One-pot chili mac and cheese

The boyfriend found this recipe.  I admit, I looked quickly and thought "eh" - I read it as chili in my mac and cheese and I didn't want anybody messing with my mac and cheese!  But I'm so glad he convinced me to try it!  It's really a beanless chili recipe with pasta added, and the sour cream and cheese that you would put on top - it's stirred in.  Actually, it's become one of our favorite dinners.  Note: we use plain petite diced tomatoes and skip the two optional ingredients (hot sauce and green onions).

Ingredients

1. 1 tablespoon olive oil
2. 1 pound lean ground beef
3. 1 onion, diced
4. 2 cloves garlic, minced
5. 14-ounce can Red Gold Petite Diced Tomatoes With Green Chiles
6. 1 tablespoon chili powder
7. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
8. 1 teaspoon dried oregano
9. 2 cups water
10. 1 cup milk
11. 8 ounces pasta, shells, or any short cut pasta of your choice
12. 1/2 cup sour cream
13. 2 cups shredded cheddar
14. 4 green onions, chopped (optional)
15. Hot sauce, optional

Directions

1. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, add the olive oil and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef along with the onion and a small pinch of salt. Cook the mixture for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until the ground beef is fully cooked and the onions have developed some color (make sure to break up the ground beef as much as you can using a wooden spoon. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 more minute.
2. Add the water, canned tomatoes, milk, chili powder, cumin, and oregano; bring mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add the pasta, adjust the seasoning to taste, cover the pot with a lid, and cook for another 10 minutes.
4. Once the pasta is cooked, remove from the heat and stir in the cheese until fully melted along with the sour cream.
5. Serve with some chopped scallions and a few dashes of hot sauce.

Trisha Yearwood's Fancy Chili

I love chili but I can't seem to settle on a recipe that I like.  This one is a keeper!

The best part is it doesn't have to simmer for hours and hours on the stove.  You can easily make it on a weeknight.  I served it with a salad and corn bread, but the Awesome and Easy Creamy Corn Casserole would have been delicious with it too!

I also liked the crunchiness of the carrots and peppers. If you don't like that texture, you can cook them ahead of time or simmer the chili longer.

This recipe is from the September 2014 issue of Woman's Day.

Trisha Yearwood's Fancy Chili

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 scallions, chopped (I used onion)
1/2 lb lean ground beef, at least 90% (I found 93%)
1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I skipped this)
1 28 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (I used plain because I couldn't find these)
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed
1 15 oz can vegetarian refried beans
1 medium red pepper, finely chopped
4 medium carrots, coarsely grated
1/2 tsp brown sugar
Kosher salt

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan (I used my Dutch oven -- it makes more than you think it will!) over medium heat.  Add the garlic and scallions and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add the beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until starting to brown, 5-6 minutes.  Stir in the chili powder and cayenne and cook for 1 minute.

Add tomatoes, beans, pepper, carrots, sugar, 1 cup water, and a pinch of salt.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the pepper is tender, 12-15 minutes. Serve topped with rice, sour cream and fresh cilantro, if desired.

White Chicken Chili Soup

So, the other day on facebook, a friend commented on a friend of her's pin on pinterest (the beauty of social media!), a white chicken chili recipe.  I've never had white chicken chili and truthfully, had been a bit leery of it.  But this recipe seemed easy and with two cups of shredded cheese and a cup of sour cream I figured it must taste pretty good.  I'm so glad I tried it, another tasty recipe to add to the collection!  Since I'm lazy, I used two 10 oz cans of chicken.  Also, I opted for the Mexican blend cheese.  I brought it to a low boil and then reduced the heat to let the soup simmer for the 30 minutes.

4 cups chicken broth
4 15.5 oz. cans Great Northern Beans drained and rinsed
2 cups shredded chicken
1 small can diced green chilies
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese Monterrey Jack or Mexican Blend

In a large pot, add broth, beans, chicken, green chilis, cumin, garlic powder, oregano and pepper. Simmer on low-medium heat for 20-30 minutes, or until it is heated through.
Right before serving, stir in sour cream and cheese until it is all blended and melted.

Chili con Carne

Only I could get the "Light" issue of Food Network Magazine (January/February 2012) and still manage to try a recipe that is anything but!  There was a light version on the opposite page, but I went for the "rich" one!

Chris drinks Sam Adams Boston Lager, which made the chili a little bitter.  To compensate, I added about 2 tsp of sugar.  If you used a different beer, it probably wouldn't be an issue.

Oh.  And one important note.  When you crush whole tomatoes "by hand," they WILL explode.  Squeeze them inside the can to avoid getting tomato juice all over your kitchen wall and your sweatshirt.  Just sayin.

I served it with Awesome and Easy Creamy Corn Casserole.

Chili Con Carne

6 slices of bacon
2 lbs ground beef chuck (I used and would recommend 92%)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
salt
1/4 cup chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin (I skipped this)
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp oregano
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 12 oz bottle amber beer
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, crushed by hand (also added the thick puree they were packed in)
1 1/2 cups beef broth, plus more if needed
2 15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp hot sauce (I skipped this)
shredded cheddar cheese, sliced scallions, and/or sour cream for topping (optional)

Cook bacon in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp.  (I prefer to cut it into small pieces with kitchen scissors when raw instead of crumbling it after you cook it in strips)  Drain on paper towel and let cool.  Pour off all but one tablespoon of the bacon drippings.  RESERVE THE REST OF THE DRIPPINGS.

Increase heat to medium-high, add beef to bacon drippings and cook, breaking up the meat, until browned, about 8 minutes.  Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon.  Wipe out the pan.

Heat one tablespoon of the reserved bacon drippings over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic ad 1 tsp salt and cook 2 minutes.  Add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, and tomato paste and cook, stirring, unti the tomato paste is brick red, about 6 minutes (add a splash of water if the mixture begins to stick).  Add the beer and simmer until almost completely reduced, about 3 minutes.  (This took a bit longer, and I didn't reduce it completely either)

Stir in the beef and any juices on the plate.  Add the cocoa powder, tomatoes, beef broth, and beans andbring to a simmer over low heat.  Cook, stirring ocassionally, until the chili thickens slightly, about 90 minutes.

Stir the hot sauce into the chili and season with salt.  Add some beef broth if the chili is too thick.  Ladle into bowls and top with cheese, scallions, sour cream and/or bacon.

Beef and Black Bean Chili

This chili recipe is VERY different!  It has cinnamon, honey, and lime juice in it, which creates a very unique taste from your traditional chili recipe.

I'm going to post the recipe exactly as written.  But I am going to tweak it next time I make it.  I would back off on the cinnamon a bit, perhaps by half.  I would also cut the beef in half, add another can of black beans and a can of diced tomatoes.  I might also increase the chili powder.  I don't like cumin, so I skipped that.

The recipe comes from the October 2011 issue of Relish.

Beef and Black Bean Chili

3 tsp olive oil, divided
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
1 tsp coarse salt
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 28 ounce can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained (I used plain because I couldn't find fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, only fire-roasted diced tomatoes and I didn't want to bother with the food processor)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp honey
1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Heat 1 tsp olive oil in heavy Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add beef and brown, breaking up meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer meat to a bowl.  Sprinkle with salt, set aside.

Drain liquid from pan and add the remaining oil.  Add onion and saute until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes,  Add garlic and saute 1 minute more.  Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano and cinnamon.  Cook 1 minute.

Add chicken broth, water, beef, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and honey.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 1 hour, stirring ocassionally.

Add beans and lime juice and cook 5 minutes.  Serve with sour cream, sliced avocado, or shredded cheddar cheese, if desired.