Beefy Chunky Vegetable and Bean Chili

Aside from a very occasional grass-Today's chili will be a big pot for several people I'm cooking for, and me. beef  inburger, the only thing I use ground meat for is meat loaf. For that I use beef, lamb, venison, elk, chicken, turkey. . .whatever I can find that looks good and healthy. Usually a mix of at least 2 of the above. I loosely follow my mom's meatloaf recipe, and it always tastes great. I'm planning to make more of those this winter, so those recipes will be appearing here.

This big pot is for several people I was cooking for, as well as for me. I've finally discovered that my beef-of-choice for chili is beef stew meat. It always turns out great whereas a roast or steak can be tough. Since the pieces are usually about 1¼" cubes, I cut each one into quarters. This way, in the browning-deglazing process, they get well browned, tender and develop really good flavor.

While the meat is browning in single source EVOO, chop the vegetables. Today I used 2c celery, 1 big onion, 1 lg. green pepper, 3 mini red peppers and the celery tops will go in during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

Brown the meat until it sizzles, then add liquid and simmer again until it sizzles. Do this 3 or 4 times to bring out all the great flavor of good quality meat. Season it lightly, during the last browning.

To deglaze the pot, you can use water, cooking sherry, Vodka or beer. Beer is the best with red meats. I no longer drink alcohol, but love the way certain ones interact with animal protein to enhance the flavor. Most of the alcohol evaporates by the end of the cooking process.

This time, I used water, then - since I didn't have beer - I poured in a splash Marsala cooking wine at the end. If you take the time to do this browning-deglazing with a liquid, you'll be surprised at how little seasonings you need to add!

Pour in the 28oz. can of stewed tomatoes, and the smaller can of petite diced tomatoes with all the juice. All the chopped vegetables along with a cup or two of water if needed, and a big spoonful of beef Better Than Bouillon. Simmer everything together on low-medium heat, covered, for about a half hour. Next add the drained-rinsed black and garbanzo beans along with the chili beans - but do NOT drain or rinse those. Just pour both cans right into the pot. If you like corn in your chili, now would be a good time to add a couple of cans of drained whole kernel corn (not creamed corn). Now the celery tops also go in the pot.

Simmer everything together another 10-15 minutes. Serve it now, or for best flavor, chill and reheat it several hours later.

I had a bowl with a double corn muffin I made to go with the potato corn chowder. This time I cheated and used a jiffy mix to which I added an extra egg, EVOO, 1t baking powder, 1/3c ground flax seed, 1 can drained corn and some quick cooking oats. . .Lin

Beefy-Beany Crunchy Vegetable Chili

In a 6 quart, heavy-bottom pot, lightly brown cubed top round steak, in a couple tablespoons of EVOO. While this is happening, chop or slice the vegetables shown and add them to the pot.

Add about a quart of water, 2-3T low sodium beef Better Than Bouillon and 3 bay leaves and 28oz. petite diced tomatoes and juice. Simmer on low heat for a half hour.

Add the chili beans and 'gravy' from each can. Drain and rinse black beans and add those now as well. I used 2 cans of black beans.

Simmer everything another half hour. Serve with crusty bread or corn muffins.

This will keep well, refrigerated, for about a week and I find it tastes best on day 2 or 3, after chilling and reheating. . .Lin

Little Smokies, Beans and Vegetables

Every so often I make or buy something that's strictly a guilty pleasure. Not the healthiest choice. Sometimes it's ice cream, muffins, or, like today, Little Smokies. I love them!

I'm up at the lake this week. Right now it's really choppy and noisy out there. We're going to get hit with some wicked weather.

My area is right on the line between either 2-5" or 4-8" of snow and icy roads, so it seems I'm lumping all my cooking into the first few days this time.

I really had a craving for this!

It goes together quick, and to me, it's comfort food.

The only thing missing is some fluffy buttermilk biscuits, but I didn't bring ingredients for those. . .

In a 3 quart pot, heat the oil, then add the ingredients in the order they're listed.

2T olive oil

14oz. Hillshire Farms Little Smokies - cut in thirds

1/4 lg. onion - finely chopped

3 stalks of celery - sliced

Sizzle these for 10 minutes, stirring to keep everything from sticking. Put the beans in a colander to drain a little of the liquid, but don't rinse. Add the drained beans to the pot.

Rough chop the rest of the onion and mince some garlic and add those now. Add as much or little garlic as you want. Today, for me it was A LOT of garlic!

My granddaughter jokes that my 'garlic taste buds' must have died! I love garlic, but almost never actually taste it no matter how much I use. The exception is garlic in olive oil in a jar, or barely cooked garlic. Stir, then cover and barely simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

Taste before serving. I added pepper and a tablespoon of white Balsamic vinegar for a touch of acid to balance the richness. . .Lin

Don't Forget The Beans!!!

Beans are a miracle food that have had a bad image for way too long.  They're an excellent source of fiber and protein.  Black beans, red beans, black-eyed peas, great northern, navy, pinto, garbanzos, they're all wonderful.  If you don't like to rehydrate and cook with dry beans, no problem.  Use canned.  After all, cooking isn't always about reinventing the wheel.  Shown here is a can of green beans, garbanzos aka: chickpeas and some frozen peas.  This went together in just a few minutes.  Heat and serve with a dab of butter, salt and pepper.