Brown sugar chili and cheese grits

http://www.eunamaes.com/2016/10/brown-sugar-chili-and-cheese-grits.html


Photo and recipe credit: http://www.eunamaes.com/

Barbecue chicken chili

Well y'all, it is officially chili season.  There is nothing I love more on a cold night than a fire in the fireplace and a pot of chili on the stove!  We made this BBQ chicken chili from Skinnytaste with friends on Halloween night, and it was a big hit!!

Sweet potato & chicken chili

The temperatures have finally started to cool off around here, and we jumped at the chance to make this sweet potato & chicken chili from Pinch of Yum.  It is thick, hearty and delicious- welcome, Fall!!

SWEET POTATO & CHICKEN CHILI

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1½ lbs. chicken breasts

5 cups chicken broth

1 onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (about 4 cups)

2 14-ounce cans fire roasted tomatoes, undrained

1 14-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

Cilantro, for topping

Instructions:

1). Poach the chicken: Bring the chicken broth to a rolling boil and add the raw chicken breasts. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the chicken continue to cook in the broth for another 20 minutes. Remove the chicken, let cool, and shred with two forks. Reserve 2 cups of broth.

2). Saute the veggies: Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño and saute until tender. Add the chili powder, salt, and sweet potatoes. Saute until the sweet potatoes are lightly browned.  Add the fire roasted tomatoes, black beans, shredded chicken and reserved broth. Stir and cover with a tight fitting lid. Keep over medium low heat for 45 minutes without stirring.

3). Make it saucy: After 45 minutes, uncover and you’ll see a bunch of chicken and veggies with hardly any liquid. Perfect. Add 2 cups of water (or less, as needed) and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve topped with cilantro.

Pat's famous beef and pork chili

We're always looking for new chili recipes around here, and I found this one on the Food Network site for Pat's famous beef and pork chili.  Pat is a Neely, of Neely's BBQ in Memphis.  This is a great traditional, hearty chili.  We topped ours with sour cream, scallions, and Fritos, of course!  Oh, and the recipe says it feeds 4-6, but I'd say it's more like 8-10.

Chipotle turkey chili with apples and cheddar

We made this chipotle turkey chili with apples and cheddar from Rachael Ray last week when the weather cooled off and it felt like Fall.  This is a great, thick chili with lots of unique flavor from the Granny Smith apples and pepitas.  (Pepitas are pumpkin seeds- I bought mine from the bulk bins at Whole Foods so I could just buy the portion I needed for this recipe). Yum!

Italian hand-cut steak chili

We made this slow-cooker Italian hand-cut steak chili recipe from Rachael Ray this week, and we finished it in record time. Robert loves chili with steak vs ground beef, so I knew this would be a hit with him. The pancetta is a nice touch, and definitely use the optional garnishes - we did fontina cheese, onion, and pepperoncinis. Delicious!!!

Dragon's breath chili

Chili is one of those foods that a million recipes exist for and once you find one you love, you stick to it like glue. I love chili, and as soon as the weather drops below 60 degrees I officially declare it "chili weather". We had some friends over to cheer on the Hogs this weekend and served Guy Fieri's dragon's breath chili. Don't let the words 'dragon's breath' scare you - this recipe is not super-spicy (I promise!). Robert, the ultimate carnivore, loved the addition of steak alongside the usual ground beef and sausage. I halved the recipe (more or less :)) and it served 6 adults. I skipped the french fries, and went the Saltines/green onions/cheese/and sour cream route instead. Delicious!!

Redeye mole chili

Dinner last night (after a disappointing Hogs hoops loss) was Rachael Ray's redeye mole chili. Robert says this may be his new favorite recipe, so that's saying a lot! We love chili around here, especially with all this wintery weather we've been having, so it's nice to have a variety of recipes. This one is kind of non-traditional because it isn't tomato-based and it has very interesting spices (cocoa, coffee, etc). Try it!!

3 cups beef stock
2 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 slices lean smoked bacon, chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground beef sirloin
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
2 tbsp instant coffee (I used instant espresso powder)
1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
* Shredded cheddar cheese and diced red onion for topping

1. In a large saucepan, bring the beef stock and ancho chiles to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and puree.
2. Meanwhile, in a large dutch oven or soup pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat until smoking. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, 2-3 minutes. Add the beef, increase the heat to high and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. (I would drain some of the liquid at this point). Lower the heat to medium, add the yellow onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes; season with pepper.
3. Stir the tomato paste into the chili for 1 minute. Stir in the pureed ancho liquid, black beans, tomatoes, coffee, paprika, coriander, cocoa and cinnamon and simmer for 5 minutes; season with salt.
4. Serve the chili in shallow bowls. Top with the cheese and red onion.

Chorizo bacon chili

Dinner tonight was chorizo bacon chili from the Rachael Ray show. This recipe came from a guest during a Super Bowl cook-off. It is meaty and delicious! When we tasted for seasoning, we thought it needed some heat, so I added ground chipotle pepper (dried), about a teaspoon. (I halved the recipe, since I am only cooking for two). We topped our chili with sour cream, cheddar cheese and tortilla chips. Perfect on this cold night. Now we're hoping for a snow day tomorrow so we can enjoy the leftovers!

10.26.09 Pork and black-eyed pea chili

Dinner tonight was pork and black-eyed pea chili from Everyday with Rachael Ray. Robert went on and on about how much he loved this recipe - it's hearty, spicy, and delicious! It's a quick chili (30 minutes or so), and it's a great change of pace from a standard beef chili. Yum!