Great Chili Recipe

I'm going to call this one the greatest chili recipe ever. It also may be the easiest chili recipe to make. Either way, it is delicious and I will take you through the steps.

It was my turn to cook. I had some ground beef, a growling stomach and a beautiful wife. (That has nothing to do with the recipe but she is bound to read this.)

I last made chili a couple years ago but wanted an improved and easier recipe to follow. I found one I liked called Texas-Style Chili but we didn't have the needed ingredients. I had garlic and salt. That's about it. It is amazing how two things called chili could have completely different ingredients.

I often cook based on what I have handy and compensate by changing up the recipes. I will list the ingredients. Keep in my the measurements are in Metric. I will include Imperial but they aren't round numbers so you may have to make small adjustments. This what I used

Starting Chili Ingredients

Ingredients:
0.368 kilograms of lean ground beef (0.81 pounds)
1 - 540 ml. can of Red Kidney Beans (2.3 cups)
1 - 540 ml. can of Chick Peas (Garbanzo beans) (2.3 cups)
3 medium size Sausages
1 and 1/2 cups of Chicken Broth
1 medium sliced Red Pepper
6 medium Mushrooms, sliced
A handful of cherry tomatoes
1/2 a Carrot, diced
1 clove Garlic, chopped or minced
2 teaspoons Sugar
2 teaspoons crushed Oregano
2 teaspoons Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed Chili Pepper
Tobasco sauce
3 tablespoons of Breadcrumbs or Cornmeal
cooking Oil

Simmer the vegetables

A lot of this is based on personal taste and, as I mentioned, what ingredients are available. For example, I like merguez sausages. The spices really complimented this recipe. Also, while my source recipe called for beef broth I substituted chicken broth. And, lastly, cornmeal was recommend, while I used rice flour breadcrumbs instead.

If you use dried beans, let them soak first. Then after drained add to the recipe. Canned beans can be rinsed and added to the mix.

The chili is almost done

Steps:

In a large hot skillet, greased with your favourite cooking oil, brown the ground beef, garlic and sausages. You can drain off the excess fat at this point.

Stir in the chicken broth, sugar, oregano, cumin, chili pepper, salt and Tabasco.

Reduce the heat to a simmer. Leave covered for 30 minutes.

Add in the carrots, red pepper and tomatoes. Let simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the garbanzo and kidney beans. Stir and then add the breadcrumbs and mushrooms. Let simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Serve with corn bread or eat it by itself. Serves six. Enjoy! I will definitely make this batch of chili again. It was quick to prepare and a delicious recipe.

Serve the chili with a big spoon

The Works Restaurant

Tower of Rings

I cheated. I think the relationship is over. I guess you can call me a two-timer. After spending the day away from home, the big juicy burgers of The Works were calling to me. Yes, I cheated on Cheeburger Cheeburger. But being away from Montreal what was I to do? I was in Ottawa for the day and the tempting juicy burgers at The Works broke my resolve.

The Works

At The Works you have your choice of burgers. Made with beef or turkey, chicken breast, veggie or mushroom and even elk, all come in an assortment of pre-packaged combinations such as the Beverly Hills Lawsuit - fried egg, leaf spinach, havarti cheese, or the Field of Dreams - grilled wild mushrooms and gouda cheese. Or maybe you like a burger topped with macaroni and cheese? So try the San Francisco Treat. I had the Stephane's Ticket which is topped with mayo, swiss cheese, roasted red peppers and bacon. Standard burgers are available - if you just want to try a great burger with the basics- ketchup and mustard try the Ho Hum or Plain Jane.

Throw in a shake, The Works serves 36 kinds from Vanilla to Oreo Cookie, and pina colada. The shakes are thick and delicious. All drinks are served in measuring cups, 16 ounce or 32 ounce sizes. And don't forget your choice of the Tower of Onion Rings, Factory Fries, Sweet Potato, lumpy mashed potatoes or spicy cole slaw.
The Works just might be Ontario's best kept secret. Started in Ottawa in 2001, The Works now boasts seven locations in the greater Ottawa area, as well as locations in Kingston, London, Oakville and Guelph. My visit to The Works was at their Kanata location. The Works also features a kids' menu. A good review for The Works restaurant and their big juicy burgers.

Kids' Menu?

Vanilla Shake

Cheeburger Cheeburger Now in Montreal!!

