Sunday, November 18, 2018

Not Your Mama's Chili





My husband and I just came back from a week long vacation to California (stay tuned for our adventures!). It was AMAZING.  So much good food and we ate our little hearts out.  Today I didn't want anything too heavy but really felt like cooking something.  It's almost Thanksgiving, and sweet potatoes were $0.39/lb at the store yesterday, so I bought a bunch.  No plans for them, but couldn't not pass up that price.  I know chili is not the first or second or 15th thing anyone thinks about when pondering "what the heck do I do with all of these sweet potatoes???" but for me it's at the top of the list.  I've made this chili several times and love it.  It's not your mama's chili for sure but worth a try!  It may become one of your favorites too. 

This is the first time I made it without meat, and used cooked quinoa for some protein instead.  Turned out great!  Feel free to top it with whatever you like, I'm a big cheddar-cheese-on-my-chili kind of gal, but you can skip the cheese, add some cilantro, fresh jalapeno, sour cream (a condiment I think is actually pretty gross but understand many people enjoy it, especially on chili), or whatever you feel like!


Not Your Mama's Chili

Ingredients:
  • 1 lb ground beef, browned and drained of grease, or any meat of your choosing OR 1.5 cups cooked quinoa (I make my quinoa with stock to give it more flavor, use a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to liquid. Rinse quinoa first, combine with liquid, bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook covered for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed)
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
  • 2 cups dices tomatoes, drained
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1 and 1/2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock if making vegetarian)
  • 1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1.5 Tbsp cumin
  • 1.5 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp chipotle chili powder
  • 1 tsp mustard powder or whole grain mustard
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 2 tsp salt (or to your taste)
  • Shredded sharp cheddar for topping
Instructions:
  1. Place a large pot on medium low, and drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  When hot, saute the onion, garlic, and jalapeno for 3 minutes. 
  2. Add all other ingredients to the pot, and bring to a boil.  
  3. Reduce heat to simmer, and cook covered for 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender and too your liking.  
  4. Top with shredded cheddar, serve with crackers. 
  5. Enjoy! 
FYI It's ok to use more cheese than I show here. I actually added more after I took this picture, because, well, I love cheese. 




Recipe is inspired by Sweet Fire Chili from Pretty Little Apron.