Snowpocalypse Chili
Hubs and I were enjoying the electricity we missed for the past few days while we discussed dinner plans for the evening. I was blogging and he was working. I was lamenting the possible loss of my artichokes under all that snow. Stupid snow!
We decided on chili. Cliche, but fitting. Miraculously, I had all the ingredients. It was a sign. With the power back on I concocted my own chili powder in my extra coffee grinder. And thanks to Marie Kondo, (yes, I too, have been infected with the sparking joy disease) all my dried peppers were easily accessible. I used a modge podge of about half a dozen mixed dried peppers.
I didn’t have to open a can of tomatoes because I used my food processor and my own tomatoes. Yanno, it’s the little things in life you miss when they’re gone. I threw my chopped onion, elephant garlic, and fresh green peppers into the food processor. I followed that with a chopped red bell pepper and freezer gallon bag of my tomatoes.
I have this crazy chili recipe….a seven bean, seven pepper, seven spice chili…that I’ve won awards with. That one uses tri-tip, though. It’s possible that I could write about fifty different ways to make chili and the following recipe I made up as I went along. That’s what makes chili fun. But I wrote it down to post here. You can follow it to the letter or you can customize it to how you want or what you have on hand.
Personally, I prefer a thick chili to a watery chili. I like it with beans. And I like to put toppings on it. The variables are endless. Beans or no beans? Black, kidney, or pinto beans? Squash? I’ve done a chili with pumpkin that was fantastic. I should have written it down. Fresh chilies? Hot, mild, or sweet? Tomatoes? Or no? Chicken, pork, beef, or turkey? Ground up or cubed? I can keep going.
I went with a simple ground beef and bean chili with my tomatoes. It’s snowpocalypse, after all. No need to get crazy. We topped it with diced raw onion and some shredded cheese. Old school. Gramma would have loved it. I was going to make a salad, but snowpocalypse was screaming for more carbs. I enlisted Hubs to grab the Bisquick and buttermilk for some cheddar drops. Salad shmalad. Pffffttttt.
Luckily, the Hills dinner plans fell through and we were able to enjoy this giant pot with them. Chili just tastes better with friends, I think. So does wine. The upside to snowpocalype is that Amanda is off until next week. I feel thrift store shopping in our immediate future.
Snowpocalypse Chili And Cheddar Drop Biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1/4 cup peanut oil
- 1 can pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and rough chopped
- 2 anaheim peppers seeded and rough chopped
- 3 jalapeno peppers seeded and rough chopped
- 1 tablespoon ground dried chipotle peppers
- 2 tablespoons ground dried large red peppers of your choice
- 1 tablespoon ground dried ancho peppers
- 2 tablespoons salt plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups fresh tomato puree
- 1 medium onion rough chopped
- 1 giant clove elephant garlic rough chopped
- 1/2 cup diced white onion for garnish
- 1/2 cup sliced green onion for garnish
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups Bisquick
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- Pinch garlic powder I used my garlic parsley salt blend
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the anaheim, jalapeno, and onion to a small dice. Fry in a stock pot over medium high heat in the peanut oil, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes. Without rinsing the food processor, pulse the bell pepper and tomatoes together into a puree and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a coffee grinder reserved for spices, grind all the dried peppers into powders after removing the stems. Set aside. Drain and rinse all your beans and set aside.
- Add the ground beef to the pot with the fresh peppers and onion. Breaking up the meat, combine with the peppers and onion completely and cook for about 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Add the dried pepper powders and stir to combine.
- When the liquid is gone, add the tomato puree and stir to combine. Lower the heat to medium low and stir frequently to prevent burning. Add the salt and pepper and start tasting for seasoning. Add all the beans and stir to combine. Cook for about 30 minutes or more, lowering the heat if you need to.
- Preheat the oven to 450 and line a baking sheet with parchment. When the chili is done and holding on low, mix the Bisquick, milk, and half of the grated cheddar in a bowl. With a soup spoon, drop the dough onto the baking sheet about half an inch apart. The drops should be no bigger than a small lime.
- Put the biscuits in the oven and melt 2 tabelspoons butter with garlic powder or salt in the microwave. The biscuits bake for betwen 5 and 10 minutes. Halfway through baking, brush them with the melted butter and place back in the oven to finsh browning.
- Serve the chili garnished with onions, reserved cheese, and a biscuit! Or five. And stay warm out there.