Tags
chili, comfort food, Cooking, dinner, Fall, family, recipes, Saturday Upsides, Soccer, the common cold, ugh
This is my second week linking up with Bonnie at Recipes Happen. Check out all of the participants HERE.
The boys have weathered their first colds of the school year and managed to do so with a minimum of suffering, which I’m certainly thankful for. That’s an OBVIOUS upside, but…
….now, I have THE COLD. Not surprisingly, I am not handling it with anything akin to grace. I am a miserable sick person. I wallow and whine as if I will never be well again, and I view the relative hale health of the people around me as a personal affront.
I begged off of the boys’ (away) soccer game this morning, dug out some Sudafed (The real stuff. You know, the kind they take down your driver’s license number before they’ll sell it to you), and went back to bed.
And therein lies the FIRST upside of the day. No, going back to bed; although that was nice. The upside was that the boys’ team won their soccer game, Will scored his FIRST goal of the season, and Evan had a terrific assist. I’m sorry I missed it, but they were SO excited to tell me all about the game, play-by-play, that it definitely qualifies as an upside.
The edible upside, referred to in the title of this post, was the comfort food that I knew I already had in the freezer. A few days ago, I made my first batch of chili for the season, using a new recipe, and froze it in family-sized portions. Nothing like chili for opening the sinuses and comforting the soul….
The ingredients….1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 large red onions (chopped), 5 tablespoons chopped green chilies (canned), 8 garlic gloves (chopped), 2 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (85/15), 1/4 cup chili powder, 2 tablespoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, one 28-ounce can diced tomatoes (undrained), two 15-ounce cans kidney beans (drained), and one 14-ounce can beef broth.
The preparation….Heat oil in a heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute about five minutes. Add chilies and garlic; saute one minute. Add beef, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned. Add spices, tomatoes, beans, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer roughly an hour, until thickened slightly. (I always become impatient and add a little cornstarch about 30 minutes in). Serve with sour cream and shredded cheese.
squirrel circus 
Thanks for sharing with us this weekend 🙂
Bonnie
Pingback: Saturday Upside: The Chain of Love | Recipes Happen
It certainly is chili season! Thanks for sharing your recipe. I have a cold too and it just seems to keep getting worse. The thing is, I feel bad, then good, then bad. I don’t feel bad enough to stay in bed but then when I do anything it zaps the life out of me. This too shall pass. In the meantime, I’m going to try your chili recipe! I never thought of putting canned green chilies in … that’s brilliant!
Thank you! I hope you feel better soon, as well! I thought I was well enough to work out a little last evening…bad idea. Better give it another day, I guess.
I will say that the chili is not as spicy as you would think it would be. But maybe that’s my stuffy nose talking. Ha ha. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
I stayed home from work today to save my co-workers from my hacking & coughing. After napping all afternoon, I decided to take a trip to the store to buy stuff to make chili. I used ground turkey (1.25 lbs.) instead of beef and I added a 6 oz. can of tomato paste plus a cup of water to it to give it a little more color due to the white turkey. Oh my goodness, it’s so good! I use a hot chili powder and I thought 1/4 cup was going to be too much but I decided to trust and it is perfect. I put 5 containers in the freezer to take for lunches and lots leftover for dinner tonight. Thanks again for posting your recipe … it was timely for me!
feeling sick is a crappy thing…sending you lots of love..hope you get well soon… 🙂
Thanks, sweetie. Two good nights’ sleep has helped for sure. That and plenty of ibuprofen 🙂
I like your post but not that you’re sick. Figures though – school’s in session, what happens? Everyone catches a cold. Of course buying that Sudafed just put you on “the list” so maybe have your mother buy the next box.
Also love this Upside Saturday idea, fun & one I’ll have to think about for next Sat. There’s also one that I keep meaning to do called What’s in your kitchen? I saw this on Bam’s site & keep taking pictures for it (no posting yet, but I’ve got pictures).
I might not have a cold yet, but it’s cold, rainy & raw enough to do soups. Funny though, my next post was going to involve my feelings about chiles. I just can’t do it & it’s an old childhood memory/scar that I carry to this day. Even if it’s not that strong I can’t sniff a chili pepper without that “oh oh, something bad’s going to happen” feeling.
You get better but don’t be crazy & push it – colds are why they invented reading & pillows & down comforters.
I know! Scott’s waiting to get this cold and is afraid that I’ll “hog all of the Sudafed”. Speaking of hogging, I am under a blanket watching American Hoggers (REAL quality TV) with the boys and snuggling with Bailey.
I’m intrigued about your chili pepper PTSD – must have been pretty bad — I’d love to see a post on it 🙂
The chili pepper escapade is in the works – really, I was only about 5 or 6 and only have myself to blame.
Scott’s going to have to go & get his own Sudafed but oh-oh, it’ll be the same address so you could be running a risk there.
I don’t watch tv, but what the heck is/are American Hoggers? People who don’t share? Can’t be you cause it sounds like you’re doing lots of hogging – let me guess though, Bailey’s getting more than his fair share.
Yes, we will probably be on some sort of meth-head watch list before this winter if over – and it’s ONLY October. Ugh.
Ah yes. We watch an awful lot of television on lazy weekend afternoons! American Hoggers is an A&E show that follows a winsome (maybe), rough-around-the-edges (of course! if you don’t have to subtitle the family patriarch, even when he’s speaking English, it’s not reality TV) family whose business is eradicating wild boar in their corner of Texas.
http://www.aetv.com/american-hoggers/
Omg, I can’t stop laughing. All I can say/ask is – who came up with this idea for a show? Winsome – I like that & you just don’t hear it very much any more. I think I’m glad I don’t live in their corner of Texas though.
Ok – the chili pepper incident should be available. Try the Zuppa, it’s nice & hearty.
Seriously! Allow me to assure you that there are MANY more shows where this one came from. I should do a post on the amount of questionable television that I manage to fit into my busy (and otherwise intellectually stimulating existence)!
Heading over now to check out the Zuppa!
Perfect timing on this post! I too am suffering a cold and there’s nothing quite like a nice hot bowl of filling goodness. Hope you feel better soon!
Thanks — you too!!
I’m just working off my first cold of the season and I don’t even have kids to blame it on! Hopefully it’s on its last legs though because I’m being to forget how it felt to breath without coughing. That chili looks like it would do me wonders!
Hope you are indeed on the mend! — I’m feeling MUCH better, but should probably have taken a decongestant this morning before work — still a little stuffy, but no where NEAR how miserable I was on Saturday 🙂
I hope you’re feeling better by now, SC. And I like your new header – mind that they don’t run off with all your buts, though!
I am, thanks! I swear, that extra sleep (and NOT standing out on the soccer field at 8am) on Saturday made all of the difference.
Glad you like the header — I was ready for something new, and I love vintage clips.
Hope you’re having a good week. 🙂 It’s been busy life-wise, but slack-ish blog-wise for me so far…
I’m glad to hear that you’re all better. If you’re to take over the world one nut at a time you have to be in tip top shape, eh? Have a great weekend, SC and try not to overdo it!
I will — you too!
Hope you did, lol