I figured I'd kick off this blog with a favorite recipe of mine. It's very forgiving and easily adjusted to your personal tastes. All in all, it's more a set of guidelines than a hard set of rules. If you have any favorite tricks or ingredients of your own, throw them into a comment and share them!
Really Easy Chili (Really)
This recipe only uses one pot. Get a nice big one that will be able to hold everything that you will be adding.
Ingredients:
3 cans of beans, drained (I suggest an assortment of light red kidney beans, pink, white, black, maybe chickpeas... Experiment until you find out what works best for you)
1 can of corn, drained (Gold, white or sweet)
1 can of diced tomato (Get a huge can if they're on sale), or, if diced is unavailable, canned tomatoes in tomato juice can be broken up in the can with a fork
Optional (and by no means an exhaustive list)
2 small or 1 medium/large potato, cut into small pieces (½ inch or so)
1 zucchini, chopped
1 bell pepper, cut small
1 chili pepper (any sort will do), diced
1 onion, diced
1 or more cloves of garlic, diced
1 package ground beef, turkey or chicken
Over medium-high heat, sauté veggies in a lightly oiled pot large enough to hold all of your ingredients. If using meat, cook the meat over high heat until browned before reducing the heat and adding the vegetables.
When lightly browned, add beans and corn and cook for another few minutes before adding the tomato. If the tomato doesn't add enough liquid, add enough water to almost cover the ingredients.
Boil for five minutes, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for ½ hour to however long you can wait, stirring whenever you feel like stirring. Just make sure to check in and add more liquid if need be. It's a pain to clean burnt stuff off of a pan.
Tips
Don't season it until you've tried it. Might need some salt, or a few grinds of a pepper mill, or it might be just fine as it is. Some chipotle seasoning is also a great addition.
This is delicious on its own, or on a bed of rice. An even chili-to-rice ratio is good. It's also great for dipping tortilla chips into.
If using a chili pepper, WASH YOUR HANDS THOROUGHLY AFTER HANDLING THE CHILI PEPPER. GOOD GRAVY, DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE THAT MANY PEOPLE BEFORE YOU HAVE MADE. YOU GO STRAIGHT TO SOME SOAP AND WATER AND RINSE THAT CAPSAICIN OFF OF YOUR HANDS. DO NOT RUB YOUR EYES. DO NOT GO TO THE BATHROOM. DO NOT PICK YOUR NOSE. WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE ANY OF THESE ACTIVITIES ARE RESUMED.
Really Easy Chili (Really)
This recipe only uses one pot. Get a nice big one that will be able to hold everything that you will be adding.
Ingredients:
3 cans of beans, drained (I suggest an assortment of light red kidney beans, pink, white, black, maybe chickpeas... Experiment until you find out what works best for you)
1 can of corn, drained (Gold, white or sweet)
1 can of diced tomato (Get a huge can if they're on sale), or, if diced is unavailable, canned tomatoes in tomato juice can be broken up in the can with a fork
Optional (and by no means an exhaustive list)
2 small or 1 medium/large potato, cut into small pieces (½ inch or so)
1 zucchini, chopped
1 bell pepper, cut small
1 chili pepper (any sort will do), diced
1 onion, diced
1 or more cloves of garlic, diced
1 package ground beef, turkey or chicken
Over medium-high heat, sauté veggies in a lightly oiled pot large enough to hold all of your ingredients. If using meat, cook the meat over high heat until browned before reducing the heat and adding the vegetables.
When lightly browned, add beans and corn and cook for another few minutes before adding the tomato. If the tomato doesn't add enough liquid, add enough water to almost cover the ingredients.
Boil for five minutes, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for ½ hour to however long you can wait, stirring whenever you feel like stirring. Just make sure to check in and add more liquid if need be. It's a pain to clean burnt stuff off of a pan.
Tips
Don't season it until you've tried it. Might need some salt, or a few grinds of a pepper mill, or it might be just fine as it is. Some chipotle seasoning is also a great addition.
This is delicious on its own, or on a bed of rice. An even chili-to-rice ratio is good. It's also great for dipping tortilla chips into.
If using a chili pepper, WASH YOUR HANDS THOROUGHLY AFTER HANDLING THE CHILI PEPPER. GOOD GRAVY, DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE THAT MANY PEOPLE BEFORE YOU HAVE MADE. YOU GO STRAIGHT TO SOME SOAP AND WATER AND RINSE THAT CAPSAICIN OFF OF YOUR HANDS. DO NOT RUB YOUR EYES. DO NOT GO TO THE BATHROOM. DO NOT PICK YOUR NOSE. WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE ANY OF THESE ACTIVITIES ARE RESUMED.
The warning at the end was an excellent addition =P
ReplyDeleteIt was meant for my dad, more than anything else. He's not as... kitchen adept... as me. He makes up for it by being very tech-savvy.
ReplyDeleteI am remembering the time that your father wanted a little snack and microwaved a (previously shelled) hard boiled egg. He took it out of the microwave and immediately took a bite. It exploded in his mouth. I recall he was in pain for days!
ReplyDelete