Pork and Bean Chili.

It’s getting cold outside.  And it’s getting darker earlier.

As soon as the weather starts turning, I start craving warm, hearty comfort foods. Of course, that immediately brings chili to mind.  So Thursday night, I made it happen.

 

Pork and Black Bean Chili

(serves 4-6. Adapted from the Betty Crocker Cookbook)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 pound learn ground pork
• 1 bottle tomato sauce (I used primavera sauce and it worked great)
• 1 can no salt added diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

 

Directions

1. Place olive oil in a large pot and turn to medium heat. Dice onions, red bell pepper, celery and garlic.

2. When oil is heated, add veggies and ground pork to the pot. Cook until pork has browned.

3. When pork has browned, add all other ingredients except beans.

4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

5. Add beans. Return to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 10 minutes, or until desired thickness.

6. Add toppings – lots of toppings. Chili isn’t the same without them!

Some suggestions:

• sour cream
• Greek yogurt
• shredded cheese
• crumbled tortilla chips

I went with the sour cream, shredded cheese and crumbled chips route. With a dinner roll for dipping, of course.

Side note: I bought 5% sour cream. No more – full fat is so much creamier. The little bit of extra fat makes it so much tastier! The lesson: low fat = low taste.

Mmm, chili.

Definitely made me feel all warm and cozy inside.

 

Other Notes From the Day

Lunch salad in the greens container.

Allows for laziness and less dishes to wash.

Greens, roasted squash (seriously, I might start roasting them daily), carrot, cucumber, feta, 2 eggs complete with runny yolk, and avocado-cilantro dressing.

When you don’t have a dishwasher, every dish that you don’t have to wash by hand is a bit of a victory.

Dinner

Chicken with Stubbs BBQ sauce and sweet potato fries. Simple but definitely got the job done. Small dinner because I was saving room for dessert.

Of course.

It was freezing and I was wearing gloves on the walk over there, but when you want froyo, you want it. A mix of birthday cake and salted caramel – does that not sound like the most perfect combination ever? I’ll try to remember all the toppings, but I threw so many on there that I probably won’t get them all:

• chocolate chip cookie dough bits
• double chocolate cookie dough bits
• maraschino cherries
• frosted animal crackers
• chocolate covered waffle pieces
• chocolate covered cookies and cream bits
• mini Reese’s cups
• chocolate sprinkles
• regular sprinkles

Do you think I like chocolate just a little?

Hope your weekend has gotten off to a great start!

<— Chili or soup?

<— Do you crave froyo or ice cream in the fall/winter? I pretty much want them year-round.