Quick Chili

It's March 2016 IHCC Potluck week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). I'm sharing one more of Nigella Lawson's recipe this week. I made this Quick Chili a few weeks ago which we had with Rick Bayless's, Garlicky White Rice.

Just as it's name, this is a quick chili to make. It does not take long to cook, unlike the usual chili that is usually braised for 2 hours or more. This recipe is from Nigella's book, "Nigella Express", so that explains why this is cooked in an "express" way! It takes only about 40 minutes to cook, from start to finish. 

This dish uses store-bought jar of chunky vegetable pasta sauce and canned mixed spicy beans. I have replaced the minced beef with pork.

Smells good with the spices ; ground cumin, coriander, cinnamon and cardamom pods.

Served over Garlicky White Rice with a generous amount of chopped cilantro. It was delicious! This Quick Chili is perfect with the rice. A new favourite with my family. One that I would gladly cook again.

Quick Chili
(Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson, or here)
5 oz chorizo sausage (not the hard salami sort of sausage), halved lengthwise and
        cut into 1/4-inch half-moons
1 lb ground beef (I use ground pork)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cardamom pods, bruised
2 cups good-quality tomato and chunky vegetable sauce for pasta
1 14-oz can mixed spicy beans
1/4 cup sweet chile sauce
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes, optional, or if your canned beans are not spicy

1. Put the sliced chorizo into a hot pan and cook over medium heat until the sausage crisps a little and gives up its orange-red oil.
2. Add the ground beef and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden fork to help it brown.
3. Stir in the spices and then add the tomato-vegetable pasta sauce, beans, and chile sauce. Also add the chile flakes if you need more heat.
4. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes and eat with rice or just as it is. If you're not adding any rice, you might consider dolloping with a blob of sour cream and sprinkling some grated cheese and chopped cilantro. I can't think of any way of eating this that isn't good.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week

March 2016 IHCC Potluck

and

Souper Sundays @ Kahakai Kitchen

Cincinnati Chicken Chili

"IHCC October Potluck", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). For our potluck week, we are free to cook from any of IHCC's past and present featured chefs. I've decided to cook with Ellie Krieger, the current chef featured at IHCC.

I've made Cincinnati Chicken Chili, though originally, the recipe is called Cincinnati Turkey Chili, as ground turkey is used. Turkey is not easily available in the area where I live, so I have replaced with ground chicken instead. Looking at the rather long list of ingredients, I was happy to note that I have everything listed, well, except for the bell pepper. A short drive to the nearby supermarket took care of that! 

Even though there are so many ingredients on the list, the preparation time takes only minutes with the sauteing of the onions, chicken and spices which takes about 10 to 15 minutes, and the rest of the time is just simmering on the stove. Recipe indicates a long simmering about 2 hours, but I have simmered only about 1 hour 15 minutes, and have added a little water towards the end of cooking time as the chili was getting quite thick.

The chili is served over spaghetti, with some diced red onions sprinkled over, which I find really nice with the chili, and added more diced red onions on my plate! The chili is very tasty and I wish that I had some tortilla chips to go with it!

Cincinnati Turkey Chili
(adapted from "Comfort Food Fix", Ellie Krieger)
Makes 4 servings
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground turkey (I use ground chicken)
2 green bell peppers, diced
2 tablespoons chilli powder
1 tablespoon unsweetened natural cocoa
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
One 15-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes with their juices
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses
1 bay leaf
8 ounces whole-grain spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
1 cup canned kidney beans, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup grated, lightly packed extra-sharp cheddar cheese
4 teaspoons finely diced red onion

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over a medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the turkey and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon into small pieces, until just cooked through and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the chilli powder, cocoa, paprika, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, and cloves and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes with their juice, water, molasses, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the mixture has thickened considerably but is still soupy, about 2 hours. Remove the bay leaf. Serve over the spaghetti, topped with the kidney beans, cheese, and diced red onion.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week

"October Potluck"

and 

Cook-Your-Books #27 @ kitchen flavours

Pork And Black-Eyed-Pea Chili

A lovely bowl of chili, I had this with Chilli Corn Bread, from my previous post. This is another wonderful recipe from Rachael Ray's "Look+Cook". 

