When it's freezing outside I want one thing, a mug of chili. Add some spicy toppings and something cool to wash it all down, and Im a happy camper. Since we were out of town part of this week, I needed one of my go to recipes to make it in time for the weekly DDC post.
Chilly Day Beef Chili:
- 2 pounds of ground chuck
- 1 jar of homemade salsa
- 3 roasted red peppers, from canning reserves
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 poblanos, diced, from freezer reserves
- 4 smallish carrots diced
- 2 cups of beans
- 2 cups of stock, I used homemade turkey
- homemade chili powder, season to your taste
- 1 tbsp homemade dried pimenton
- thyme from the garden
- salt & pepper
- butter or olive oil to sauté veg & brown meat
- garnish: cheesy bread croutons, cilantro, sour cream, pickled jalapeño, cheese
Method:
- in a large heavy pot, brown ground beef
- add dried spices, salt, pepper, & thyme
- stir in salsa & turkey stock
- while this simmers, chop up your veg. Add it into the pot as you run out of cutting board space
- bring to a boil, reduce to simmer on medium/low
- simmer for 1-2 hours
- before you serve it up, dice up the bread for croutons and toast them up in a large skillet. Sprinkle on a little salt. You can leave the croutons in the pan while the chili simmers. Just remember to kill the heat, so you don't burn the bread!
It was nearly impossible to find local legumes. Over the next few weeks I'll be checking out Breezy Willow Farm at the Dupont Circle Farmers Market for options. We eat a lot of beans, and Id love to find a local option. All of the incoming seed catalogues have me seriously considering growing and drying my own beans this year!
My other non-local ingredient was sour cream. I just cannot do chili without a spoonful of it atop my chili. We always buy organic, but Ill continue looking for it from Trickling Springs or another local dairy.
Normally we would have this meal with chips or cornbread, since those were nearly impossible to source, and I have zero experience in making masa, I found another local bakery with yummy bread. Canela Bakery, in Gaithersburg, MD, makes a fantastic cheddar cheese bread that transformed into delightfully crunchy croutons.
As always, my 3yo washed this down with a glass of Trickling Springs milk and we washed down the chili with a local brew. Over the weekend I picked up some artisanal beer by Dog Brewing in Westminster, MD.
Make sure you check out the DDC round up at Not Dabling in Normal, my bison burger recipe was featured!