Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Another cold, snowy day...I am loving the time off from school, but it's kinda messing with my motivation!  

What is better than being cooped up inside on a cold day with a big pot of chili bubbling away on the stove?  Nothing!  Nothing at all!!  Go make yourself some chili NOW!!  (This snow is making me bossy...)

The Cast:

Onion
Green Pepper
Carrot
Garlic
Canned Tomatoes
Chili Powder
Beans
Ground Chicken (or any other meat you want!)

First, chop up your vegetables.  I used my Pampered Chef Food Chopper to cut them all up pretty fine, and it only took a few minutes to do them all!  I added a carrot to sweeten things up a little bit - and it never hurts to sneak in a few extra veggies! 

Brown your meat in a little bit of olive oil.  I used ground chicken because it was all we had in our freezer (we eat a LOT of chicken...lol).  It doesn't get really brown, but once the chili was done, you couldn't even tell!

Remove the meat from the pot and drain it.  Throw in the vegetables and cook until they are nice and soft.

Add your meat back in, and a good handful of chili powder.  I like a lot - I usually end up using around 1/4 cup.  Use as much or as little as you want, depending on how strongly spicy you want it!

Give it a good stir...

...then add in your tomatoes, some water, and your beans.  I used dried beans which I had soaked overnight; if you use canned beans, don't add them until the end.  Dried beans will need a while to cook.

Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Cover and cook for a couple of hours, or until the beans are tender.

Once the beans are tender, turn off the heat and let your chili sit until it is cool enough to go in the fridge.  Then just put the whole pot in the refrigerator and let it sit for at least a day or two.  Trust me on this step - it tastes SO much better when it has a few days to rest!

When you are ready to serve it, warm it up on lowish heat until it is nice and toasty warm.

Get your sour cream and shredded cheddar ready, and - of course - make a batch of delicious homemade corn bread.  

Serve your chili in a big ugly green bowl, topped with shredded cheddar and a dollop of sour cream.  Delicious, soul-warming heaven on a cold, snowy day!!