Bean Chili

So many tomatoes from the garden, what now?

My mother-in-law brought over tomatoes from the garden this past Sunday. After all the yummy pasta dishes I've been making recently, I hadn't gotten to add them in. It was most certainly my husbands turn to cook. He is a far better cook than I am. Being kind of sick of pasta we tried to come up with things to do with these damn tomatoes. I had originally suggested he make his delicious homemade vegetarian tomato sauce but alas, that is usually the topping for some starchy treat. Chili seemed like the only option. 

Last year my husband and his friends entered the chili contest in Grand Island. It was a lot of fun, even though they did not place in the top 3. It was kind of tough because someone made white chicken chili and since it was so damn different it ended up winning. I tried most of the chilis and the one that won was certainly delicious but it was kind of cheap to make a chili that didn't have tomatoes or beef in it. 

Every year these fellas get together around football season and have a chili contest between each other numbering them A. B. C. D. and D happened to be the winner. "Savor the D" was among the silliness that happened and it stuck. They entered the contest with "Savor the D". The reactions were mixed. Some loved it, others frowned and quickly hurried on. The chili was absolutely delicious though. 

It's about that time of year again actually which means i'll be eating chili for the next 4 months. Haha. Oh boy. Well, this particular recipe isn't the one he made in the contest, it was just an experiment that came out wicked tasty. My husband could turn a pot of boiling water into a 5 course meal. 

Delicious bean chili with tomatoes

• about 14 tomatoes or however many you want in your chili
• peppers, red and yellow bell
• an onion
• 2lbs ground beef 80/20
• Green Chili peppers, canned or fresh
• 3 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tsp tobasco
• 1 tbsp red vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 cans, (black beans, chick peas, red kidney beans) We had one can that we thought was beans but it turned out to be diced tomatoes with chili peppers in them. we used that because it's all we had.

1. Blanche tomatoes, remove seed, take stems out, diced
2. Remove seeds from peppers, diced. Chop onion
3. Saute veggies until translucent, set aside
4. Brown 2lb of ground beef 80/20 because "fat is flavor" in large pot. Sprinkle in some salt, cumin, pepper, powdered garlic, chili powder, crushed red pepper, Tabasco, peppers. Once it is all cooked add in the veggies, tomatoes and beans.
5. Add in 1 tbsp red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Let it simmer for 30 minutes. 

I linked how to blanche tomatoes. It's pretty easy. The prep time for this is quite long but it's definitely worth it because now we don't have to cook for a few days.

Waiting for 30 minutes for it to simmer is the hardest part. The smell surrounds the air. I'm sure people could smell his cooking straight down the hall. I took the dog out and could smell it for sure. 

I like to put my chili in a cup, and eat it that way. It's just a way of portion control, but I end up having quite a few teacups full. I don't mind thought because it gives me some time to let the food settle a bit. 

We like to top our chili with cheese and crackers but really it's whatever you like to put into it. 

Spicy chili helps your sickness out of your body

Everyone knows the minute you start to eat spicy foods your nose opens straight up and you better have a tissue handy. Well, I certainly knew that in a few days time I would certainly be feeling under the weather. The baby had been fussing recently with a runny nose and I knew it wouldnt be too long behind before I caught it as well. 

Capsaicin in the chili's are what give your body that fiery, runny nose feeling. I personally don't love it, but when I'm all stuffed up it sure is nice to be able to breath for a minute or two. This stuff also jump starts the metabolism too, which can be good for everyone. However, with this delicious chili recipe it is real hard not to get the "itis". You know what I'm talking about. 

Are there different classifications of chili soups?

I tried to look this up. What are the different types of chili? You have mostly meat chili's, spicy chili's, bean chili. There has to be a vegetarian chili. What if someone cant have red sauce, then white chili. Maybe chicken chili. Is there a list out there somewhere? I tried to search for a good source of different types. Perhaps I could make one because I know I can't be the only damn person in the world who wonders how many different types of chili there are. 

Now i have to come up with different ways to eat chili.