October | 2013 | Weekend in the Southern States

My best friend, his girlfriend, and I are thinking about starting up a little side business since we all love building pallet furniture. So hey y’all, you might be able to buy some of my stuff! One night we got together at my house to have a “business dinner” and discuss our plans. I have been dying for chili and now it’s getting colder in North Carolina, so perfect timing! I made this chili the first time around as a thank you for a friend and it was also the first time I got creative with a recipe. I made a lot of adjustments to it and still do from time to time! (For our business dinner there was crushed tomatoes debacle where the first can I had expired in 2008 and the other one had basil in it, which I didn’t realize until too late. Luckily I have a strange amount of cans of tomato paste so I substituted a few tablespoons of that instead.)

This recipe makes a TON of chili. Three of us ate a lot and I still had a loooot left over. I always freeze it and eat it for weeks!

KB Note: This is not a super spicy chili! I have the mildest palate in the world (so Irish) and can’t handle spicy foods. It has a pretty good kick to it, as chili should, and it will open your sinuses a tad but it’s good for everyone!

KB’s Country Chili
Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 lbs steak of choice – I get with cubed beef and ground beef, generally heavier on the cubed beef
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ yellow onion KB NOTE: The original recipe recommends 1 whole onion but I scaled it back
2 medium tomatoes, diced
3 jalapeños, diced or chopped KB NOTE: To save some time since I was running a little behind I put the garlic in my food processor with the onion. Scraped that out, then put the jalapeños in the food processor for a short period of time to chop them up roughly.
4 tablespoons chili powder
3 teaspoons cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne powder
30 oz crushed tomatoes – KB NOTE: I sometimes go with a 28 oz can of crushed and one of those teensy 2 oz cans of diced
3 oz can of chopped green chilies KB NOTE: Make sure you read the label! There are also whole green chilies which I learned the hard way.
2 cups canned kidney beans (which is about two cans of kidney beans) KB Note: drain all juice out of can first
1 full big jar oz peppercinis (banana peppers) KB Note: drain juice out first

Directions

KB NOTE: Because I use SO much meat I have to heat up the meat in the bowl as well as in a skillet. I brown the ground beef in the skillet and the cubed meat in the pot. Once it’s all not as pink I transfer all the meat and juices into the pot. Don’t overload the meat all at once trying to brown it as the cubed steak can become too chewy.

1. Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the meat and sear. Toss in the garlic, onion, tomatoes, and jalapeños, as well as the chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. Saute for roughly 5 minutes and then add in the crushed tomatoes, green chilies, and peppercinis.