With an unexpected snow day on Friday, our scheduled events for the evening were no longer on the schedule. So, when the snow stopped early in the afternoon, I decided to make a trek to the grocery store.
With all 4 kids at home and a quiet evening on tap, there was no need to make a quick dinner. However, as the roads weren’t great for driving until mid-afternoon, a slow-cooking meal also wasn’t an option. A request for chili was made, and it seemed like an excellent plan. If we served chili with honey cornbread as a side dish, all 4 kids would eat the chili.
Typically, I make chili with ground beef or turkey, unless I make it vegetarian style. I wanted to give this chili a slightly different flavor, so I opted to use ground beef and pork. To offer some taste and texture diversity, I added two kinds of beans.
As we served dinner, the lure of cornbread seemed to be the only reason 3 of the 4 kids would eat the chili. However, by the time the bowls were half-empty, they all had become chili converts, with one of the picky eaters even requesting seconds! It seems that this dish should become a requested dinner in our home.
Round out this dish with a pan of my honey cornbread.
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 tablespoons chipotle chili powder
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 16-ounce cans tomato sauce
- 1- 6-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2 16-ounce cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 16-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- Heat a stock pot over medium heat, and coat bottom with olive oil.
- Place onion and garlic in pan and saute for a few minutes.
- Add pepper and cook a minute or two longer.
- Add beef and pork, cooking until no longer pink, seasoning with chili powders, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Drain grease from pan, and return to heat.
- Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, and bring to boiling.
- Reduce heat to low, and add beans. Partially cover with a lid, and allow to simmer.
- After 30 minutes, taste chili, adding additional spices, if needed.
- Simmer for another 30 minutes.
- Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce.
