Chili

Well I think the weather has officially indicated that it's fall now...personally I'm a much bigger summer person, but I do love the food that comes with fall: apples, corn, warm soup...the list goes on. With the weather getting colder, I was in the mood for something warm. And that something ended up being chili. This recipe is really easy (just takes 10-15 minutes of prep), and it makes some great leftovers...always a plus :)

Ingredients
1 to 1.5 lbs ground beef or ground turkey, browned and drained
1 can of dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can of light red kidney beans, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
1 can of pinto beans, drained
2 cans of stewed or diced tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 Tbsp chili powder
Tabasco sauce, to taste

Directions
1. Brown the meat in a big pot (a stockpot for example). 
2. After the meat is browned and drained, add the remaining ingredients. After adding all the ingredients, fill one of the tomato cans with water and add that to the pot. 
3. Stir all the ingredients together and let simmer for 30 minutes. You can simmer for longer than this if you like; the longer it simmers, the more flavorful it becomes. 

4. After simmering for 30 minutes, do a taste test and add any additional chili powder and/or Tabasco sauce to your liking.

Emily's Thoughts
The great thing about this recipe is that it's flexible and you can easily adjust it based on your taste. For example, I'm not a huge spice person, but I like a little Tabasco sauce in there, so I add some until it's spicy enough for me. Also, sometimes I like to add veggies to my chili. You can really add whatever you want, but I've used corn, carrots, zucchini, and green peppers in the past.

Some people like their chili plain, but personally I recommend serving yours over elbow macaroni, with cheese sprinkled on top, and a dollop of sour cream to top it off. 

Also, being that you're using a lot of canned items in this recipe, I recommend looking for low sodium beans at the store.


Now give this simple and easy recipe and enjoy it as the leaves and temperatures start to change this fall!