Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Snow Day Chili

I love snow days. I loved them when I was a kid and I love them now. There's something so exciting about anticipating being snowed in and watching the landscape transform into a winter wonderland right before your eyes. I don't even mind shoveling. Honest.

So today was a snow day in my corner of the world as we got about 17" of snow in the last 24 hours. My girls and my husband were home today for the snow day and while the girls will be home for another snow day tomorrow, unfortunately my husband will be trekking in to his job tomorrow.

In anticipation of the snow storm, I made a big pot of chili that we had for dinner last night and then again for lunch today, which was very satisfying after that first round of snow shoveling. This recipe is really easy to make and very tasty, too!


Snow Day Chili

1 tblsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef sirloin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tblsp. tomato paste
3 tblsp. chili powder
1 tblsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tblsp. blackstrap molasses
1 35 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained.
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained


Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large dutch oven or sauce pot.

Add onion and garlic and saute until onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes.

Add ground beef and cook until browned, stirring often.

Add salt, pepper, tomato paste, chili powder, cocoa powder and molasses. Cook for 1-3 minutes, stirring often.

Add tomatoes and beans, stir to combine.

When chili begins to boil, lower heat to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Season with additional salt to taste, if needed.

Serve in bowls with rice, tortilla chips or my favorite, corn bread and your favorite toppings such as sour cream, shredded cheese, and sliced jalapeno chilies.

Enjoy! :)

13 comments:

  1. The chili looks yummy. We didn't get any of that gorgeous snow. Darnit! I thought I was the only one to put something sweet in with chili! I put brown sugar in mine. Now I'm wondering if I have everything in the pantry for chili....... *G*
    Enjoy your snow!

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  2. Your (western) chili is so different from the Asian version of chili. :) Yours looks delicious - I'm sure it tastes great too. :)

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  3. Hmmm... I can smell that chili cooking. Great idea for a cozy, snowy, cold day at home. I went with beef soup -- your chili sounds much better *g*...

    PS: I also had a lovely snow-day off at home. :)

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  4. You guys are lucky, turning a snow day into a cozy day LOL!

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  5. mmm. I made chili with some ground venison given to me by my cousin. so tasty! And it goes great with some homemade cornbread. :)

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  6. Brandy, I thought of you when my yard looked so pretty and almost emailed you a photo... but didn't want to rub it in. ;o)

    Brown sugar in your chili is a great idea. I'm going to try that next time. I love that slight sweet, molasses type flavor in my chili.

    Jace, now you've got me curious. What is Asian chili like?

    Hilcia, the timing was perfect for chili this week. I had more for lunch today. Beef soup sounds good, too!

    I'm glad you had a snow day, too! :)

    nath, we were lucky with our snow day for sure!

    sula, I've never had Bambi errr. .. I mean, venison before. LOL kidding! I'm not "speciest" when it comes to being a carnivore.

    I love cornbread. Sometimes I think I make chili just so I can eat it with cornbread. ;)

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  7. sula, I forgot to ask... how did you guys fare with all that snow?

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  8. heh. meat is meat. ;)

    the snow yesterday wasn't too bad in terms of inches (what's 6 more inches when you've already got 24?) but it was super WINDY which meant no visibility and snow blowing all over the place. The sun came out today though which was fabulous!

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  9. Hey Christine! I just made Chili myself. Love it on these cold days. Your recipe sounds good, where do you get the molasses? I sometimes have a hard time finding some of these ingredients whenever I try to make certain recipes.

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  10. I love chilli so I will have to try this out. Not sure if we have all those ingredients here, so I may have to improvise :)

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  11. Mmmm looks yummy and oh so comforting!

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  12. Barbara, chili just hits the spot after a day out in the snow, doesn't it? I can get molasses at my supermarket in the aisle that has maple syrup and honey. They usually only carry one or two brands. I really only use molasses for chili and gingerbread so one bottle usually lasts me 2-3 years. You can try using the same amount of brown sugar instead.

    orannia, I'm curious what ingredients you may not have. Molasses? And maybe the beans? Interesting.

    Tracy, thanks! :)

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  13. Hmmm....stomach growling. I like to add PorknBeans to my chili!

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