That snowy weekend happened to be the Super Bowl and I felt it was time to ramp up the ho-hum turkey chili of old into something, um, with more muscle. Referee's call on my meal play: Touchdown! (And it was also neighbor tested and approved.) Now this is my go to game time fav. Football season is once again here, so why wait to share this until the big game.
Commercial Watching Chili
1 lb ground beef (I use 97% lean)
1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage (farmers market)
1 can diced tomatoes, basil and garlic flavored
1 can tomato sauce
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 large can Ortega chopped green chillies, drained
2 packets of McCormick chili powder mix (Or 1 chili and 1 taco seasoning mix)
2 chipotle peppers that were in adobo sauce
That may be the longest list of ingredients you've seen from me yet, but worry not. It's all going into the crock pot. So, it doesn't matter if five or 50 ingredients go in, you're just going to stir it all and go do something else that is fun for six to eight hours. Now that's the way to cook.
Here is your main tool: a slow cooker.
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| A gift from mom. You know you are old when you ask for a Crock Pot for Christmas. |
I don't know if you can do this any other way, but this is my way. I brown the meat in a pan. This creates a crispy exterior on each piece. Plus, it makes me feel like I've safely cooked it. (That would be my mother's influence reflecting in me. Ugh. I'm not proud to admit that.)
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| I like the combo of beef and sausage which makes a more interesting flavor profile than just beef alone. |
In a separate pan, I cook up a few of veggies a little too, to give them a bit of carmelization and a slight head start. Since chili isn't meant to be crunchy.
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| Bell of the ball. Well, if making chili was a party. Which to me, it is! |
I chop up a green pepper in big pieces, because I like a chunky feel to my chili. Some people like a smaller chop so their chili has a finer texture. As you wish.
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| This way, I can really see the ingredients in my dishes. |
Though onions have grown on me in recent years, I still don't like them raw. This quick saute softens them up a wee bit before they get tossed into the pot. There's garlic in there too. They seem to like to hang together.
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| They've really grown on me. |
Only takes about 10 minutes or so for the meat to cook up. The beef is low fat, so there really isn't much fat to be rendered. No draining necessary. Well, not that I could tell.
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| Most labor intensive part of this whole recipe has been completed. |
Add the peppers, onions and garlic to the sauteed meat and cook for just a little bit more, until the veggies become slightly soft.
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| Just dump the veggies on top. |
It's sort of like you're making tacos at this point.
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| We're getting there. |
That was the end of the hard work. You can take off your apron. The hardest decisions coming up are what kind of beans and tomatoes to use. Not terribly cerebral.
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| You can use two cans of diced tomatoes, I just like to use one of each. |
Pop those bad boys open. Add the ground beef and sausage with onions and green peppers to the crock pot. Throw in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and green chilies.
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| The only way to make this even easier is if you owned an electric can opener. |
Beans. Such a personal and private decision. There are SO many varieties. Large, medium, small. Red, white, black.
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| And the winners are: Dark kidney and pinto! |
I like the contrast of using two different colors and sizes. After all, cooking is an artistic outlet for me. I want things to taste yummy, but look amazingly delicious before you even take that first bite.
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| Looks kind of swampy at this point. Hard to believe how it will all come together. |
Someday I think I may try to mix up my own seasoning blend from scratch. Today was not that day. It was also not the day I went to the grocery store last winter because they were completely out of chili powder. (Looks like everyone had the same pre-storm, big game idea that I had.) I figured I wasn't going to get very far without the main ingredient, so when I saw the packet I decided that would be just fine. I maintain my view point currently.
I normally put in a couple packets of chili seasoning mix, but when I looked in the pantry, I only had one! Ack! Poor planning. And too late to run out.
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| Eh, close enough. |
I'm so glad I had a packet of taco seasoning handy as I decided that was a great substitute.
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| You won't be able to tell the difference. |
Give it a quick stir and blend it all together. That will give you sort of an idea of what you will behold in due time. Only, it will be even better!
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| I mean, what else could you need? |
Lid on, set temp, and then go to the movies with your friend. Well, that's what I did anyway.
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| My new kitchen light fixture is reflected perfectly in the cover. Yeah, I think that's cool. |
No wait! I forgot I wanted to add a little heat. But with flavor.
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| I had quite a time finding these. A friend gave me this can. I bet the Mexican stores have them. |
As far as how hot they were, I had not a clue. I was trying to be somewhat conservative, but I do like some spice and can take a bit of heat, so I'm not always the best judge.
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| I picked up one whole pepper. It's in adobo sauce, which you can use as well. |
I placed them on top and later when I stirred, they got more mixed in.
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| Addition of the chipotles, which will melt down and disappear into the chili. |
I used two. Future note: It was a wee bit caliente. You may want to start off with less. (Well, if you're a total wus!)
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| Six hours, eight hours, any length of time around that will be great because the meat just melts during the slow cooking process. |
Serve yourself up a bowl. I left it plain for photo taking preciseness, but my favorite way to eat it is with a bit of shredded cheese, a dollop of sour cream and scoop it up with tortilla chips. Muy awesome!
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| Is it game time yet? |
Sure, I'd be cooler if I actually liked football. But I won't pretend... I don't. However, I enjoy the Super Bowl for all the great commercials and the fantastic game time food. I'm already ready for February! So while you're off using the commercials to take a bio break, don't mind me as I find them to be the best part of the day. I'll be looking for the next award winning ad while having a bite of my award winning chili.
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