Chili a la Andrea

Okay, I know, I know.  It took me quite a while to get my first installment of the soup series posted.  CG did her part without even be asked and I’ve just been a big lazy butt.  I made the meals, had pictures of them and I just wasn’t ambitious enough to get them on the site.  But today is the day I’m being anti-procrastination.  I painted my front door, I did mass amounts of laundry and now I’m going to post my famous (at least in our house) chili recipe:

I’ve tinkered with chili recipes for years and this one (or a slight variation, depending on what I have on hand) seems to be the sticker.  It is a little bit spicy, but that can be adjusted by replacing the Rotel with another can of diced tomatoes and reducing the red pepper flakes.  I also deviate from traditional chili standards by substituting black beans for the regular chili beans.  I personally like black beans better and honestly think they look pretty with all the bell peppers.  (I am not strange for wanting my chili to be pretty!)

• 1 onion, diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. extra lean ground beef
• 1-2 Tbs. chili powder
• 1-2 tsp. cumin
• 1-2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2-1 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
• 1 can stewed tomatoes (not Italian style)
• 1 can diced tomatoes with chiles (Rotel or a similar brand)
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can black beans, drained (unless you’re watching your sodium, I wouldn’t be too picky with this; the sauce from the beans help thicken the broth up)
• 16-24 oz. V8 juice
• 1-2 tsp. Splenda
• 1 bell pepper (I used a combination of red, yellow and green–again, to make it pretty)

Saute onion and garlic in oil a few minutes.  Add beef and cook until beef is no longer pink.  Add the chili powder, cumin, paprika and red pepper flakes; stir to coat the meat.  Add the next 4 ingredients.  Stir in V8 juice until it reaches desired thickness.  (I’ve never really measured how much I use; I just pour until I’m happy.  Remember that it will thicken, though.)  Stir in Splenda.  (I find this cuts the acid taste of the canned tomatoes, but doesn’t make the chili sweet.  In fact, Farm Boy never knew that I added it until he read the recipe!)  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  Uncover and stir in peppers.  Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes.  Garnish with sour cream, cheese, peppers or (my brother’s favorite) Fritos.

I figure this to be about 3-4 points per 1 1/2 cup serving.  This recipe is also good made with ground turkey; by adding the seasoning to the browned meat before adding the wet ingredients, the turkey doesn’t look as pale and sad as it usually does in turkey chili.