That's right, Cheeburger Cheeburger is now in Montreal!! Opening at the beginning of August 2011 at 1444 Metcalfe in downtown Montreal, Cheeburger Cheeburger features an full menu of awesome build your own burgers, mix your own Shakes, amazing french fries and crazy good onion rings. Oh, and a really cute waitress. I really cannot do the restaurant proper justice, so go to We Work For Cheese for the review. 


Cheeburger Cheeburger's Famous Pounder is 20 ounces of juicy burger. If you have a smaller appetite, they feature burgers of every size, all the way down to the Classic 5.5 ouncer. Once your set on size, choose your cheese, be it Blue, American, Cheddar or five other choices. This place is all about selections. Choose from an additional 32 toppings that are included in the price of your burger. Or add some Specialty toppings of onion, mushrooms, or bacon.


Aside from beef, you can also get a veggie, chicken or portobello burger with all the fixins. And if that isn't enough, 60 ingredients are there to build your very own milkshake. My mouth is watering. And if that isn't enough to convince you, go read the review.

Cheeburger Cheeburger for Cheeseburgers

The Great Chili Cook Off

Red Kidney & Pinto Beans

We organize a pot luck at work every couple of months. It starts with breakfast and ends with lunch. With 15-20 participants, there is a lot of grub. The lazy people pick up bagels, muffins, or coffee. The others actually prepare food. The first time out a made a huge garden salad. Huge. Another time I brought chocolate danish. Yeah, I was lazy. But it tasted great and was a huge hit. With a few days until the next pot luck I had to make a decision. What should I make for the pot luck?  I was planning on making chili this weekend so the timing was perfect. I will make a  batch of chili. I will bring in enough to feed 20 people. All would feast. All would love Shawn. If only I knew how to make chili.

Vegetables and Meat Ingredients

I like eating chili. The best chilis have plenty of ground beef and just enough spice to feel it but not so much that it hurts. I just do not know how to make Chili. I also have never used dried bagged beans before. Who would have thought that one little bag of beans would absorb so much water that it would grow to 20 times its original size? That was the first lesson I learned. The second lesson was to find out that after soaking the beans, you should bowl them for 90 minutes to soften them. And then I went to look for a recipe for the best chili ever.

Instead I found this recipe. Basic, and something I could work with.
The recipe called for:

1 and a ½ pounds ground beef

½ pound pork sausages

1 cup chopped onions

2  15 and a ½-ounce cans red kidney beans

1 28-ounce can of tomatoes, cut up

1 cut chopped green pepper

1 cup thinly sliced celery

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons chili powder

Alexander Keith's IPA

I know how to cook, and I like to experiment. Perhaps with more beans than brains I made several substitutions.

I replaced the pork sausages with spicy Toulouse sausages.
I doubled the kidney beans and added a share of pinto beans
Rather than chili powder I used chili pepper
I added a tablespoon of Tobasco sauce
I don't like cooking with tomato paste, so I added in fresh tomatoes. And a second can of the same.
I also added a whole red pepper.
And beer. Mostly for drinking but I am going to pour some in just because its beer. I think red wine would go better. But I am out of red wine.

Oven Roasted Chili

The instructions were to place the beef, sausage and onions in a Dutch oven. So I grabbed the ingredients and put them in my bed. Get it? No? Look it up kids. Seriously though, I know that a Dutch oven is a pot. I also know that I do not own one. I looked it up on the googlenet and discovered that, they look to be a cast iron pot. I decided to use what I had. I took a closed pot for stove top cooking and a roasting pan for the oven. I had enough ingredients for both and wanted to see which would work better to cook the chili.

Stove Top Chili

Place the beef, sausage and onions in your pot and cook it until the meat browns. Then add in the rest of the ingredients. Keep it on simmer for an hour and a half, stirring occasionally.

My recommendations? I was surprised that the oven cooking made a tastier chili. Stick with the stove top cooking if you want to go for a more traditional recipe or if you prefer a faster preparation. The oven cooking requires an extra 45 minutes at 300 degrees. Overall it makes for a good chili recipe and a relatively healthy meal to boot. The pinto beans adds the extra touch. And as far as I am concerned chili just isn't chili without hot sauce. Chili is a great idea for lunch or supper.

