Chili With or Without Moo

The other night I had a hankering for an easy, 'fill my belly with something warm' kind of meal. I have another wonderful chili recipe here on my blog but I wanted an easier and quicker recipe since it was a week night and my menfolk had the evening planned for all things masculine.

This recipe totally fit the bill. It was simple to put together and had just the right amount of spice and heat. I like flavour over heat personally so I was impressed with how that was balanced in this recipe. You can tweak the spice a bit once it's had some time for the flavours to blend. I ended up adding a bit more chili powder because I thought it needed a bit more of a kick.

In our house we love to serve chili with shredded Cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Delish! I have recently found a new way to enjoy eating chili. My new 'method' is to place a piece of toast on a dinner plate and pile on the chili and fixin's. Negates the need for dipping but tastes soooo good!

In the past I've always been more of a lover of chili con carne (the carnivore version of chili) but lately I've been trying to serve more vegetarian meals. This recipe only used 1lb of ground beef (because that's all I had on hand) but the next time I make it I plan to omit the beef because I don't think it really added much to the overall recipe.

One final note: You can prepare this dish ahead of time (even the day before) then pop it into your slow cooker (on low) to heat through for your supper. I actually made this dish early in the afternoon then popped it into my smaller crockpot making dinner prep very easy. Can't get any easier than that!

1lb ground beef (optional - if omitted replace with 2 tbsp vegetable oil)
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (19oz) can kidney beans
2 (14oz) cans beans in tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch ground cloves
Cheddar cheese, grated -- to garnish
sour cream -- to garnish

In a large, deep skillet (or large pot) over medium-high heat cook beef (if using), onion, green pepper and garlic until meat is no longer pink and onion and green peppers are soft. Drain off excess fat.

Add tomatoes, kidney beans and beans in tomato sauce to meat mixture. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Heat through and serve. Or, let mixture cool slightly and put into containers. Keep refrigerated (or freeze) until ready to heat using crockpot. Serve with grated Cheddar cheese and sour cream.