::chili:recipe::

One recipe that I make time and time again ~ especially during the cold Winter months here in Canada is chili. Yummy, hearty, healthy chili. And yes, chili CAN be healthy ~ especially when using organic ingredients. I know that a lot of tomato sauces that come canned are jampacked with soaring levels of sodium and this is why you always check your labels. You can always make your own homemade tomato sauce as well...honestly, for the sake of time and money, I did end up getting the name brand salty stuff - but I also made sure that I got the reduce sodium version. Other then that, there isn't a heck a lot of salt that you add to this recipe. Maybe a pinch here and there for flavouring, but you're using a lot more spices then anything else. 

This recipe is sooo delicious and you can make a huge batch up on Sunday night so you have some for the week. Which is what I did, filled just about more than half of a 11.5 L stock pot which simmered away for an hour or so. 

I also make something similar which I call "Poor Man's Chili" {don't ask} and it is made with spaghetti sauce {saves me adding spices and such and having it simmer for a while to get all the flavours out because the spaghetti sauce has a lot of flavour to begin with} which is basically a similar recipe but done super-duper fast.

But you can add whatever you want to this recipe. Lentil beans, chickpeas, other veggies, okra and such...maybe even potatoes? But I pretty much followed the recipe to a T last night...I actually don't have to pay attention to following the recipe since I have made this so many times. 

A little tip here for you guys...if you overdo it on the cumin, counteract that with sugar...it tones the flavour down big time. 

As with mushrooms, you should avoid washing them but I do anyways, as the mushroom sucks up even more water and it takes a while to cook it off afterwards...so I am always standing there with a turkey baster, getting the excess water out. 

But it is all trial and error. Either way, you have fun with it. And it is delicious! Once I baked up some sweet potatoe fries and added them to the mix, it was a huge hit! :) 

So away you go! 

Bon Appetit! :)

It's Chili by George!!
From the AllRecipes Website
Original recipe makes 10 servings
PREP 10 mins COOK 1 hr 45 mins READY IN 1 hr 55 mins

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 {46 fluid ounce} can tomato juice
1 {29 ounce} can tomato sauce
1 {15 ounce} can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 {15 ounce} can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup chili powder

DIRECTIONS
Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble.
In a large pot over high heat combine the ground beef, tomato juice, tomato sauce, kidney beans, pinto beans, onions, bell pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar, oregano, ground black pepper, salt, cumin and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. (Note: If using a slow cooker, set on low, add ingredients, and cook for 8 to 10 hours.)

Now just to let you know, the images that I am sharing here with you are what I took last night with my iPhone. As I said, it doesn't follow the recipe to a T since I have made this so many times and have tweaked it considerably {lol - isn't that what recipes are for?}. I used a bunch of different ingredients...but trust me, if you follow this recipe, it is going to turn out great and as you become more comfortable and familiar with it you will allow yourself to be more creative. 

All my ingredients, ready to go!

 Chop 2 small onions, and sweat those babies out! Just so they are translucent & yummy fragrant. I put in about 2 tablespoons of canola oil into the stock pot.

 Instead of beef I usually use ground turkey but this time decided on organic ground chicken.

Organic ground chicken is only a buck or two more expensive then regular so I say go for it ~ a lot better for you.

 So add the ground chicken to the pot and mix with your onions. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. 

 Cooked ground anything generally never looks pretty but trust me, it is delicious. On a side note, don't leave the pot unattended for too long, I did that and decided to look at celebs online and burnt the chicken a tad. Oops!

 Wash your mushrooms...or just take a dry paper towel and rub the dirt off of them...if you rinse them it is highly likely that the mushrooms are going to absorb all that water which will lead to some tricky issues later on in cooking.

 Chop some peppers and add them in there. I used 1 yellow, 1 orange and 1 red. Make them as small or chunky as you like. 

Add your mushrooms and peppers into the stock pot and mix around, cook until tender.

Open up some beans ~ as many as you'd like, and rinse 'em well. Then throw them into the pot ~ I usually cook it for a couple more minutes all together ~ I used about 5 small cans of beans.

 Then add your sauces. I usually add 1 can of spaghetti sauce {I use Hunt's}, 1 can of tomato sauce and half a can of a large tomato juice. Just enough so that it covers most of the other ingredients. You can make this chili as thick and chunky as you want it.

 Add your spices, just make sure not to overdo it...you can always add, but you can't take away, remember the tip about the cumin & sugar I gave earlier. Eventually you'll be able to add the spices without measuring. ;) 

Stir Stir Stir.
Cover and let it simmer for an hour or so...it'll smell SO delicious in your house! Make sure not to have it on too high, you don't want to burn it. Burnt chili isn't too appetizing! 

Add a little bit of cheese on top and BON APPETIT!

Not too hard at all, eh? And it's all a one-pot meal so not a lot of clean up! Make sure to let it cool before putting in the fridge...I think a lot of people say that is if you put something fairly hot into the fridge then the fridge works that much harder to keep everything in their cool. 

I usually let it sit out for an hour or so before putting it in the fridge. You can always freeze it too! 

Let me know what you guys thought of this recipe. :) My first one where I actually took pictures! I am not the world's greatest photographer, but I think I got the point across. ;) 

-S.*