Roasted Poblano Chili

One of my all time favorite meals is chili (hence why I have a million chili recipes on my blog).  It is a wonderful one pot meal that is easy to load with veggies and magically tastes even better as leftovers.  This season I have been obsessed with poblano peppers.  Where have they been all my life?!  They have the most amazing flavor without the heat of a jalapeno or serrano.  For this easy chili, I used 100% Organic grass fed beef and roasted peppers as the stars of the show.  Throw in more veggies and some delicious Mexican spices and we have ourselves a winner!  I ate this straight out of the bowl, but it would also be delicious ladled over a giant baked sweet potato.  Enjoy!

Top with your favorites:  diced onion, cilantro, or even a bit of cheese!

Ingredients:
2lb organic 100% grass fed beef
1 large or 2 small onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1tbs extra virgin olive oil (first cold pressed is best)
6 poblano chiles, seeded and cut in half
2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut in half
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (omit if you don't like spice)
2tsp oregano
2-3tbs chili powder
1-2tsp cumin
1/4tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp cayenne pepper (omit if you don't like spice)
1-2tsp salt
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes (Muir Glen Organic is best)
1 green bell pepper, diced
2c chicken stock (msg & gluten free: try Rachael Ray)
1 bay leaf
1/2c chopped cilantro
fresh lime juice, if desired

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to broil.  Brush both sides of your poblano and red peppers with oil.  Sprinkle with salt and place on a baking sheet.  Broil about 5 inches from the heat source for about 10 minutes per side or until blackened.  Let cool slightly and dice.
2. Meanwhile, heat a stock pot with 1tbs oil over medium high heat.  Add onion and jalapeno and cook until beginning to soften.  Add garlic and beef and cook until browned.
3. Add spices (to taste) and salt  and saute for a couple minutes.  Add in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, green bell pepper, roasted peppers, and bay leaf.  Stir well.
4. Let simmer 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in cilantro and a bit of lime juice before serving.  Adjust seasonings as needed.

Chipotle Beef Stew

Originally I was planning on making a traditional beef stew, but when it came time to make it I thought it sounded boring.  So instead, I made a Mexican chipotle beef stew fired up with chipotle chiles, onion, bell peppers, and fire roasted diced tomatoes.  When the whole thing was done, I wasn't sure if I should call it a "stew" or a "chili" so I asked my niece.  Her response?  "I don't know but this is better than any chili I've ever had!"  Yea, it's that good.

Enjoy with a salad, over a baked potato, or right out of the bowl!

Ingredients:
3-4lb rump roast, trimmed of fat and cut into 1" pieces
3tbs butter, preferably organic or grass fed
1 onion, chopped (I used 1/2 of a leftover red onion and 1/2 of a yellow but any color will do)
5 cloves garlic, minced
2c sliced multi-colored bell peppers (I used one package Trader Joe's frozen Melange & Trios bell peppers thawed under running water.  They only cost $1.69 per bag!)
16oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
1-28oz can whole tomatoes (San Marzano are best)
1-16oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes (Muir Glen is best)
2 ancho chiles in adobo sauce, minced + 1tbs reserved sauce
1/2tsp cumin
1/2tsp paprika
finely ground sea salt
chopped cilantro, for garnish

Directions:
1. Generously salt your beef cubes.  In a large saute pan, heat 1tbs butter over medium high heat.  Add half of your beef chunks  (enough to cover the pan in a single layer) and cook until deeply browned (about 5 minutes).  Place in a large stock pot.  Repeat with your remaining beef, adding more butter for each batch.
2. Add a bit more butter to the same pan and cook your garlic and onions until soft.  Add them to the pot.  Add the last of your butter and saute half of your bell peppers and mushrooms until the mushrooms are soft.  Add to the stock pot.
3. Add the other half of your bell peppers and all of the whole tomatoes (reserve the juice for another recipe) into a blender or food processor.  Pulse/blend until smooth.  Pour it all into your stock pot.
4. Add a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes, chipotle chiles and sauce, cumin, and paprika.  Stir well.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for about 2 hours (or until beef is tender).  Season with salt if needed. Serve with cilantro.  Enjoy!

Liz's Secret Texas Chili

This chili is always a huge hit whether I make it for 2 or 10.  It has large chunks of beef, similar to a stew, but with rich complex chili flavors.  You can make this over the stove or in a crock pot.  Either way, it's heavenly and even better the next day.  Anthony told me not to let my secret ingredients slip out on this one but I can't help it, I want to share:  it's ancho chile pepper, cinnamon and dark chocolate.  Yes, you heard me right, dark chocolate.  It adds some traditional mole flavors to this big stew.  You will be surprised how delicious this one is.  Enjoy!

The best bowl of Texas Chili you will ever eat!

