One of my all time favorite winter meals is homemade chili. Not only does it warm you up, but it fills you up as well. While I usually make it with lean beef or turkey, I felt like something even heartier this time and went with man-friendly stewing beef. The tender pieces of beef soaked up all the delicious flavours and had me going back for seconds.
What you’ll need:
3 tbsp Olive Oil
2 lbs Stewing beef
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 Large Onion, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
2 tsp Cumin
2 tbsp Chili Powder
1 cup Dry Red Wine
1 can Plum Tomatoes, chopped
4 cups Beef Stock
2 sprigs Thyme, whole
1 can Black Beans
1 can Romano Beans
Heat a large pot over high heat and add 2 tbsp oil.
Add beef and season with salt and pepper. Sear on all sides, cooking until it’s all browned, about 5 minutes.
Remove beef with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium and add the last tbsp of oil. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in garlic, cumin, chili powder and sauté for a few more minutes.
Add the red wine.
Add the tomatoes to the pot. A friend taught me this easy trick for chopping up canned tomatoes and it works like a charm – stick your clean kitchen shears in the can of tomatoes to cut them up without the mess!
Wash a few sprigs of frsh thyme and through them in the pot.
Toss the beef back into the pot. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for at least an hour.
Add black beans and romano beans and continue to cook until meat is tender and liquid is very thick. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. (See the mess on my previously clean stovetop? It is impossible to avoid splashing tomato based dishes…I think its actually a Law of Physics.)
The chili will form a nice thick sauce with deliciously tender chunks of beef. This is not the actual final photo of the pot. I forgot to take a picture right when it was done because I was starving after smelling it cook, so this is minus a few servings.
Makes 6 servings. I ended up freezing this in one serving portions for easy weeknight meals.
mmm chili! i also like the idea of pouring myself a glass of red wine during the process.