3 meat, 3 bean chili

Making chili is such a great thing to do and its freaking easy to make. I know I have made some previous posts where one could enjoy White Bean Chili and Buffalo Chili. Any of these types of meals is hearty, but of course its not necessarily vegetarian.

Here's a thing about making this type of chili, you make it your own. I have made this before with buffalo and pork as well. One time, I made it even with deer meat. When you use meat that is a little more gamey (deer, squirrel or other type of meat), make sure you soak the meat in buttermilk. This helps taper off the taste of game and you could enjoy it.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1 lb turkey
1 lb lamb
1 large onion, diced
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 cans 8 oz Hunts tomato for chili
1 4 oz tomato sauce
4 - 6  cups beef stock (or beef broth)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder (additional, in case)
1 tbsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Start by getting a large pot well heated, adding some olive oil. Brown the meat.

 

While the meat is cooking, dice the onions. Add the onions to the cooking meat. If you like, you may add a small red onion. This would add a little sweetness to the chili, but not much.

 

 

After about 5 minutes (or when the onions are a little translucent), I add ground turkey that I had previously used for turkey tacos. Allow to cook for about another 5 minutes. Now if you are using turkey that is freshly ground, Mix with the other meats and allow to cook as normal.

 

Add the garlic to the cooking meat, cooking for about 1 minute. Make sure you mix on occasion.

Now add the beans to the cooking meat. Allow to cook for about another 5 minutes. Make sure you don't over stir as you might bruise the beans.

 

 

Add the liquid items. Mix in every time you add a liquid item to the cooking chili. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes. Add a lid to your pot as it will help in the cooking process.

 

Add the spices. Notice that I am not stirring until I have added all the spices. As with most things that I cook, I don't oversalt things since I have the beef broth, tomato sauce and other items that have enough salt. Let the chili cook for another 5 minutes. Taste and see if you need to add additional spices to the cooking chili.

 

Allow to continue to cook for about 20 minutes on high. This should be coming to a boil. Reduce the heat to about low heat. This will continue to cook for another 10 to 20 minutes making sure you stir on occasion.

Turn off the heat and take off of the heat. This is especially if you are using an electric stove.

Know that I have cooked this 1 day ago. I normally like to cook this well in advance because the spices need to meld well together. This was a winner AGAIN as I had approval from MC and the in law. Serve this with crackers and some sour cream/cheese.

French Onion Soup

It's time for soup and I do love soup. There are many types of soup that I like to make, but I do have a tendency of going back to the classic soups such as chicken noodle, beef and of course french onion soup.

Making french onion soup really isn't really hard. What is really difficult is the time it takes to prepare the soup. Here is a recipe that I have used a couple of times and it was a hit for MC.

Ingredients:

6 - 8 large onions (yellow onions preferably)
2 tbsp salted butter
Olive oil
1/4 tsp of sugar
2 tbsp minced garlic
8 cups of beef stock (or broth)
1/2 cup of dry white wine (or a merlot)
1 tbsp Worcestershire
1 large bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon of dry thyme
Salt and pepper
6 slices of toasted French bread
1 1/2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere, Edam and a little grated Parmesan cheese

Start by cutting the onions. I am cutting the onions lengthwise as I am just following tradition. Also, notice that I am adding one red onion. I do this because it adds a totally different flavor to the onion soup.

 

In a large saucepan, add the olive oil and butter. Make sure that the butter is melting and spread it around assuring that the butter and olive oil mix well.

 

 
Now sauté the onions in the olive oil on medium high heat until well browned, but not burned, about 30 minutes (or longer).

 

Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the caramelization.Continue to cook.

 
Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock. Now if you don't have stock, you can use beef broth. This might not give enough flavor, but it does do the job as well. I am also adding a can of beef consomme as this will help give more flavor (and since I am not using beef stock).

 

Now add the vermouth or wine, bay leaf, and thyme. I am using two small bay leaves since I don't have a large bay leaf. Also, I didn't use dry white wine (for some reason...I thought I had). I ended up using some good merlot. Cover partially and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes.

 

 
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf. Allow to simmer some more for about 5 minutes. Taste again to see if you need to add additional salt and pepper. I don't add salt as the consomme and beef broth have enough sodium.

 

 
While the soup is simmering, you can slice the bread and butter. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Allow to warm the bread until it is toasted. Take out of the oven and dice into large croutons. I am using sourdough bread, but french bread is better as it won't necessarily soak up all the soup (sourdough normally does).

 
To serve you can either use individual oven-proof soup bowls or one large casserole dish. Ladle the soup into the bowls or casserole dish. Cover with the croutons and sprinkle with cheese. Put into the broiler for 10 minutes at 350, or until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned.

 
This is a great dish to enjoy when its rather cool, but I like to have this year round. This soup does keep well for about 1 week. I sometimes like to cook it well in advance (the soup that is) and prep a day or two. This allows the spices to really meld well. Enjoy!!