Ingredients:
4 bacon slices, nitrate free of course
2.5lb tri tip roast, cut into 1" chunks
1 large onion, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1tbs minced garlic
2-3c beef stock (msg and gluten free)
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2tsp garlic powder
2tbs ancho chile powder
2tbs chili powder
1/2tsp cinnamon
2tsp adobo seasoning (substitute cumin if you don't have any)
1tsp sea salt
2tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2tsp oregano
1/4tsp cayenne (more if you like it spicy)
1/2oz good quality dark chocolate (mine was 88% cocoa; the darker the better)
cilantro, for garnish

Directions:
1. In a large stock pot, brown bacon.  Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel and crumble when cooled.  Working in batches, brown your beef chunks in the bacon drippings until dark brown.  Remove to the same bowl with the bacon.
2. When finished browning the beef, add your onion, garlic and green pepper until your onions begin to brown and soften (about 5 minutes).  Add a splash of beef stock and scrape up the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.  Return your beef and bacon and any remaining juices to the stock pot with the onions and peppers.  Add your diced tomatoes and all of your seasonings (garlic, chili powders, cinnamon, adobo, salt, vinegar, oregano, cayenne, and chocolate).  Give it a good stir and add a bit of beef stock to simmer (I used 2 cups to start with).
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and let cook for 2-3 hours.  Alternatively, in a crock pot you could cook this on low for about 6 hours.  If your chili gets dry, add a bit more broth.  At the very end of cooking taste and adjust seasonings as needed (add salt, add water, ect).  Serve hot and garnish with cilantro.

Halloween Chili

As a kid, every year my mom would make a huge pot of chili on Halloween day and we would all gather around and eat it with a large glass of milk before going trick or treating.  It made for an easy one pot meal that would fill everyone up before venturing out in the cold.  It is still one of my fondest memories of Halloween.  For the past 6 years since I've been married, I still carry on the tradition by making a big pot of chili on Halloween night.  This one is a little spicy, very meaty, and full of veggies.  I added in some allspice, which was my grandma's secret ingredient in her stews.  I hope you enjoy it.

A wonderful Halloween tradition

Ingredients:
2lb ground beef, preferably grass fed (I used 15% fat organic 100% grass fed beef from Trader Joe's)
1 sweet onion, diced
3c diced green bell peppers (from 2 large peppers)
10oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms

1tbs minced garlic
3tbs chili powder
1 + 1/4tsp cinnamon
1 + 1/2 tsp cumin
2tsp garlic powder
1 + 1/2tsp fine sea salt
1/2tsp black pepper
1tsp red pepper flakes (omit if you don't like spice)
3/4tsp allspice
1 can fire roasted tomatoes with the juice (Muir Glen is best)
1/2c El Pato tomato sauce (use regular if you don't like spice)
1/2c water
cilantro for garnish, optional


Directions:
1. In a large stockpot, brown beef over medium-high.  When it's half way done, add the onion, bell pepper and minced garlic and continue to cook until soft.  Add all of your spices and stir well.  Add your fire roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms and water.  Give it another good stir.
2. When the whole thing is boiling, turn to low and simmer for about 30 minutes (put a lid on for most of it so too much water doesn't evaporate).  Add additional seasonings if needed.  Serve hot with cilantro as a garnish.

Butternut Squash Chili

I love chili, all kinds of chili.  It is the ultimate comfort food for me.  Every Halloween my mother would always make a huge pot of chili and cornbread and we would eat it before going out trick or treating.  She would also make it during the summer with fresh veggies and serve it with a glass of milk.  This is my early fall chili:  chock-full of seasonal late summer and early fall veggies in place of beans.  I make my chili a little lighter than the traditional heavy winter chili and I freeze the leftovers in individual containers for an easy no-cook dinner later in the month.  Be sure to check out my Sweet Potato Cornbread recipe to finish off the meal.

Light and fresh seasonal chili makes fabulous leftovers too

 Ingredients:
1lb lean ground beef or turkey
2 sweet onions, peeled and diced
2tbs minced garlic
1tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1c diced or shredded carrots
4c butternut squash, cut into 1/2" cubes (I buy a pack of the precut squash and just throw it in)
1-14oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes (Muir Glen of course!)
1 can tomato puree
2tbs chili powder
1/2tbs ancho chili powder
2tsp cumin (more to taste)
2tsp garlic powder (I usually put this in at the end if the minced garlic wasn't enough)
1/2tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp cayenne (omit if you don't like yours spicey!)
2tsp dried oregano 
2c beef or chicken stock
1 lime
1 large handful chopped cilantro
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Heat 1tbs of oil in a large skillet over medium high.  Add garlic and onion and cook until translucent.  Add ground beef and cook until browned, breaking it up with a spatula as you cook.
2. In a soup pot, add tomatoes and puree, spices, zucchini, carrots, butternut squash, broth and seasonings.  Add beef mixture.  Bring to a boil, then turn to low and simmer 20 minutes or until veggies are tender.  Add the juice of 1 lime and a handful of cilantro.  Turn off heat.  Adjust salt and seasonings as needed.  Enjoy!