Black Bean Chorizo Chili

 

Ingredients
1 pound chorizo, cut into bite size cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup sweet onion, chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (15 ounce each) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (14 1/2 ounce each) diced tomatoes with hot peppers, undrained
1 1/2 cups low sodium beef broth or 12 ounces dark beer
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper or dried red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper or to taste
garnishes: sour cream, chopped cilantro, sliced green onions

Directions
Heat oil in a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion, green pepper and chorizo. Cook until sausage is done, stirring to crumble. Drain well.

Return chorizo mixture to pan. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

If you like a thicker chili, mash some of the black beans before adding the beans to the meat mixture. Ladle into soup bowls and add toppings of choice.

Turkey and Bean Chili

from: Everyday Food Jan 2005

Ingredients
4 strips bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 pounds ground dark-meat (7% fat) turkey
4 cups chopped onions
1/4 cup minced garlic cloves
2 medium fresh jalapeño chiles (ribs and seeds removed for less heat, if desired), minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cans (28 ounces each) whole tomatoes in purée
2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses
Coarse salt
3 cans (15 1/2 ounces each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
toppings!

Directions
Heat a Dutch oven (or other heavy 5-quart pot) over medium heat. Add bacon; cook until crisp and brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Raise heat to high; add turkey. Cook, stirring and breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add onion, garlic, and jalapeños; cook until soft, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cocoa powder, and cumin; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute.

Break up tomatoes with a spoon or your hands, and stir them in along with the purée. Add molasses, 1 cup water, and 4 teaspoons salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; cook, partially covered, 30 minutes.

Add beans; continue cooking, uncovered, until meat and beans are very tender, and chili is thick, about 30 minutes more. Serve with desired toppings.

Nutritional Info (1/8 recipe)
480 calories; 13.7 g fat; 46.6 g protein; 47.1 g carbs; 14.5 g fiber

New Meal Monday – You Know You Missed Us!

Last night Matt and I made Turkey and Bean Chili. Normally, we like to make a couple of recipes but A) this was a meal in and of itself and B) it was a lot of work!! but ….
It was worth it!!

This is some of the best chili I've had. You had no idea that there was not a speck of beef in it and it tasted very flavorful. We served it, as is our custom, over fritos, with cheese on top. And yum-yum-yum-yum-yum!!

I suppose this is a bit time-consuming for your every day cooking, but it would be a great make-ahead and freeze or refrigerate meal.

We're Back!

Actually, we've been back since late Friday, but we had a jam-packed weekend and colds. I'm still coughing up a storm.

Thanks for all of the shout-outs about our puppy. It's always nice to hear people are thinking of you when you're down. We're still in the stage of thinking about May as if she's still around and it sucks when she's not. We miss her lots.

New Orleans was vair fun. We had a great time and got to be with Dan, who we never see, cuz he's so busy becoming a lawyer and my lil' sis', Kelly. We did the Bourbon street thing and Kelly and I discovered that we like sidecars (1p brandy, 1p triple sec or cointreau, 1p lemon juice, rim cup with sugar, if you please), we spent way too much $$ at the French Market, and we paddled around the bayou in a canoe! Good times.

Pictures will be posted … oh hell… I dunno when. Soon, I hope. Continue reading “We're Back!”

Rest in Peace, Dear Friend


Well, this post is a bit late in coming, but there is a good reason it's late. On Monday, we lost our dear friend May. She hadn't been quite as spry since her first seizure. She no longer wanted to chase her toy and she stopped greeting us when we came home.

On Saturday, after we got home from hiking, we found May right after a seizure. Before we could get her to the emergency vet, she had 3 more. They had to give her beau coup meds before she would stop and when we finally picked her up on Sunday, she was a shell of her former happy self. She was barely lucid, twitchy, and snapping at everything. She chouldn't walk either. We had a nice last evening with her despite the crummy stuff, including giving her lots of attention and some garlic bread.

On Monday, Matt took her to see her regular vet, and we'd already decided. If she was going to continue along this path, it was time. I went to work on Monday but I got the call early and after crying in the restroom for about 10 minutes, I met Matt and Holly, who had gone with him, and we skipped the rest of the day to remember May.

Have some garlic bread and a roll in the snow and remember the greatest doggie ever. I just know she's making “May Angels” in the sky.

Haircut

So on the way home from work (well work by the way of the gym, dinner and Ben & Jerry's) Matt and I stopped into Fantastic Sam's to get trims before we left for New Orleans. My hair had been driving me nuts, cuz it was too long and getting rather unmanageable.

I sat down with my stylist and I we were talking about what to do with my hair. Somewhere in there, “Layers” were brought up. I thought we had decided to NOT do them, but lo-and-behold, I sort of … err… ended up with them.

I think, after careful consideration, that I like them. But I'm still not entirely sure. And I know it's going to bug me that I can't put up my hair without the aid of barrettes…

New Meal Monday

Well, our new meal for Monday was quite the flop. We tried spicing up some Salmon with some basic ingredients …. salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Then we broiled it. But it didn't turn out very well at all. It was a bit too crispy on the top and didn't have nice flavor, except on the top, where it was too crispy to really enjoy. A dissapointment. We did, however, make really good zucchini, a recipe I always enjoy.

Next Monday, we'll be on hiatus, since we'll be in the Big Easy, hanging with our good buddy, Dan.

New Meal Monday Delay

Well, due to completely unforseeable circumstances, making a new meal yesterday was not possible. I will reveal the source of this delay at a later time. But this is just a notice to say that we will be making and posting a new meal this evening. I'm thinking about this.

The DMV

Urgh. So I went to the DMV this morning. Back in 2001 when I got my driver's license renewed because I turned 21, it was a simple little process. You waited in one line, dealt with one person and had your shiny new license by the time you left.

Not anymore. Oh no. Now you stand in no less than 4 lines, deal with 4 people (possibly more) and have to wait for your license to come in the mail (10-15 days). A whole hour of my Friday wasted. And I don't even have my new licsese. Continue reading “The DMV”

Toiletries of the Goddesses

When I was at Anthropologie a couple of weekends ago, I bought some apple cider milk bath that was on clearance. I've used it twice now and all I've got to say is … YUM. This stuff smells sooooo good and it makes just the right amount of bubbles. And after your bath, you come out smelling slightly of apples. It's not overpowering or gross … just a bit appley. A perfect bath.

While at the afore-mentioned store I also picked up a small bottle of Sugar Cookie Perfume that was also on clearance. It's been very nice to spray a teensy bit of it on my wrists and neck every morning and then I smell nice alll day long.

What are your favorite indulgences?