Chili

 

The first cold front hit town this weekend... Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr... it was freezing cold ! A 33 degree drop from the summer 100 degree. LOL.. yes.. it was only 67F cold... but it felt like winter .  The body had a rude shock from the sudden cold front and the only 3 things I could do were slept in, couched under the blanket and drink hot ginger tea. 

The BF made my day when he decided to make chili... well .. we did plan ahead for the cold. We went grocery shopping for chili ingredients on Saturday in anticipation of the "freeze". The BF found an amazing recipe   (<= click) from Allrecipe.com.... beer, coffee and cocoa powder.. who can resist the combination.

The day just got better (despite the cold) when the BF said to me "I am okie. You just need to couch and rest.." when I offered to help make the chili....:)

The recipe looks intimidating with the many ingredients.. but it was actually very easy. The preparation time was only 20 minutes.

This is an amazing recipe. The combination of beer, coffee and cocoa powder are awesome. It is just so good !


The base before we add the meat

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil ( we use canola oil)
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
3/4 pound beef sirloin, cubed ( we use ground pork sausage )
1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle dark beer ( we use shiner black)
1 cup strong brewed coffee
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
1/2 cup packed brown sugar ( we omit the sugar as we are on Paleo)
3 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
 1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
 1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
4 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans ( we omitted the beans as we are on Paleo)
4 fresh hot chile peppers, seeded and chopped

 Directions
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onions, garlic, ground beef and cubed sirloin in oil for 10 minutes, or until the meat is well browned and the onions are tender.
2. Mix in the diced tomatoes with juice, dark beer, coffee, tomato paste and beef broth. Season with brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, cocoa powder, oregano, cayenne pepper, coriander and salt. Stir in 2 cans of the beans and hot chile peppers. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
3.  Stir in the 2 remaining cans of beans, and simmer for another 30 minutes. ( we omitted this step as we do not use beans)
( We browned the meat in the iron skillet, mixed the base in another pot and added the meat to the
base after they were browned)
~bel~