Homemade Chili

I'm finally back.

It has been a very busy winter. My husband and I joined a gym at the end of 2010 and have been exercising three times a week. We feel good about our new lifestyle as we always wanted to be more physically active. I also started learning bass guitar with lessons once a week. The workouts and bass practice on top of my full time job (which includes a three hour commute) leaves very little free time.

That being said, I still cook everyday and would love to share the recipes here. In order to do that, I had to develop better time management skills. The first step was to start batch cooking on weekends, and it has been a big time saver. I have been working on my chili recipe for the past few weeks, and it worked out very well since chili is a great meal for cooking in bulk. There are so many ways to enjoy it. It's great with crackers, bread, over the pasta or rice. The meat can be used for deluxe nachos. There are many pre-packed chili powder mixes at the store, but it's fairly easy to make from scratch. We have had so much snow in East Coast this year, and it seems like there is more to come. Take a break from all the shoveling and have a bowl of chili to warm yourself up!

For the quantity, use A for regular chili, B for super chunky chili. Enjoy! 

Homemade Chili Print Recipe A B Quantity Quantity Ingredients 2~3 Tbsp 2~3 Tbsp olive oil  1.5lb 1.3~1.5 lb ground beef 2 cloves 2 cloves garlic 1 1 medium onion, minced  1 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced 2 Tbsp 2 Tbsp paprika powder ▲ 2 1/2 tsp 1 tsp cumin powder ▲ 1 tsp 1 tsp garlic powder ▲ 1 tsp 1 tsp onion powder ▲ 1/2 tsp 1/4 tsp red chili powder ▲ 1/8 tsp 1/8 tsp black pepper ▲ 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce ▲ 1 cup 1 1/2 cup crushed tomato 3 cup 1 cup water 1 can(15oz) 1 can(15oz) kidney beans, rinsed salt Directions In a pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook until brown. Add the garlic, onion, and jalapeno and cook for 2~3 minutes. Add the spices marked with ▲ and mix well. Add the crushed tomatoes and water and bring to a boil. Add the kidney beans and cover the pot with a lid. Simmer for 40 minutes over low heat. If you are using pressure cooker, secure the lid after adding the kidney beans. Bring to pressure and cook for 15 minutes. Season with salt. Serve with your favorite toppings. Topping ideas: shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, finely chopped scallion, tortilla chips, Tabasco. Serves 4~6