Friday, December 6, 2013

Let's have Chili with this cold weather


 
I was inspired by several previous blog posts involving food. Tonight as I sit and write this, the cold front is rolling in and the temperatures are dropping. This morning it was about 66 degrees and right now at 9:00 PM central time it’s 36 degrees. When it’s cold, we resort to our favorite standby recipe – chili, so I thought I’d share my chili recipe with everyone.
But first, I looked up the history of chili and found a very comprehensive article. I always knew it wasn’t a Mexican dish though a lot of folks assume its origins to be Mexico, but this article offers several possibilities for the origin of chili including one in which Texas cowboys came up with the dish as a way to feed a lot of hungry men a satisfying meal while on the trail. To read more, go to History of Chili, Chili Con Carne.

Flavorful Chili
1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic (chopped fine or pressed)
¼ cup chopped onion
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp brown spicy mustard
Salt to taste
1  15 oz can ranch style beans
2/3 cup water or beer (I like Nigra Modela)
1  15 oz can tomato sauce
1  4 oz can green chilies
¼ cup diced fresh tomatoes (optional but it adds additional flavor)

In a skillet, brown meat, onion and garlic together over medium heat. Drain off excessive grease. After meat is brown, add spices. Add beans, water (or beer), tomato sauce. Stir. When bubbly, add green chilies and tomatoes.  Let simmer at least 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

7 comments:

  1. Yummy! We have a chili cook off on Super Bowl Sunday and I'm always on the prowl for good recipes. Thanks!!!!

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  2. Sounds yummy, Ciara. We eat chili here a lot but use the 4 Alarm mixes most of the time. It's always too spicy for me though. Larry and Brad enjoy it though. I just eat lots of crackers and drink loads of Dr. Pepper with mine.

    Thanks for the scratch recipe!

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  3. I love this one because it's not so hot but it can always be made hotter for those with iron tummies. LOL.

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  4. I once loved chili, but in 1991 I stopped eating meat--even fish and chicken. But chili always smells so good. And mesquite cooked brisket? Oh, the smell just makes me swoon--so wonderful.
    I would make this an all-bean chili. You'd be surprised how good it would be without ground meat.
    (Just over look what I say. I don't choose to forego meat on any kind of moral basis, but on an autoimmune disease. So, I just do so much better without meat.)
    Thanks..I can smell it from here!

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  5. Ciara, now I'm hungry for chili. Yum. I love it and could eat it several times a week. We serve ours with cornbread muffins. Our youngest daughter is vegetarian, and we have a good recipe for black bean chili that is always requested at potlucks.

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  6. We either serve ours with cornbread, rice or baked potato but it's just plain good no matter how it's served. Of course, if I made cornbread, I have to have molasses with it at well.

    This weather just begs for this type of meal, though. Made chicken tortilla soup tonight. Dang, it's cold outside.

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  7. Ciara, I'm sorry I'm late. Chili is my favorite dish. It's always great, but in cold weather, it's just perfect.I'm going to give your recipe a try.
    All the best to you.

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