Party Chili

Fall is fast approaching around here, the leaves are starting to lose their green coloring and the tomato plants are starting to die. As soon as the weather cools, a bowl of hot chili is just what my family is looking for. We've got a birthday party coming up so I'm making it all now and freezing the rest for the party. I adapted this recipe from Ladies Home Journal & it will serve 12 (makes about 18 c.)

Since we still had some tomatoes, green peppers, onions, garlic, jalapenos and chili peppers from our garden, I only needed a few things to whip up a batch.

Here's what you'll need:

3 lbs. ground beef (I already cooked mine when I did the other 3 pounds for this weeks dinners)
3 med. onions, finely chopped
1 green pepper, diced
8 cloves of garlic, minced
3 jalapenos, finely diced (optional)
2 chili peppers, minced (optional)
5 Tbsp. tomato paste
3 Tbsp. chili powder
2 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. tomato juice, V-8 or brewed coffee
3 15 oz. cans of diced tomatoes w/juices
3 15 oz. cans of kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

Cook your burger with the onion, garlic & green peppers. I used the {kitchen tool company} Food Chopper to mince it all up - I always use fresh garlic because you get so much more flavor as opposed to jarred & it smells amazing while cooking. Drain the fat from the burger and dump it all in your stockpot.

Next, add all of the powder spices. Anytime you have the opportunity to grind your seasonings (like the coriander) instead of buying them already ground, do so. The difference is incredible even in just ground pepper and it keeps better without losing potency.

I chopped up my little jalapenos and left the seeds in this time (but I still wore gloves!) for a little more kick.

I also chopped up some chili peppers that we grew using the Food Chopper. I just hit it a few more times to get the peppers chopped really fine.

Stir in the tomato paste (I freeze the rest & use it later), tomatoes and tomato juice. I frequently use V-8 instead of tomato juice here & the recipe in the magazine recommends trying coffee instead but I've never tried it that way - if you do, let me know how it turned out!

Rinse & drain your kidney beans - you can use light or dark (or both) but I recommend rinsing them in addition to draining just because whatever they pack them in is so ucky.

The Easy Read Measuring Cup is perfect for measuring water because you don't have to keep bending over the sink to see if you've got the measurement right and it holds 2 cups so no more teetering cups of water as you run across the kitchen.

Let it simmer on low for at least a half an hour. Stir in the vinegar and salt when you are ready to serve.

 I made some quick cornbread muffins & sliced a few bricks of cheese. Top your chili with crushed tortilla chips or shredded cheese and enjoy.

Email me for more information on all the products used or if you have any questions about why the "{kitchen tool company}" references instead of the actual name: rachael.9667 AT gmail DOT com