Baby It's Cold Outside...Let's Eat Chili!

It's been raining cats and dogs, err, pigs here in the Bay Area. It's much needed, and I love watching it come down, but it definitely puts you in the mood for warm, hot dinners. I love eating soups; lunch time, dinner time, whenever and all kinds. My fiance? not so much. I really wanted to make a soup last night, but he said "ehhh..how about a chili?" DONE.

I've made chili a few times before from different recipes online, and they never did turn out that tasty. Either too plain, too many tomatoes or beans, not of enough this or that. I went on a hunt to look up all different types of recipes to see if I could find something that would be good. My favorite homemade chili is one my future mother-in-law makes. They always make it and bring it up to Tahoe in the winter time and it's the perfect, warm you up from the inside, tastes exactly like a chili should taste like, chili. I e-mailed her asking for her recipe, but continued on browsing other recipes. Still, nothing looked too exciting. Until... Stefan sends me a chili recipe from Guy Fieri. OMG it had 100 ingredients and probably would've taken 2 hours just to prep everything, but it did look delicious. I laughed and said "yea, right. Maybe another time during a weekend when I have more time." But then, the more and more I looked at the recipe, I realized it had some great bones to it that I could take and make my own in a much more simpler way, but should still taste good! So I started jotting down ingredients and ideas using exactly what I'd want in my chili.

A little while later, Jeri sent me her recipe. It had a lot of the ingredients I already had written down. Plus she gave me a hint I didn't know! Stefan doesn't like chunks of onion in his chili, but he likes the flavor. So she's always grated the onion that goes in; I've never done that but sounds easy enough, right? Sure, it was easy, but it definitely got my eyes to cry more than just chopping. Owww.

So anyway, this chili came together very easily and quickly, didn't take too many ingredients from the store, a lot I had on hand, and I think it's the best homemade chili I've ever had (Stefan agreed), and I can't wait to eat it for lunch today! We've also saved a lot of it to make chili nachos with Frito scoops for football on Sunday. Yum-o!

INGREDIENTS:

Olive oil spray
1 4 oz can hot diced green chilies
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 14 oz can chicken broth
2 lb's ground beef, I used 93% fat
1 green bell pepper, diced small
1 red bell pepper, diced small
1 small white onion, grated or diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp granulated onion powder
1 tsp granulated garlic powder
1- 2 tsp salt and pepper

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:

shredded cheese
sour cream
chopped onion
avocado
tortilla chips
Frito scoops
sourdough bread bowl

DIRECTIONS:

1) In a large pot or dutch oven, spray some olive oil spray to coat the bottom. Brown the ground beef on medium high, break it up as it cooks. Season with some salt and pepper. Drain the juices from the beef and set aside.

2) Spray a little more cooking spray on the same pot. Add the chopped bell peppers and onions. Saute over medium for about 5 mins, or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so.

3) Add the drained beef back to the vegetables. Add in the beans and diced chilies. Stir to combine. Add in all the seasonings, stir again. Add in the chicken broth. Then check for seasonings. Maybe add some more salt if needed. Bring to a boil, then turn on low and simmer for 1-2 hours. The longer the simmer, the better the flavor. If the chili becomes too thick, add in a splash or two of water or more chicken broth.

4) Serve into bowls, top with whatever toppings you choose and enjoy!


Prep time: 25 mins
Cook Time: 2 hrs 20 mins
Serves: About 8