Foodie Friday: Black and Red Chili

Howdy Folks. Today we have a black and red bean chili for your tastebuds' enjoyment. We are not eating it until tomorrow, but I decided to cook it today and let it sit in the fridge overnight and let the flavors marry, making it especially awesome for tomorrow. It has been simmering for 9 hours and will simmer for a couple of more until I turn it off to let it cool enough to stick in the fridge. Then tomorrow I will simmer it for 2 or 3 more hours until it is time to eat! I used dried beans but canned tomatoes, as fresh tomatoes are SUPER expensive around here right now, even at the farmer's market. So canned it was.

As with most of my recipes, just leave out the meat to make it vegetarian, and substitute vegetarian cheese for the topping!

Ingredients:

1 small bag of dried black beans ( or two cans )
1 small bag of light or dark red kidney beans ( or two cans )
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
1 pound meat of your choice *optional* ( I used ground venison )
1/2 pound of fat roped sausage *optional*
1 medium diced onion

I am going to give the amount of spices I used, but please adjust to your own taste. We like heavily seasoned food, so my amounts might be way to much for you and your family, or not enough!

2 TB garlic powder
2 TB onion powder
2 TB cumin
2 TB Cajun seasoning
2 TB chili powder
2 TB black pepper
2 TB sugar
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 TB salt
1 TB cinnamon

Sour Cream, shredded cheese, and jalapenos for garnish if desired.

Preparation: 

In a large pot, combine half a bag of dried black beans, and half of a bag of dried red beans. Sort through, looking for debris, and fill pot halfway with water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat to medium and slow boil for an hour.

Drain and rinse the beans in a colander. This helps cut down on the gassy aftereffect of the beans, and the water from the black beans will turn the chili black if you do not drain it. Unless you think black chili would be cool, which it might, and in that case feel free to keep it. *winks*

While the beans are draining, in the same pot you cooked the beans in, add your ground meat if using, along with the onion, and brown the meat. The venison I used is super lean, and if you use a fatty meat, drain off most of the fat after browning.

I add my spices at this point, and later after it is all together I taste it and see if it needs more.

Add the drained beans back to the browned meat.

Now it is time to add the tomatoes and tomato paste.

Stir all that together and let it cook on medium heat for an hour or two, stirring every 15 minutes or so. You might have to add a little water if it is to thick. After an hour, taste and see if your spices need to be adjusted. Mine did.

I was not originally going to add the sausage, but Jack wanted breakfast for dinner, instead of the leftover stuffed shells I made last night, so I added half of the sausage to the chili.

Give it all a final stir, cover, and let simmer for another hour or two, or as long as you want, at least until the beans are totally done.

Serve garnished with sour cream, shredded cheese and jalapenos if desired, with crackers or cornbread on the side.

*I have no pic of the chili garnished yet, as I am still cooking it. It will not be plated until tomorrow, not in time for Foodie Friday! I will come back and add the plated pic tomorrow!*

Now that the temperature is dropping, especially at night, this will be the first of many soups, stews, and other warm and hearty meals I look forward to sharing with you!


Have a great weekend!