January 27
Chorizo Makes Everything Better
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- Chorizo Bean Chili [View Recipe]
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Ingredients
- 1 link sausage
- 1 teaspoon oil
- .33 cup onion (chopped)
- .5 cup bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chile powder
- 1 clove garlic (minced with salt)
- .5 cup tomatoes
- .25 cup water
- 15 ounces black beans
- 15 ounces pinto beans
- 1.5 tablespoons grapefruit juice (freshly squeezed)
- cheese (grated)
- scallion (cleaned and sliced)
- cilantro (cleaned)
Instructions
We start by heating a medium pot over medium heat. We defrost the chorizo for just a couple of minutes on the defrost setting of the microwave. We add the oil to the pot and then, with kitchen scissors, we slice the chorizo directly into the pot. We wash our hands and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes.
When the chorizo is getting crispy, we add the onion. We cook for just a couple of minutes and then add the red peppers. We stir and cook for 5 minutes while the vegetables soften.
Next, we add the cumin and ancho chile powders, and the garlic, and stir. We open the cans of beans, strain them, then rinse them. We add the tomatoes, beans, and water to the pot and scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot with the wooden spoon. We bring the chili to a boil, lower the heat, partially cover it, and cook for about 10 minutes to meld the flavors.
We stir and taste for seasoning - it is delicious but needs a little pick-up from citrus. We do not have any limes, so we add some grapefruit juice. We serve the chili garnished with scallions, cheese, and cilantro.
- Chile Cheese Corn Pie
- Blue Chips
Our neighborhood was quite beautiful at dinnertime. Dinner was not too shabby either. The most remarkable aspect of tonight's dinner was just how much better the chorizo makes our old standby, bean chili.
A late addition to the chili was grapefruit juice. Just before serving, Robin decided that some citrus was needed. Looking in the refrigerator, we found that the only citrus that we had was grapefruit. Upon seeing Robin with grapefruit, our daughter exclaimed, "Oh, I want that." So she had half a grapefruit along with her dinner.
Whenever we have chili, the kids have plain beans. For some reason the two differently colored beans appeal to them.
Our son always asks, "What kinds of beans are these (pointing to the pinto beans)?"
Our daughter answers, "Red!"
"Oh, what kind are these?"
"Black!"
"Oh."
Then, they both proceed to eat all the beans on their plates. They are funny that way, which also explains tonight's other activity. They enjoyed daring each other to try daddy's hot salsa (with lots of milk at the ready). We tried to discourage them as much as possible, but they do not listen to us during the day, so why should dinner be any different?
Ultimately, their contest turned out to be quite harmless. They did not put very much salsa on their chips. Mostly, it made for entertainment to go along with our very filling dinner.