August 25, 2011: Chili with Beans Recipe

I’ve been doing a lot of canning lately and my husband suggested that I try my hand at canning some more substantial food items, like chili. I don’t have any cans of chili in my cupboard so this seemed like an ideal time to make up a big batch that we could eat for dinner one night, then can the rest for later.

My dad is the “Chili King” as far as I’m concerned so I took a few hints from his recipe and created this one.

Chili with Beans

½ pound dry pinto beans

1 t. salt

1 pound ground beef

½ onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ red bell pepper, diced

10 roasted, peeled tomatoes

1 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained

1/3 cup red chili powder

2 t. oregano

2 t. cumin
1 t. garlic salt

1 t. black pepper

Several shakes of Tabasco sauce

Sort and wash the pinto beans. Place them in a crock pot, cover with water and soak overnight. The next morning, drain the water and add enough fresh water to cover the beans by about an inch. Heat the crock pot to high, add the salt, and let the beans cook by themselves until almost soft, about 3 hours.

Meanwhile, brown the ground beef with onion, garlic and red bell pepper. Drain the fat and add to the beans. Roast and peel the tomatoes as instructed in my Miscellaneous Kitchen Tips post. Crush them with your hands, discarding the tough core, over the crock pot and add the crushed tomato pieces to the mixture. Add remaining ingredients, except Tabasco sauce (it will make the beans tough) and let cook for another 3 to 4 hours, until pinto beans are completely soft. Sprinkle with Tabasco sauce to taste. Serve with Southwestern Cornbread and a simple tossed salad for a complete, hearty meal.

Tip: If you need to head off to work in the morning and can't add the ground beef mixture later, toss all the ingredients in the crock pot at the same time and let it cook all day while you're gone.

May 20, 2011: Guest Post Bachelor Chili Recipe

Today I welcome fellow writer, cook, and guest poster, AJ Best. She shares with us a recipe she calls Bachelor Chili. Take it away AJ!

I, for the most part, am lazy. If there is a cheap or easier way to do something, I’m going to do it. This is especially true when it comes to cooking. I love to cook, and eat, but I don’t want to spend an eternity doing it.

I developed this chili with myself in mind, and when telling people about it realized that it was so easy even a man could do it. You have to understand my dealings with male cooks, never good. My first husband burned Jello.

So I say:

If you can brown meat, open a can, and a jar, you too can make chili.

A guy could cook this for a date and really impress her. Here we go!

1 pound ground meat (go crazy with this beef, venison, chicken, turkey, bison, etc.)
2 12oz cans of kidney beans (white, red, or dark red) DO NOT DRAIN
1 16 oz jar of salsa (you decide heat level, mild, medium, hot)
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes

In a stock pot at medium high heat, brown your meat of choice until it is brown throughout. Drain off excess fat, return to pot. Reduce heat to simmer. Add full UN-DRAINED cans of kidney beans, and tomatoes, stir. Add jar of salsa to pot to complete meal.

This can be eaten as soon as it is warmed through, or you can let it simmer for a couple of hours to allow it to soak the flavor into the beans more. Add cheese or sour cream to taste.

See, even a bachelor could cook this. Do you have an easy recipe you would like to share with me?


AJ Best
www.ajbestwrites.com
ajbestwrites@gmail.com
A touch of real life in every story.