Technically Fall is here although in Arizona it's still in the 90's. Today however it was cloudy and that gave me the feeling for comfort food. What better comfort food than a delicious bowl of chili! Here's my newly made recipe for Cyn's Brown Sugar BBQ Cilantro Chili.
Now I have to say that I searched the Internet for a good recipe for "homemade" chili and every recipe took about 45 minutes and called for "cans" of beans. Cans? That's not homemade to me. I even checked the Food Network site but theirs were canned too. So, I was left to my own ideas and here's what I came up with:
Ingredients:
Red kidney beans 1 bag
Pinto Beans 1 bag
White Northern Beans 1 bag
Brown Sugar 2 cups
Chili Powder 1 packet
Cumin 1 tblspn
Garlic 1 cloves crushed
Ground Beef 2 lbs
Onion powder 2 tblspns
Salt and pepper 1 tblspn
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ 1 cup
Tomato paste 1 can
Cilantro 1 bunch (1 cup chopped)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese 1 bag
Sour Cream - Optional
Instructions:
First, since the beans are dried you'll need to soak them. A quick-soak is best. To do this you'll need a large stock pot. You'll need 8 cups of water per every 1 lb bag of beans. I used 24 cups with 3- 1 lb bags. Bring the water to a rapid boil and boil the beans for 2 minutes at a rapid boil. Then remove them from the heat and let them sit covered for 1 hour.
Return the beans to the pot and add water so that the beans are completely covered - about 7 cups. Add spices as well.
Let the beans cook on medium-high heat for 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, rinse, pat-dry with a paper towel, and de-stem the cilantro.
Chop it up and seal in either a baggie or sealed container and return to fridge until ready to use.
At this point, cook and lightly season the ground beef. Drain all fat and oil from it. And add it to the beans along with the cilantro, the brown sugar, tomato paste, chili packet, and the BBQ sauce. Turn heat down to low and let simmer another 20 minutes.
Mix well, bring beans to a boil and add the flour and water to thicken the chili. Turn heat back to low and cook about 5 more minutes, then turn heat off but leave pot on the burner.
Fresh out of the oven...
It came out FANTASTIC!! The beans were firm but tender, full of a sweet, tangy flavor.
Serve up and garnish as you choose. I sprinkled the shredded cheddar cheese, added a dollop of sour cream, and finished it up with more cilantro (although the one below was for my husband and he didn't want the extra cilantro).
I served mine with buttered cornbread. It was EXACTLY what I was hoping for. The whole family loved it and the best part is that I'll have left overs for tomorrow and I had enough to freeze and use another time. Enjoy!!!
Full Recipe:
Red kidney beans 1 bag ( 1 lb)
Pinto Beans 1 bagWhite Northern Beans 1 bag
Brown Sugar 2 cups
Chili Powder 1 packet
Cumin 1 tblspn
Garlic 1 cloves crushed
Ground Beef 2 lbs
Onion powder 2 tblspns
Salt and pepper 1 tblspn
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ 1 cup
Tomato paste 1 can
Cilantro 1 bunch (1 cup chopped)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese 1 bag
Sour Cream - Optional
Instructions:
Beans:
Using a large stock pot- quick soak beans by adding 8 cups of hot water per bag of beans. Bring beans to a rapid boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let soak for 1 hour.
Drain and rinse beans after the hour. Return to the stockpot and add the "spices" to the beans along with 6 1/2 - 7 cups of water. Place on medium to medium-high heat and cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hrs.
Meanwhile, rinse and de-stem the cilantro and chop it up. 1 bunch should equal 1 cup chopped. Put in baggie or sealed container and store in refrigerator until ready to use.
After 1 1/2 hours, cook ground beef. Taste a bean to make sure it's getting soft turn heat to med. Add tomato paste to beans. Then add in cooked ground beef and brown sugar. Cook 15 mins.
Add cilantro and finish cooking another 10 mins on low-med. heat.
If chili is too runny, add mixture of flour or cornstarch (about 2 tablespoons) with 3 tblspns cold water. Bring chili to a BOIL and add the mixture. Stir it in, then immediately lower the heat to low. This will thicken the chili. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and serve with your favorite cornbread.
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