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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Smoky Beef and Black Bean Chili



You know, I like chili. I like it a lot. And thus, I am willing to try new chilis, like this one from my Feb/March 2007 copy of Cooking Pleasures. I like that the recipe doesn't call for insanely lengthy cooking time and the ingredients are minimal. It doesn't hurt that I have a pound of ground beef found during my recent freezer clean-out.

FYI, the original recipe was for two but because chili freezes so well I doubled it. And I had a full pound of beef.

Smoky Beef and Black Bean Chili
adapted from Cooking Club of America

1 lb. ground beef chuck (80% lean)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
2 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped
4 tsp chile powder
2-4 tsp adobo sauce
2 tsp ground cumin
2 (15-oz.) can black beans, rinsed, drained
2 (14.5-oz.) Mexican-style diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c water
4 tbsp chopped cilantro

Cook beef, onion and bell pepper in medium saucepan over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until beef is browned and vegetables are softened, stirring frequently.


Drain off any excess fat.


Stir in chile, chile powder, adobo sauce and cumin; cook and stir 2 minutes.


Stir in beans, tomatoes and water; bring to a boil.



Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally.


Stir in cilantro.



A cinch to put together, the chili turned out to be pretty mild when it came to spicy-heat, but the smoky chipotle flavor was very nice. Next time, I'll maybe add a jalapeno pepper to crank up the heat a little bit.

Cost:
  • ground beef: $1.99
  • onion: $0.23
  • bell pepper: $0.92
  • chipotle chiles: $0.25
  • black beans: $1.40
  • Mexican-style diced tomatoes: $1.76
  • cilantro: $0.20
Total: $6.75, or about $1.69 for each of four servings.

Click for the printable


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