Sparks from the Kitchen

The fall bug has bitten! I can’t wait to make up all kinds of soups and stews and have a gray afternoon with something simmering on the stove all day.

As I wrote in the post for the cornbread that I served with this chili, Husband and I had a Sunday football day at home instead of heading out to the bar with friends. That cornbread and this chili was our dinner and it was delicious. This chili is meaty, it’s bean-y, it’s got some underlying spice and heat but it’s not spicY or hot. You can always add a squirt of hot sauce if you’d like but I like to keep the heat factor down a bit and go up from there.

The original recipe called for smoking the meat but since we don’t own a grill or a smoker we skipped that step.

Sunday Afternoon Chili

Ingredients:

• 1&1/2 lbs ground sirloin
• 2 cups diced Spanish onion (about 1 large)
• 2 cups diced green pepper (about 2 large)
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed to a pulp
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced, seeds and spine removed
• 1&1/2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1&1/2 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ancho chili powder
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1&1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 32 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, not drained
• 2 15 oz cans dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 6 ozs beer (we used Belfast Bay Lobster Ale-a red ale)
• toppings of your choice-fat free sour cream, grated cheese, scallions etc..

Instructions:

1. Brown the beef until almost cooked through in a heavy bottomed stock pot, drain the excess fat, then add the onion and green pepper, garlic and jalapeno and cook until beef is cooked through.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for at least 90 minutes.
3. Serve as is or top with a dollop of sour cream, grated cheese, squirt of hot sauce, scallions etc……

Adapted from Brother Jimmy’s BBQ cookbook Smoky BBQ Chili.