You may recall from this week’s HUMP DAY BUMP DAY post that my most recent craving was CHILI! And you ALSO may recall that I said I would share the delicious recipe that I used to tame said chilli craving! And so it shall be done!
YUM!
The first time I made this recipe was my first solo-chili-making experience and it turned out perfectly. Granted… it is chili… which is pretty hard to mess up, AND I was using a fantastic recipe compliments of Jacin over at Lovely Little Details which is not only delicious but very easy!
Here’s what you need STRAIGHT from her blog post: (with a couple of tweeks from me)
- 6 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage (~2 sausages) – I actually couldn’t get my hands on turkey sausage so I used 1 lb of regular HOT pork sausage.
- 2 cups chopped Vidalia onion (1 medium sized onion)
- 1 cup chopped green bell pepper (i used the whole pepper) – If you have extra peppers of another color, you can throw those in as well. I had some left over orange bell pepper that I wanted to use up before it went bad so I threw it in there too!
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound ground sirloin (lean meat) – Since I didn’t get turkey sausage I ended up using ground turkey instead of sirloin… YUM!
- 1 jalapeño pepper, chopped (i removed the seeds to remove some of the heat, but leave them in if you like extra spicy)
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon – I added this one in since it’s my FAVORITE ingredient for just about every red-sauce-based recipe!
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste (i ended up using the whole jar)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano – I’m a loser and didn’t have oregano so I used an Italian seasoning blend {with oregano in it} and it worked out perfectly!
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (i DEFINITELY used more salt)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/4 cups Merlot or other fruity red wine – I felt like such a rebel… big old preggo lady buying wine at the grocery store.
- 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped
- 2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
- A SOUR CREAM FINISH FOR YOU DAIRY LOVERS!
And here’s what to do with it all: {again these instructions are from Jacin’s post… with a few edits from my personal experience}
Heat a large Dutch {Any deep-set pot will work} oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage, onion, and the next 4 ingredients (onion through jalapeño) to pan; cook until sausage and beef are browned, stirring to crumble.
Add chili powder and the next 7 ingredients (chili powder through bay leaves), and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Stir in wine, tomatoes, and kidney beans; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Uncover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaves.
Sprinkle each serving with cheddar cheese.
I realize I added a TON of cheese, but in my defense, #1 it’s a really big bowl and #2 I’m pregnant so I’m allowed! I also made some really easy cornbread {package-mix} because it’s almost a sin to have one without the other. As Jacin mentioned in her post, this chili is just as good, IF NOT BETTER, the next day for leftovers. I think I chowed down on this batch for about 4 days and was legitimately sad when I finally scraped the pot clean.
Thankfully Z is a HUGE fan of this recipe and I know he would eat it every weekend if it was available. Now, I know it’s been a little warm for chili {at least in GA} but when you baby wants it, and you gotta have it, it doesn’t matter WHAT the weather is like! And just in case you really ONLY eat chili when the weather is… well… chilly, good news, fall is finally here and things are cooling down! So grab a giant spoon and dig in friends!
Until next time…
Do you have a favorite fall comfort food that you could eat day after day after day? TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT!
Pierce Family Circus 