Halloween Chili

This recipe is based on my mom's Halloween chili; we I call it that because for as long as I could remember every Halloween my Mom would have chili in the crock pot, and the soup soup soup  bowls sitting next to it, ready and waiting for someone to eat something nutritious and fiber filled before going  out on a candy bender.

Now don't get me wrong this chili is good any day of the year, and the best when it's really cold outside 

I prefer my chili to be hearty, beanie and meaty with a nice texture of veggies- most chili fails in at least one of these categories....I hope you enjoy, once you eat this chili you will never go back to the grease slick of dog food they try and pass as chili in a can. 

what you need:

1 C. black beans 

1 C. pinto beans

1 C. kidney beans 

(or 1 can of each if you are lazy)

1 lb. grass fed beef (or whatever type of meat you choose, I like ground turkey or bison as well)

1/2 onion chopped

1 green garlic or 3 cloves garlic chopped

1 green bell pepper rough chopped

1 lg. can whole peeled tomatoes (or fresh depending on season) chopped

10 mushrooms sliced

2-3 T. chili powder

3 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. paprika

few dashes of tabasco 

2 bay leaves

fresh herbs (oregano, parsley)

s&p

EVOO

Step 0: make your beans- put beans in a pot and cover with water (3-4" covering), bring to boil and simmer covered till soft about 2-3hrs adding more water if they look like they need it- test every 30min.

*I usually do this before work and put them all together in a crockpot with a bayleaf- you can use canned too but I prefer making mine. 

Step 1: in a dutch oven or heavy pot put 1 T. of EVOO and heat up, add meat season with S&P and brown. Remove from pot when brown (not fully cooked just brown) and set aside. Don't leave the small amount of drippings in pan, since you are using lean meat there shouldn't be much.

 while browning meat chop all of your vegetables

Step 2: in now empty kinda greased pot add onion and saute, then garlic, bell pepper and mushrooms allow to brown. 

Step 3: return meat to pot and add spices allowing them to coat and cook for a min. then add tomatoes (with juice), cooked beans (with bean juice if canned or add 1/2 C. bean juice from beans), and herbs. 

Step 4: bring to a boil and put a lid on it, simmer for at least an hour if you are antsy, if you are a patient person that can wait, wait as long as you can....you will be rewarded with full flavor development. After awhile of cooking taste and season with S&P and spices (everyone has a different threshold)...

Step 5: serve with creme fraiche, cheddar cheese, scallions, whatever you want...

soup soup soup

Enjoy!

ps. I usually freeze my leftover, leftovers in individual containers for lunch....