Chili

I found this AMAZING chili recipe from Smitten Kitchen a while back. And we made it a few times, but recently we decided to change it up. Mostly because both of us had a rather expensive month and that beans were cheaper than hamburger. But that is beside the point.

chimesified Chili (modified from Smitten Kitchen’s chili)
2 large onions, chopped (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 T minced garlic (if not using fresh — if fresh, use 3-4 cloves)**
2 carrots in a small dice
2 lbs 93 lean ground beef*
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon crumbled dry oregano
1 t red pepper flakes
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 1/4 cups broth (we used chicken because that’s what we have)
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 12-oz cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 green bell peppers, chopped
Tabasco or hot sauce to taste
2 roma tomatoes, chopped (optional — we used because we needed to use these up)
Sour cream, shredded cheddar and pickled jalapeños (optional, to finish)

*I would go 1.5 lbs next time
** We LOVE garlic. Go easy here if you’re not a fan.

In a large pot, heat the oil over moderately low heat and cook the onions in it for 5 to 10 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and carrots and cook for one minute more. Raise the heat to medium and add the beef, stirring and breaking up any lumps until it is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano and pepper flakes and cook for another minute. Add the tomato sauce, broth and vinegar and simmer the chili, covered, for 35 to 40 minutes. Add the kidney beans, bell peppers, tabasco (I sub this out for salt due to salt content in hot sauce) and pepper to taste and simmer for an additional 15 minutes, until the bell peppers are tender.

Should look like this … YUM.

I also love that my spicy threshold has gone waaaaaay up since I discovered that spicy things don’t make my tummy hurt (it’s gluten). Yay jalepeños.

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