Chili, Rice, and Oh My Gosh!

Wow, it has been a long time since I blogged. Bad Kassie! But I've been busy, or something.

But the weather is right for cooking, so I guess I'll just pick up where I left off.

So, with the weather cool and football on TV, I made some chili today. I never have an actual recipe for my chili, but this one turned out pretty good, so I'll see if I can write it up.

Start by browning 1 lbs ground pork and 1 lbs ground beef. I used organic grass fed beef and organic pork for this. I think with chili, choosing high quality meat matters. You want the meat to stand out and be distinct.

Drain and set aside.

In a Tablespoon or so oil, saute a chopped onion and 5 cloves garlic. I add in a lot of my spices at this time so they can be toasted sort of in the oil. I added in about 2 T. of cumin, 2 T. of cinnamon, 2 t. of cayenne, 6 T. of chili powder, salt and pepper. I use a lot of chili powder because I used the cheap brand. I have a really good spicy Indian kind and 6 T. would be a killer. All these spices are approximate amounts and I adjust by adding more as I go along to see how it tastes. A bay leaf or two would be good here too, but I was out.

I let the onions cook down, careful to not burn them, for about 10 minutes.

Then I add 28oz can of whole tomatoes, 28oz can and a 16 oz can of chopped tomatoes, and a can of tomato paste. For the tomatoes I always use Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes. They have a really great taste.

Then add in 1 big box of organic beef stock, 1 bottle of dark beer, 1 small can of rinsed black beans, 1 small can of rinsed pinto beans, and the meat. Finally, add in some chipotle peppers from a can. I added in 4 chopped. CJ thought it was too hot. I thought it wasn't hot enough.

At this point, the chili will seem really runny, and it is. Bring the whole thing to a boil, then cover partially and simmer on low for the next few hours. I'd say at least 2. You want to condense all the flavors and reduce the liquid. I cooked mine for about 5 hours today.

You need to stir every 30 minutes or so to make sure it doesn't burn. It really needs to be on low heat or it will burn and ruin the whole pot.

I served with sour cream and cheddar corn bread. It was very good. We now have 3 big servings in the freezer and one in the fridge for my lunch tomorrow.

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Additionally, we got the greatest cooking contraption of all time today- A RICE COOKER. I already cooked up one pot full and portioned it into individual bags and put them in the freezer. This will change how we eat forever. We love rice, but have little patience for cooking it.