dawn J. Ranck.

The above recipe for Three Bean and Corn Chili can be "re-purposed" quite tastily the next night according to the recipe below, "Baked" Potatoes and Chili, pictured above topped with shredded cheddar cheese.

Meal No. 2: "Baked" Potatoes and Chili (pictured above)
Ingredients
2 potatoes
2 cups leftover (or prepared) chili
shredded cheddar and/or mozzarella cheese to taste
sour cream to taste (optional)
Instructions
1. Prick potatoes in several places with fork. Wrap potatoes in aluminum foil. Place in slow cooker. Cover; cook on low 8-10 hours or on high 4-5 hours. Carefully unwrap potatoes and place on serving dish.
2. Re-heat chili in microwave. Split hot potatoes and spoon chili on top. Sprinkle with cheese and, if desired, spoon on sour cream.
3. Serve with corn bread (I recommend Krusteaz Honey Cornbread and Muffin mix)
Makes 2 servings.

*This is a modification of "Chili and Cheese 'Baked' Potato Supper," which can be found on the Sunday, March 24, 2013 calendar page of the Crock Pot: The Original Slow Cooker crock pot calendar. 

Did you know...?
...one potato can provide you with as much potassium as can a banana?  In addition, foregoing the peeling of your potatoes not only saves you some time and work, but can also provide you more fiber, and help the potato retain more of its nutrients during cooking.