Chili

Recipes for chili abound. Everyone has a favourite and this might not be yours, but it's mine! It's completely versatile. It's one of those dishes where any ingredient is optional and all ingredients can be increased or decreased according to one's preference or to what you find on your kitchen shelves. I like it spicy. Are you surprised? The exciting thing about adding jalapeños is you never know what you're going to get in the end. Sometimes I'm breathing fire and other times I resort to adding some crushed red chilies and cayenne pepper at the end. I remember one time I added four large jalapeños, seeds and all, to a pot of chili. It kept me warm all night long. You can use canned kidney beans to save on time but you might end up sleeping alone for the night.

3 cups dry kidney beans
2 lbs ground beef
1/2 tsp salt
2 onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
2 large jalapeños, chopped
4 cups mushrooms, sliced 
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups frozen corn
1 can brown beans
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato soup
1 can tomato paste 
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp basil
1/4 cup chili powder
Salt, if needed
Sugar, if needed

1. Soak beans in water overnight. Drain and rinse. Cook in salted water until soft - about an hour, sometimes more.
2. Scramble fry the ground beef with a little salt. Drain fat.
3. Sauté  onion, peppers, mushrooms and garlic. I usually do the onion and peppers together, adding the garlic near the end because it doesn't take long to cook. Then I sauté the mushrooms by themselves. They don't behave properly with other vegetables. If you wish, you don't need to sauté any of the vegetables. They can go straight to the pot, but sautéing them enhances the flavour and boiled garlic isn't all that palatable, so <gasp> I would substitute garlic powder.
4. Add all ingredients to a very large pot or crock pot. I prefer a crock pot because I don't want to spend time and energy stirring the chili every ten minutes to keep it from burning on the bottom. You can let it simmer until it's heated through or leave it to simmer for hours. 
5. Make sure you check the flavour before you're done. You might need more spices or salt depending on the sodium content of your canned ingredients. You also might need to add some sugar if it tastes bitter. I use the canned beans with maple syrup, so sugar isn't necessary.
6. Whatever you do, don't throw uncooked beans in the pot with the ingredients thinking to save time. You will spend the rest of your life waiting for them to cook. The acid in the tomatoes prevents them from cooking. Ever.

Southwestern Burritos

Several years ago I spent some time in Texas, where people love to eat! It's true, everything is big in Texas - big oil pumps, big cowboy hats, big belt buckles, big dinner plates and big toilet paper rolls (you think I'm kidding). I never ate so much food in my life. I was introduced to jalapeños, enchiladas, breakfast burritos - and Chili's Southwestern Egg Rolls. I have waited nine years to sink my teeth into one of those gems. Of course, now that I've discovered that Fargo has a Chili's and a real Mexican restaurant, I shall return. Just for the food. I also discovered, compliments of Google, that many people have tried copying Chili's Soutwestern Egg Rolls, so here is my version. I don't know why Chili's called them egg rolls because they use tortillas. This one looks more like a burrito and I don't deep fry them, which is sad because it's really good that way! But when you eat as many as I have in the last month or so, it's a good thing they're not coated in grease. I have a confession to make, I hid the last one yesterday so I could have it for lunch. Sorry honey! I'll make you some more, I promise.

2 large chicken breast fillets, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic

Olive oil 

1 cup red pepper, diced

1 jalapeño, diced

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 bag fresh spinach or 1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained 

1 1/3 cups frozen corn 

1 cup black beans, cooked

1 tsp cumin 

1 tsp chilli powder 

Salt  

Cayenne pepper 

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese 

12 flour tortillas

Avocado Ranch Sauce

1 avocado, mashed

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

1/2 cup sour cream 

2 tbsp buttermilk 

3 tsp white vinegar 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp dried parsley 

1/2 tsp onion powder 

1/4 tsp dried dill weed 

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Cracked Pepper

1. Grill the chicken on a barbecue or indoor grill. I used the George Foreman grill since it is currently minus a billion outside and I draw the line at barbecuing past -20 C. 

2. Saute the red pepper, jalapeño, green onion and garlic. If you don't like the heat, remove the seeds from the jalapeño. Really, what's the point of using a jalapeño if you're going to throw away the best part? Just use a green pepper and save your hands from being on fire for a few hours.

3. Add spinach, corn, beans and seasonings. Omit the cayenne pepper if you can't take the heat. Continue cooking until the spinach is wilted and the mixture is hot. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. (No one will know if you cut off a chunk of that Monterey Jack and eat it.) The last time I made these, they were for a bridal shower. I doubled the recipe and got stingy with the Monterey so I used half Monterey and half mozzarella (minus the one little chunk of Monterey).

4. Assemble burritos. You may end up with more or less, depending on how much filling you put in each one. At this point you can throw them on the grill if you plan on eating them right away or wrap them individually in foil to refrigerate or freeze for later. If you don't have a grill, you can just bake them in the oven, wrapped or unwrapped, depending on how crunchy you want them.

5. Serve with Avocado Ranch Dipping Sauce. You don't have to, but you should. You can cut these in half and use them as an appetizer or leave them whole and make it a meal.

6. To make the sauce, throw everything in a blender or food processor. If you're using something like Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise (I personally thinking mayo is disgusting unless you disguise it in a recipe), just omit the vinegar.

Barbecued Beans

2 cups dried beans*
1 onion
1 red/green pepper
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup barbecue sauce
Cayenne pepper
Chili powder - be generous!
Salt (optional)

*My favourite combo: 1 1/2 cups pinto beans, 1/4 cup red kidney beans, 1/4 cup black beans 

1. Soak beans overnight in a large pot of water. Remember the beans 'grow' so make sure the pot has room for the bean expansion! (Take this free advice from someone who discovered this the hard way.) 
2. Discard the water used to soak the beans and give them a little rinse in fresh water. (This virtually eliminates the 'F' word.)
3. Add fresh water and let the beans simmer in a pot on the stove for a couple of hours, or until soft. Do not add anything to the water. Not even salt. Beans are free-spirited, really. They are fearful of commitment. They like to remain unattached for as long as possible. If you force them into a relationship, they turn into stones and no amount of boiling will make them soft.
4. Once cooked, drain off most of the water. You can leave a little bit with the beans, if you don't like your beans dry and transfer to a baking dish with a cover.
5. Saute onion, red pepper and/or green pepper and garlic. Add this to the beans along with all remaining ingredients. You may or may not need salt, depending on the sodium content of the barbecue sauce you are using. Do a taste test before adding the salt. Sometimes I throw in some corn.
6. Bake anywhere around 350 F (180°C) for about 30 minutes, or until bubbling.