Chili 2019

I started making chili the year before last when I developed mad cravings for Frito pie (the tuna noodle casserole of the American Southwest).

The bigger inspiration aside from needing to use up Thanksgiving leftovers is my diet. I don't eat beef and I tend to keep my diet low sodium. This makes most chili in Texas off limits for me. This recipe came about from reverse engineering someone's vegan chili that I had at a charity benefit. I added meat.

Ingredients:

1 lb Turkey

chicken stock

2 dried Ancho chilis
1 dried Guajillo chili
1 dried Pasilla chili

3.5 tsp Ancho chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cheyenne

1 onion
1 large zucchini (~1 cup diced)
2 carrots (~1 cup diced)
2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 can Rotel tomatoes, liquid reserved
1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 can corn

salt

Procedure:
Simmer dried chilis in water for about 10 minutes. Remove the stems and seeds and pulse blend the chilis

Brown meat in a little bit of oil, then remove from the pot.

Saute onion & garlic until the onion is clear. Add carrots and zucchini and mix well.

Add the meat back to the pot. Add the spices, blended chili paste and enough stock to cover everything by 1/4 inch. Simmer until the carrots are tender (15-20 minutes)

When carrots are tender, add tomato paste and Rotel tomatoes. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, then adjust seasoning to taste
---At this point, the chili is pretty good without the beans and corn. This is a good stopping point.

Drain and wash beans and corn, then add to chili. Simmer for another 20 minutes.

Salt to taste.