Chilly? Make Chili.

Once again Mother Nature decided to throw a curve ball in the game called Spring.  As the temperatures last week were in the 60's, higher in Moab, looked like winter was finally in hibernation.  We awoke yesterday morning to find a dark, dreary sky and intermittent showers of rain or hail.  It was chilly in the house, so the heat was turned back on; and the crock pot came out of the closet.  This was the perfect type of day to make chili and cornbread. 

So, while the crock pot cooked up this wonderful concoction called chili; hubby and I cleaned out boxes of clothing.  We downsized from 10 large Rubbermaid boxes to only 5, and wished we had done this before our big move from PA to Utah.  He loaded bags of used clothing into his car, and it will be going to the local charity shop in Moab before he goes to work.

Several hours later, the batter for red chili cornbread was in the oven; timed just right to be ready at the same time as the chili.  The cornbread recipe is located on my March 22, 2011 blog post, and all I did was add 1/4 cup of diced red chile peppers.

...and here is my recipe for chili.

Sirloin Beef Chili

Ingredients:

3 lbs boneless beef sirloin, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 Tbsp flour

1 large onion, diced

1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles plus one (10 oz) can.

1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained 

1 can (15 oz) dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 oz) great northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 ½ Tbsp ground cumin

2 Tbsp chili powder

½ tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Preparation:

Set 6-qt crock pot on low, place in beef, flour and onion; mix thoroughly and let cook for 2 hours before adding rest of ingredients.  Continue cooking on low for 4 hours more.  Serve as is, or garnish with sour cream and/or shredded cheese.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Note: the type of, and amount of, beans used is flexible; 2-5 types can be used, as desired.

Mary Cokenour

October 13, 1991