Chili Night!

Chili 

When I think of chili, I think of comfort. I think of Fall in Sacramento as a kid. I think of having a mug of chili in front of my dad's fireplace while the rain lightly falls outside. It's pretty safe to say that chili is a staple for most Americans - a classic. The best thing about chili is that you can still get comfort from it, but you can have it in a plethora of different ways. Today's recipe was my modification of Emeril Lagasse's vegetarian chili. Riley and I felt that the seasoning was still pretty lacking, so we ended up doubling all of the seasonings, as well as added a few things.

There's also a fun quality of making chili - because it's a big pot of a lot of flavor, you can really let loose and improvise on what you want to add. This recipe also only took an hour and a half - some chili cooks all day. Tomato, toh-ma-toe. Any homemade chili is good with me. I have no complaints.

Ingredients:

 

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped red bell peppers
6 garlic cloves

3 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded, and minced, depending upon taste
1 medium zucchini, stem ends trimmed and cut into small dice
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1 lb ground beef

4 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon cayenne

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon paprika

2 bay leaves
4 large tomatoes, chopped
3 cans cooked kidney beans (two red, one white)
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup vegetable stock, or water
Grated cheddar cheese, for garnish
Diced avocado, for garnish

 

Directions:

1. In a large, heavy pot, cook the ground beef until brown

 

2. Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and serrano peppers, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. 

 

 

3. Add the zucchini and corn and cook, stirring, until soft and the vegetables give off their liquid and start to brown around the edges, about 6 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, salt, cayenne, onion powder, paprika, bay leaves, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

 

 

 

4. Add the tomatoes and stir well. Add the beans, tomato sauce, and vegetable stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.

 

5. Adjust the seasoning, to taste. Top with garnish