Brrr... It's Chili Out!

Sorry. I know. The pun. It's bad.

In weather that could only happen in Minnesota, yesterday was a beautiful 75 degrees. Today was barely 40. Luckily, I had already planned to make chili tonight, which, as it just so happens, is my favorite thing to eat on cold days!

Last year, when I still lived in a dorm, my kitchen tools were limited to a single pot and an electric griddle, between the two of which I made nearly all of the food I ate that entire year. With my limited cooking talent and experience, that meant that I was eating some sort of pasta, or my dad's chili. When he sent me his recipe in September, I followed it exactly. As the year went on, I grew a little bolder- by my own standards, mind you- and changed it up. So today, I'll be giving you MY version of that recipe.

This recipe will make you more than two pounds of chili- more than enough. Tonight, I halved that, so the pictures will reflect a smaller amount. Usually I make the full amount, and freeze most of it so I can have it throughout the month.

For this recipe, you will need:

• 1 3/4- 2 Pounds of Ground Beef
• 2 Bell Peppers
• 1 Sweet Onion
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 Packets of Taco Mix, whichever degree of spiciness you prefer
• 2 Packets of Fajita Mix
• 2-3 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar (wow, I use a lot of brown sugar when I cook...)
• 2 Cans of Diced Tomatoes

Optional: If you so desire, you can add in some beans. I am not a fan of beans in my chili, but my Dad uses them in his recipe. He recommends:

• 1 Can Beans
• 1 Can Kidney Beans

Let's get to the recipe.

1. Brown and ground beef in a large pan. Drain. Remember NOT to drain into the sink- pour the grease into the garbage over paper towels. Don't drain it entirely, either. You want a little bit of grease to still be in the pan. 
   
   
2. Transfer the beef to a large stockpot. Add in the peppers and onion, chopped. Usually I chop the pieces pretty roughly, until one day I realized I wanted smaller chunks, especially of the onion. For reference, here's the pepper I used today:

   

   Before you ask, yes, I washed the penny first
3. Set burner to a medium heat. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Stir once a minute. If I'm using the full two pounds of beef, I let it sit for the full ten minutes. If I'm only using one pound, I will only let it sit for five.

   

   After adding the spice packets

4. Add the seasoning packets, pouring the water over them after all have been added to the beef. Stir. After the beef has changed color, mix in the brown sugar. I like my chili to be spicy, so I use a medium level spiciness, as well as mixing with the fajita mix. However, if you don't like this, you can decrease the spiciness or not add the full four packets. 
5. Decrease the heat by half. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. At this step, I let it sit for the full ten minutes, no matter how much beef I'm using.
6. Add both of the entire cans of diced tomatoes. Do not attempt to drain the water out of the can before adding. In tonight's attempt, the tomatoes were so red that there was no way they could have randomly occurred in nature. That made me feel safe. :) Mix into the chili.

   

   After adding the tomatoes.
   You can't tell how red it was from this picture...

7. Reduce to a low heat. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Again, no matter how much beef I'm using, I let it simmer for the full time. When you only use diced tomatoes, rather than also adding in tomato sauce (like my Dad does), the chili needs to thicken up, and this twenty minutes is perfect for that. 
8. Enjoy! Add your favorite chili topping, whatever it is. I've had this chili with Fritos, oyster crackers, cheese, sour cream, bacon bits- whatever floats your boat. Though, if I'm be honest, I prefer to eat it plain!

Optional: 

• Between steps 6 and 7 is when you would add both cans of beans, if you felt so inclined (yuck). 

This is my first personal recipe I've posted- hopefully, as I learn how to cook, there will be many more to come. I love making this chili, because it's nice to be able to cook something of substance, rather than pasta or break-and-bake cookies. If you freeze it, it's easy to reheat. Usually I'll either defrost it over a day while I'm at school and throw it in a pot for a few minutes with about 1/4 of a cup of water, or I throw it into my super-tiny crock pot (OK, I lied, I had three kitchen tools) on high for about two hours. Either way, it's just as delicious then as it is right after cooking!

The month ends this weekend, and because I thought ahead like an adult and made a plan, I have a whole bunch of recipes to try in November. I'll post again on tuesday with an attempt at one of the staples of my extended family gatherings- a diet-friendly entree my Grandma calls "Chicken Fiesta". If you have any specific recipe or technique you would like to see, comment below or email me at dontexpectmiraclesblog@gmail.com, and I will do my best to attempt it! Thanks for reading!