Baby it’s cold outside!

Here in the great white north we go through periods of time.....in the winter, where we don’t want to leave the comfort of our warm beds. At these times we dig deep and fight the good fight just to find the smallest amount of motivation to spring us from bed. As we walk to our windows and look outside at the frozen ice world we call home, we contemplate....”I wonder if I can call in cold?”. No your boss won’t accept the temperature drop of a northern deep freeze as a substantial enough reason to stay home.

So with baited breath we take our chances and brave the weather. During these times of deep freezes that last days or even weeks we do all we can to keep warm and part of that is turning to comfort foods, the kind that stick to your bones . It’s not uncommon on these days of massive temperature drops and snow storms, for us to come home, make dinner and then snuggle up under a warm blanket watching our favourite show by a roaring fire! We know it won’t last for ever but for the time being we do the things that get us through which brings me to today’s recipe, chili!

Chili has always been a family favourite ever since I was a child and even after I grew up had a kid and got married it still remained top of our family list and as it is chili it makes the perfect meal for a bitter cold and dreary day, plus lots of left overs you can freeze for lunches.

We like a pretty healthy chili so ours is filled with veggies and meat and beans and ver little in the way of anything else. We like it with beef but it’s equally delicious with ground chicken or turkey if your watching your diet and it’s very easy to make as well so anyone can put this together. I should say that you can make it in a slow cooker but the veggies will be very soft since it slowly simmers.

Here is what you’ll need

Ingredients

1Tbs of olive oil

1Lbs of lean ground beef

1 medium red onion chopped

5 stalks of celery chopped

3 carrots sliced

3 tomatoes chopped (I use vine ripened but any will work)

1 yellow pepper

1 red pepper

2 cans of red kidney beans

1 jar of your favourite salsa

Shredded cheddar cheese for garnish

Green onions for garnish

Spices

1.5 tsp of salt

1.5 tsp of cumin

2 tsp of paprika

1/8 tsp of chipotle chili powder

1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper

3 tsp of garlic

3 tsp of chili powder

1/2 tsp of curry

Instructions

Pour 1 tbsp of olive oil into a large pot on medium heat. When oil is hot add chopped onion and sauté then add meat and mix till cooked and in loose small pieces.

At this point add in celery and carrots and let cook about 5-10 min. Then add tomatoes and peppers and mix all together and let cook another 5-20 min.

This is where you will want to add all the spices and mix it well. Add the full jar of salsa and let it cook for another 20 Min mixing it often so it doesn’t stick and once it comes to a boil you can add the two cans of beans and let it simmer on low heat for about an hour, depending on how soft you want your veggies.

An important thing to note is that some believe you should let it simmer for hours and there is nothing wrong with that at all, it just means your veggies will be really soft. I like a little bit of chunkiness to my veggies so I like to cook it less but to be honest either way will taste great.

Also important if you would like more veggies go ahead and add more and if you would like this as a vegan option then just omit the meat....this is your dinner fell free to experiment and have fun!