CanYouFind.Us

and it was a great way to get back into the kitchen. Since we parked the RV nearly a full year ago, I haven’t been cooking all that much. On my short trips back home, I have typically reverted to our favorite recipes. I did try a great Armenian Pizza a few weeks ago (I really need to get that posted..) but a classic hearty chili will be my ‘welcome back’ post.

When you start trying to find a recipe for chili you face a lot of variables. Do you want it to be sweet, or spicy? Do you want it with or without beans? How about cubed meat versus ground meat?  This recipe was found on recipezaar.com and was filed as Kelly’s Chili. Her chili has won her 3 awards, and it is an amazing recipe that has plenty of wiggle room for personalization.

To make this Our Chili, I cut back on the brown sugar by 1 tablespoon, and added one more can of beans. We also prefered the heat of leaving the seeds and ribs in the jalapenos; you can deseed those to pull out some of the spice, or add additional peppers for more heat. The recipe I have posted reflects the alterations that I had made, so feel free to customize it for yourself!

Chili is such a wonderful dish to kick off the fall. Our giant stockpot filled with this comfort food is going to be reused for many meals. Serve it over Fritos for a crunchy meal, or wrap it up in a tortilla with cheese and onions for a handheld-sit on couch type of meal. We paired ours with a light salad and a firm Ozark Style cornbread. That was my first attempt at a cast iron cornbread, and it went perfectly with the chili.

Ingredients

3 pounds ground beef
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
3 jalapenos, chopped small, include seeds and ribs
salt
freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
5 tablespoons chili powder
1 3/4 cups ketchup
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons brown sugar (4 to 6)
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
3 cups spicy V8, 3 cups = 2 11.25 oz cans
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 pound mushrooms, fresh, sliced
1 can stewed tomatoes (14 1/2 ounce) with the juice and break up tomatoes
1 cup beef stock

Procedure

1.    Saute beef, peppers, onions and jalapenos. Drain grease after cooked.
2.    Combine the rest of the ingredients into the large stockpot
3.    Stir and bring just to a low simmer, reduce heat and cook for at least 1-2 hours.

Nutritional Information
Calories 525
Fat 32g (sat 12g,mono 13g)
Cholesterol 96mg
Sodium 1026mg
Carbohydrates 36g
Fiber 7g
Protein 26g
Calcium 81mg
Iron 5mg

Notes

• Great base for personalized chili.
• Remove seeds and ribs from jalapenos for a milder flavor
• Add or remove a can of beans to personal preference
• Garnish as desired-cheese, sour cream, chopped onions, Fritos, etc.
• Serves 12