warm weather cooking

Beef, bean, and local Sticks corn chili

I love this colder weather and the food that comes with it! I made an enormous pot of chili, chock full of beef, black beans, kidneys beans, and local Sticks corn this weekend! Delicious! Here's how I make my chili, don't have measurements of spices, as I just eyeball things:
  • Chop two yellow onions and mince 4 cloves of garlic, saute both in olive oil in a pot
  • Brown 1lb beef in separate pan
  • Chop green pepper, toss into onion/garlic pot once the onions have been cooking for a few minutes
  • While veggies saute, sprinkle in chili powder, cumin, chipotle pepper (love that smokey flavor!) 
  • Add now browned and drained beef, 1can drained and rinsed black beans, 1 can drained and rinsed kidney beans, 1-15 oz can stewed tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes that have been blanched and had skins and cores removed)
  • Add 1 can tomato paste (15oz can) 
  • Throw in corn (I threw in about 3-4 cups (frozen, which added more liquid)
  • Dump in a about 4-5 cups V8 juice (this keeps the veggie flavor stronger than if you added water)
  • Depending on how liquidy you want your chili, you can add/decrease amount of V8
  • Check flavor for salt and pepper (I also stir in soy sauce, which gives the chili body and salt)

Now you see why my freezer is full of chili, tons of meals for cold nights to come!

Roasted potatoes, onions, and carrots with salt & pepper
Also, had some old carrots, onions, and potatoes that needed to be eaten, so...
  • Quarter 1-2 onions
  • Wash and peel 8-12 carrots, trim off ends, cut in half
  • Scrub potatoes, cut in quarts
  • Peel garlic, throw in whole cloves (as much as you like)
  • Toss everything in olive oil
  • Sprinkle veggies with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Roast for about an hour and a half, to an hour and 45 minutes at 375 degrees
These veggies are so good, man, oh man!! Serve as is, they don't need anything!

Inspired to do some cooking of your own? I'm reading a fun cookbook called, The Ski House Cookbook: warm winter dishes for cold weather fun, Tina Anderson and Sarah Pinneo, which has great suggestions for cold weather comfort food. Also, fans of Mollie Katzen won't be disappointed by her new cookbook, The Heart of the Plate.

Comments

The Journey of the Zealous Woman Farmer said…
Yum! I have a great slow cooker sweet and sour chicken recipe you should try!
November 12, 2013 at 9:04 PM
Monster Librarian said…
Sorry, friend, I'm not a big chicken fan. :(
November 12, 2013 at 11:26 PM
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