Hearty and Healthy Chili and a Martha Blog contest!
I think chili has got to be one of the least photogenic meals. Don’t be deceived by this picture, this chili was G-O-O-D. I never had chili growing up as a kid, not sure why, I guess it’s not much of an Italian thing. I started making chili in my after college years using those little brown bags of spices you find at the grocery store. Now that I have an overflowing cabinet of spices in my kitchen I don’t need to have one of those brown baggies in my pantry to whip a pot of this hearty stuff. I know there are places in the country that are a little nuts about their chili…I know nothing about all of that…this is just the way I like it, lots of veggies and beans and flavor.
Aggie’s Chili
1 1/4 lbs of lean ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
1 1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 – 2 jalapeno, seeded, chopped
2-3 TB chili powder
1 TB cumin
1 TB smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne (or more if you like it hot)
1 – 2 TB yellow cornmeal
several dashes of hot sauce
couple of good pinches of salt and pepper
1 can of red kidney beans, slightly drained but not rinsed
1 can pinto or chili beans, slightly drained but not rinsed
2 cans diced tomatoes, not drained (I use roasted garlic and onion seasoned)
1 cup of water (I usually add some water to the empty cans of tomatoes to pick up what’s leftover)
Heat a dash of oil in a large pot, add garlic and ground beef. Cook ground beef and crumble. Add onions, peppers and spices. Cook until vegetables soft, about 10 – 15 minutes. Add beans and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir to combine all the flavors as you are cooking. Add both cans of diced tomatoes and additional water. Stir and bring to a simmer. Simmer over very low heat for about 45 minutes. This gets better the longer you simmer. Stir occasionally while simmering. Check for salt before serving.
Top with shredded cheddar cheese.
Serve with cornbread if you have it!
PS…I know alot of you saw the Martha Stewart show featuring Blogs last week…stop by her blog and enter her contest here! She’s picking several blogs to be featured on The Martha Blog! Good luck!
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This look really wonderful! We are having chili this week too. 🙂
I’m not much aof a chili person but I was glad to see you had the Crystal Hot Sauce. I may try this recipe for my husband, he’s a big time chili lover!
I have been craving chili lately and you beat me to it! Looks delicious, Aggie! Who can resist a gorgeous bowl full of chili? A perfect dish for fall and winter.
I love chili too, but there are certain dinners that are harder to photograph. I still want to dig in, it looks great. Glad that your son got excited about some dishes that he picked out!
I cannot resit chili!! And, that sure looks gooood!! The cooler temps really bring back some wonderful dishes we all crave for!!
That chilli looks good! Yum yum yum!
Yummy chili! I put one up today too. I love to use cornmeal for a thickener also.
Don’t worry if chilli doen’t photograph well, it sounds delicious anyway!
I like how you added a few spoons of corn meal. I will have to try that.
There’s nothing like chili on a cool night. We never had it growing up either-too spicy for my Irish folks I suppose-but I love it now! Thanks for posting about the Martha contest!
I never had chili growing up either as it’s not much of an Asian thing 🙂 I first had it when I attended a chili cookoff party and had a chance to sample lots of chili. Yours looks tasty!
Now that the weather is “supposed” to be cooling off, I will be making chili like a mad woman. I love everything about it. I think yours looks mighty tasty! I’ll be trying your version for sure.
This sounds like a great chili recipe…One of the first things I mastered cooking was a very basic beef chili recipe so now I love making new ones! Next on my list is a white bean and apple chili.
Your post about the grilled sweet potatos looked amazing also!
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