It’s all good. The crisp fall day, smoke from the fire, embers glowing, grand kids running around, marshmallows ready on sticks. We are squeezing in every last bit of fall before the snow hits. What better for Sunday dinner with the family than a big bowl of chili?
I found a chili recipe on the food network and decided to give it a try, and was not disappointed with the results. The ingredients called for brisket but I found beef stew meat cut and ready to go at the market, which made cooking this chili a cinch. Here is my slightly altered ingredient list.
2-3 lbs. cut up beef stew meat
oil for browning
1 large yellow onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
Seasoning:
2 T chili powder
1 T red pepper flakes
1 T cayenne pepper
2 T cumin
2 bay leaves
salt & pepper
1 T dried basil leaves
Sauce:
2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 can red kidney beans
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 cup strong coffee
Heat a fry pan with the oil and add the beef cubes and brown on all sides. Fry in batches so your meat gets a good sear, and place into a tall cooking pot. Brown the onion and garlic in the same fry pan until golden, then add your dried spices to the pan and mix.
Can you smell the heavenly aroma filling the kitchen? After summer salads and grilling, it’s good to get back to savory comfort food isn’t it?
Next add the 2 extra-large cans of diced tomatoes and 2 cans of kidney beans and stir together. Add salt and pepper to taste and throw in the bay leaves.
Transfer the sauce into the meat in the stock pot and cook on low for a couple of hours. I did add a can of stewed tomatoes because there was more meat than sauce, but you can adjust your proportions easily if need be. After the chili simmered for a couple hours I brewed up 1 cup of fresh hot coffee and added it to the mix, letting it simmer for another hour. I’ve added coffee to chocolate cake batter, but never to chili. You couldn’t taste the coffee, but I’m sure it intensified the flavor. So much goodness in one pot!
To serve it up, just ladle into bowls and let everyone add their own toppings. We had lime tortilla chips, fresh guacamole, sour cream and grated cheddar cheese.
To top off the deliciousness, I made buttermilk cornbread with Texas RoadHouse Butter, which I’ll save for the next post. All I can say is that everyone went home happy and filled to the brim. You won’t regret making a big batch so you have leftovers to freeze, or enough to send home with the kids.
See you soon,
Laurie