Thursday, March 15, 2012

Three Bean Chili


Some people might like chili that has no meat, or maybe without beans and more sauce. Some like it hot, some like it cold, some like it in the pot nine days old. I even went to a chili cook-off where the person that warmed up chili in a can won. I didn't vote for it. But apparently a lot of people are used to that kind of flavor.
I've created this recipe to be exactly what I believe chili ought to be: Hearty, colorful, full of beans and vegetables, with just enough spice to make your nose run and your tongue to keep the warm tingle afterward. It was a perfect choice for our menu this week because Sunflower market had all their peppers on sale. Everything else for the recipe was found in my food storage (you have to rotate that stuff, remember?).

I usually don't measure my spices and this time I actually did, just for my blog readers... the few and proud.  Thanks for reading guys!!! But, I was ended up making a bigger pot of it than usual to take dinner over to a neighbor family as well as our dinner + guests that night, so.... Here's my estimate of the spices for what I would use for a single batch. You are welcome to start with less and add more at the end.   For those of you that don't want to make a big pot, I have seen a 3 bean mix in a can (so you only have to use one can instead of three to get the same effect) and you could just use one pepper of your favorite color.

3 Bean Chili
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small (or 1/2 large) onion, diced
2 TBSP oil
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 14 oz. can white beans
1 14 oz. can of kidney beans
1 14 oz. can of black beans
1 14 oz. can of beef broth
1 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 4 oz. can of tomato paste
1 TBSP chili powder
1 TBSP cumin
2 tsp coriander
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt

In large soup pot, warm oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion and saute a few minutes until onions become translucent. Add in ground beef and brown, breaking apart clumps as it cooks. Once cooked through, add in all chopped peppers, beans and spices. Mix to combine. Stop briefly to admire all the colors and smells. Add in broth, tomatoes and paste. Stir often (since the heavier ingredients tend to settle at the bottom) until it comes to a full boil. Taste it to make sure it has the right amount of spice for you and your family. Turn off heat and let it sit a bit. Chili holds heat REALLY well, so if you don't want to burn your tongue, give it a rest or ladle it into bowls so it cools quicker. I seriously had mine sitting in the big pot for 45 min. since our guests were later than planned, and it was still plenty hot when we served it. But oh, was it delicious!

Serves 6

1 comment:

  1. Mmm...that looks good Emily! Maybe I'll have to make that for supper sometime next week!

    ReplyDelete