Chili con carne is a dish with probably as many different recipes as there are people who fix it. And there is usually much debate among aficionados as to what ingredients are used, or omitted. I made a batch for myself last week, while my wife was on a bus trip to visit the International Quilt Festival. Since I was the only one eating it, I made it the way I like it!
Using homegrown ingredients really brings a lot of flavor to this dish. I used tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato puree, roasted chili peppers, and bell peppers from the freezer, plus dried oregano from our herb garden. And I make chili powder every year from our dried peppers, so that was homegrown as well. We’re out of onions from the garden, but we still have plenty of garlic. So most of the ingredients except the meat and beans came right from our gardens.
chili ingredients (click on any image to enlarge)
One thing I like to do when I have time is cook my own dried beans instead of using canned ones. Canned beans are usually loaded with salt, and often have an ‘off’ taste to me. For this batch of chili I cooked small red beans in the pressure cooker, then froze the beans for later use.
chili, topped with optional cheese and scallions
Happy Acres Chili
an original
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cups cooked kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced green chilies
2 cups tomato sauce
1 pt tomatoes
1 pt tomato puree
cheese and green onions for topping (optional)
1. Brown beef in skillet then drain off grease. Add onions and red bell pepper and saute until onions are transparent.
2. Add beef mixture to saucepan then add remaining ingredients.
3. Bring to a simmer. Simmer on low for about 30 to 45 min.
Servings: 8
Yield: 1 cup
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 245 calories, 67 calories from fat, 7.3g total fat, 35.2mg cholesterol, 430.2mg sodium, 1177.1mg potassium, 29.7g carbohydrates, 8.6g fiber, 10.4g sugar, 16.8g protein, 84.2mg calcium, 2.6g saturated fat.