Since I’ve been doing kitchen-oriented posts lately, I thought I’d share a quick and easy meal I made this past week. With the weather turning colder, chili is a great comfort food– but I also hate buying chili since the copious amounts of oil and grease turn me off.  Hence, my healthy “California” version of a bastardized chili.  Sorry in advance to all you chili purists out there!

California Chili

Makes 4-5 quarts, or 8-10 servings
Prep time: 10-15 min
Cook time: 30-45 min

Ingredients:

Olive oil
2 medium onions (about 2 cups, chopped)
1 tsp crushed garlic, or about 1-2 cloves minced
2 cans organic diced tomatoes, drained for chunky chili, undrained for more soupy chili
1 small can (6 oz?) tomato paste
3 cans beans, drained (I used organic kidney beans, black-eyed peas, and navy beans– always struck me funny that they’re white)
1/2 cup jalapenos, diced
1 tbsp each of paprika, cayenne, oregano, thyme, crushed black pepper, red pepper flakes
2 tbsp hot sauce
2 lbs ground chicken/turkey (remember to look for free-range, hormone-free, and all that good stuff); or an equivalent amount of textured vegetable protein for the vegans/vegetarians out there.

*My trick to getting flavorful chili meat is this:  When you unwrap the meat from the store, leave it on the paper wrapping. Add your spices/herbs and hot sauce directly to the meat, and mix.  I prefer doing it by hand, just using a plastic bag as a temporary glove– utensils work fine too.  The flavors will easily transfer from the meat to the chili sauce, but if you just add spices to the chili sauce, they won’t infuse the meat as well.

Instructions:

In a large (6 quarts) heavy-bottomed pot, heat about 2 tbsp oil until almost smoking.  Add onions and garlic; saute until onion is translucent.

Add the ground chicken/turkey, and saute until browned, about 10 min depending on the size of your pot.  More olive oil may be needed at this point; adjust as necessary.  If you didn’t do the pre-mixing of spices and meat, this is a good point at which to add the spices.

Stir tomato paste, jalapenos, and tomatoes into mixture.  Bring to a boil.

Add beans (drained) and stir for about 5 minutes.  The beans will bring down the temp of the mixture, so you want to give it time to adjust.  Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 20-30 min.  Uncover and simmer for another 10 min, adjusting spices/heat as necessary.

A yummy, quick addition:

Mix up some cornbread and bake while the chili is simmering.  I used a whole grain mix from Whole Foods which was good, but drier than I’m accustomed to.  It took 25 minutes to bake though, which was perfect.

Serve hot bowls of chili with grated cheese, chives, fat free sour cream, and cornbread and honey.

What fall comfort foods do you rely on?  Share your favorite recipes!