A Steak and a Pint

Marinating Steak

My steak of last week got caught up in the events that were Valentine's Day and did not get the proper attention it deserved. Since then, I have had a craving for more steak. So, when I went out to pick up groceries today, I had added steak as part of the shopping list in my head.
At the supermarket my mouth started watering as I passed the butcher section. Sitting there on the cooler shelf was a juicy slab of meat calling out to me. Well, it didn't exactly moo but I saw it and I wanted it. A good size Striploin Steak (New York strip) of about 8.5 ounces.

It takes a few days off for me to truly relax, catch up on my errands and chores and appreciate a well prepared meal. More often than not I am rushing and make the quickest possible meal. Other times I am too tired to prepare much and I make the quickest, easiest and simplest plate of grub. With a guest or three, I will prepare more or create a menu. Just for me? I eat out of the box.

Today was the day to prepare a proper meal, just for myself.

The Meal

A man cannot live on meat alone so aside from a grilled steak I added a side of rice, and salad. I was in the mood for a pint of Guinness earlier in the day but decided that steak and rice were the makings of a heavy meal and a pint of Kilkenny would better complement the banquet.

Cascading Kilkenny

If you are not familiar with Kilkenny it is is an Irish cream ale produced by Smithwick's Brewery / Irish Ale Breweries Ltd. It is similar to Smithwick's with a milder hops finish. Kilkenny shares  a creamy head similar to its Stout cousin Guinness. Once poured it features a beautiful reverse cascade of bubbles. The perfect compliment to a meal.

The steak and rice were great, and the beer hit the spot. Now I am full. Instead of cleaning up, I am typing this. And I just remembered the third reason I don't cook often. The cleanup.

Super Bowl Roethlisberger Burger

According to the New York Daily News the most popular food on Super Bowl Sunday is of all things, vegetables. My football Sunday has always been about pizza and beer or subs and beer. This Sunday's Green Bay Packers versus Pittsburgh Steelers game is odds on to be the favourite weekend pastime. The game pits Aaron Rodgers against Big Ben Roethlisberger. But wait a second. I'm talking about food here. Maybe it's the Roethlisburger. The folks over at We Work for Cheese, always on the hunt for the perfect cheese burger came up with this gem just in time for Super Bowl Weekend. What are the Vegas odds for this weekend anyway?

Dinner Time Dilemma, Peanut Butter and Pliers

If you are allergic to peanut butter you cannot borrow my pliers. It was supper time again. Funny how that keeps coming up. Everyday too. I had a healthy lunch of rainbow trout with a side of salad so I wasn't interested in eating anything too healthy tonight. What am I to make for supper? I have to plan ahead. My lunch for Thursday is already packed, chicken with couscous and a side of vegetables. I needed something that would not take too much time to prepare since the hockey game was about to start. I couldn't go too unhealthy because the day before for lunch I caught up with Mike at the fish and chips restaurant for the greasiest deep fried fish. Tons of grease. The fries were dripping. I think they accidentally deep fried the basket they were in.
Finally I got it! Peanut butter and jelly. Well, peanut butter and jam. Peanut butter and apricot jam on freshly made, sliced chunks of whole grain bread. Or peanut butter and apricot jam on freshly purchased slices of toasted chunks of whole grain bread.
I lost myself somewhere in the last paragraph.
My mouth was watering while I was making the sandwich. I dug out a dollop of peanut butter, piled it on the bread. I grabbed a handful of jam and spread on in an inch thick layer.  I couldn't wait to start eating! In anticipation of heading to the dining room to sit down with my sandwich, I threw the knife into the sink. The knife landed with a clunk, but then there was a bounce, and then the rattle, and down the drain it went.
Not again.
At least this time I caught it before I turned on the garbarator. I started to reach my hand in and stopped suddenly. Wait a second, these garbarators are sharp, they garbarate things. I better get some tools. I run into the garage, spreading peanut butter and apricot jam on the wall and light switch. I popped open my tool box and grabbed the pliers. Quick enough I extracted the knife from the drain, carefully placed the knife and pliers on the counter and proceeded on to my original target, my sandwich. The sandwich was great. My pliers were covered in peanut butter, so if you are allergic, you can't borrow my pliers.

Wilkin & Sons, Best jam ever.

What should I eat for supper?

What should I eat for supper?

Yes. That's Friar Tuck.