Unlike some recipes which calls for 2-3 hours of simmering, this is fairly easy and quick. It takes about only an hour of preparation and cooking.

A delicious bowl of chili, with some hint of spiciness. For a milder taste, the chili powder and hot sauce may be reduced.

We really enjoyed this with chunks of Chili Corn Bread. Yum!

I'm sharing this with :

Cookbook Sundays hosted by Couscous & Consciousness

See Ya In The Gumbo#11 Potluck hosted by Ms.enPlace

Savory Sunday hosted by The Sweet Details

Saturdays with Rachael Ray hosted by Taste and Tell
Hearth & Soul Hop hosted by Mom's Sunday Cafe

Pork and Black-Eyed-Pea Chili
(adapted from "Look+Cook" by Rachael Ray)
Serves 4
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 pound andouille sausage, chopped or crumbled
1 pound ground pork
1 onion, chopped
2 to 3 celery stalks from the heart with leafy tops, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I added in 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped)
2 to 3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and pepper
A few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped
1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika, a palmful
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander, 2/3 palmful
2 cups chicken stock
1 (14-ounce can) petite diced tomatos or diced tomatoes with mild chiles
1 (14-ounce can) black-eyed peas, drained
2 tablespoons hot sauce
2 scallions, chopped
4 toaster corn muffins or 2 corn muffins, split and toasted, buttered


In a large heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and brown for a couple minutes, then add the pork and brown and crumble it for another couple minutes. Add the onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook to soften the vegetables, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the thymes, spices, stock, tomatoes, black-eyed peas, and hot sauce. Stir, bring to a bubble, then reduce the heat and cook for 10 to 12 minutes more. Discard the bay leaf. Serve in shallow bowls. Top the bowls of chili with the scallions and toaster corn muffins or crumbled toasted split muffins.

Wendy's Chili

I have never eaten a chili dish or cooked one before, but I have always knew that it would taste exactly like this! To me, it is similar yet different from spaghetti sauce, the one ingredient that makes a difference is the addition of cumin powder.  I couldn't get any pinto beans, so I substitue with chipotle beans instead.

This recipe is a copycat version of Wendy's Chili, which I found on RecipeLion.com. According to them, "As restaurant copycat recipes go, this version of Wendy's Chili is bang-on! We swear it, if you put it into one of those paper cups like they serve it in at Wendy's, you'd be hard-pressed to tell this was simply a restaurant coycat recipe. It tastes just like Wendy's Chili!." Well, I have not tried Wendy's Chili before, so I don't really know! 

What I know is this is quite delicious.  I only make half the recipe. My kids are very happy eating this with some corn chips. I even made a Mustard and Dill Bread to go with this.  I can see that I'll be making this again very soon for a get-together and serve it in paper cups with corn chips!  

 The bread is dense and soft, it is not fluffy soft, but it is soft and perfect for this chili.

Great with corn chips. My daughter insisted on this photo!  

There was some leftover and a packet of unopened chips, half  of which my daughter brought to school for her lunch and the other half was 'reserved' for my son. He wanted to eat the leftovers after he's back from school.  He reminded me a few times to keep it for him!  There! they really enjoyed this chili very much!

Guess what was the request from my daughter?  She asked me to make corn chips next!!!  


I am sharing this with these fabulous sites :
Copycat Club at Buttercream Barbie
Texas Star Chili Cook-Off at Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Recipe Swap Thursday at Prairie Story


Wendy's Chili
(source from RecipeLion.com)
Serves 8
Cooking Time : 3 hours
Ingredients 
2 pounds ground beef (I use ground pork)
1 (29-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (29-ounce) kidney beans with liquid
1 (29-ounce) can pinto beans with liquid
1 medium onion, diced
2 green chillies, diced
1 rib  celery, diced
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin powder
3 tablespoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups water


Instructions :

1. Brown the beef and drain the fat off.
2. Crumble the cooked beef into pea size pieces.
3. In a large pot, combine the beef with the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer over low heat.
4. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2-3 hours.

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Happy Halloween everyone. Have a lovely spooky fun!