This weeks Craving Ellie recipe was chosen by Lauren of I’ll Eat You.  Lauren’s site is a must see so be sure to scroll back up after reading through the Apple Crumbles experience with this recipe.

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You already know that two versions were made: Meatless DSC_2321

and Meat.  DSC_2322

I didn’t add any vegetarian substitutes since beans are a great source of protein and will satisfy my dinner appetite all on their own.  

In each of our Chilies, I used the following.  Exceptions and Apple Crumbles changes noted in red.

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  • 1 TBS olive oil
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 medium carrot, diced
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 lb 90% lean ground beef
  • 1 (28oz) can Crushed tomatoes – undrained
  • 1 1/2 cups water (Recipe called for 2 cups but I wanted ours thicker)
  • 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce (from the can) with 2 tsp of the sauce *I did not add the extra 2 tsp to Ted’s chili as he doesn’t like too spicy nor too hot
  • 1 (15 oz) can black beans (I used Cannellini beans in my version)
  • 1 (15 oz) can Kidney beans (I used light red for Ted and dark red kidney beans for me)
  • 1 cup frozen corn kernels (recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups but I used 1/2 cup for Ted and 1/2 for me)
  • 1/2 can Green Beans ( split the whole can between us)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

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I cut all the onion, peppers, carrots up at lunch time and put in a bag to cook later.  This made prep time a snap.  Cooked the veggies for 10 minutes on medium, covered. Added the beef to Ted’s, added the cumin and coriander to both versions, turned the temperature to high (meat version only) and cooked the meat. Added the crushed tomatoes, water, chipotle and sauce, and oregano. Cooked 30 minutes, slightly covered.  Added the beans and cooked another 20 minutes, slightly covered. Added the corn and the green beans just to heat through, 5 minutes. Both chilies needed about 3/4 tsp salt and pepper.

The recipe was easy and, sure enough, just as Ellie notes on page 187 of “The Foods You Crave”, the chipotles added a hint of smoky “kick” to this chili.  Warning: If you don’t like peppery hot, don’t add a whole chipotle.

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I kept going back and forth as to whether I should only make the meaty (Ted’s)version of the chili since we just had black bean soup the other night and I had made chili a week or so ago.  But then I thought, this time of year is the perfect time to have homemade chili in the freezer ready for those cold days or cold nights when you just want to warm your insides without a lot of fuss.  Perfect.

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Apart from burning my hand every time I went to stir the cast iron pot I was cooking Ted’s dinner in, and the tomato sauce that splashed the stove top and my orange sweater, this dinner went along very smoothly. Writing this post was a bit of a challenge since for some reason I kept typing “CHILE” instead of “CHILE”…I JUST DID IT AGAIN!!!!…”CHILI”!!!!!

Thanks to Lauren for a super pick this time of year. Tuesday was our first day of snow (the day I made this recipe)…it didn’t stay around long but it was on the ground for most of the morning.

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Joanne

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