Healthy Veggie and Meat Chili

 So in my last blog I talked about how comforting soup can be. Well now I have the next best thing. Chili! Nothing else brings back more fond memories than eating a bowl of my mom’s delicious chili, all cozied up on a cold winter day. And another wonderful fact about chili is, usually you can guarantee there to be lots of left overs. At least that is the case for my husband and I. Bonus: chili is a dish that freezes quite well.

This recipe is not my mother’s, but it is a healthier version that I tweaked myself. It is rich, it is filling, it is packed full of veggies and it is oh so comforting.

Ingredients

• ·         2 lbs ground lean ground beef
• ·         1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• ·         4 cloves of garlic, minced
• ·         1 bell pepper, finely chopped
• ·         2 medium carrots, finely chopped
• ·         2 large cans of diced tomatoes
• ·         3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• ·         2 cans of black beans
• ·         2 tbsp. chili powder
• ·         1 tsp cumin
• ·         1 tbsp. smoked paprika
• ·         ½ tbsp. normal paprika
• ·         ½ tsp ground allspice
• ·         1 tbsp. thyme
• ·         1 tsp salt
• ·         1 tbsp. ground black pepper
• ·         1 tbsp. garlic powder
• ·         1 tbsp. onion powder

Preparation

I would say this recipe makes enough chili for roughly 8 servings.  And now for step one. Grab a large, deep pot and drizzle in some olive oil. Place it on the stove top and set the burner to medium heat. Throw in the ground beef, onions and garlic, then break up the meat so that it forms into small chunks. As the meat starts to brown, add in all the spices so that it will begin to take on their herbaceous essences.

Once the meat is almost cooked, toss in the chopped peppers and carrots. You want them to cook down a bit before you add any other ingredients. Sauté the peppers and carrots until they are softened and now add in the tomatoes and beans. Stir these ingredients until everything is evenly incorporated.

Next, mix in the Worcestershire sauce and then turn the heat down to low so that it simmers. You want the dish to simmer for at least half an hour to build up the flavours. Make sure you taste the chili as it is simmering. This is a very important technique to practice with cooking. If your dish is tasting under-seasoned, feel free to add in more of the spices until it reaches your liking.

Once the chili has finished simmering, take it off the heat and now it is ready for eating!

Taste Test

The aromas that will waft off of your bowl will make you feel warm and cozy, and your mouth will water with excitement. Tasting that first spoonful, you should detect right away a slight smokiness from the stunning smoked paprika. I find this ingredient truly ups your chili game. It creates the comforting, rich quality that you want in this recipe. Following this taste, you should also notice the herbiness from the thyme, the kick from the garlic and the heat from the pepper. Additionally, I love how the Worcestershire gives the dish a subtle, earthy sweetness. I adore this ingredient and often add more than a recipe calls for in order to make that taste really stand out.

Furthermore, the tomatoes, beans, carrots and peppers make the recipe feel healthy even though it is so heavy and comforting. You would think that comfort food is always “bad” for you, but it can be healthy as well. The more veggies, the better. Also, the vegetables soak in the juices from the ground beef, which greatly compliments the essences of the spices.

Overall, this dish tastes like mom’s home cooking. It is fragrant, cozy, smoky, herbaceous, healthy, hardy and savoury all in one bowl. I can bet you this will be your new go to when you are craving chili. After all, the month we are currently in is February. I think it is safe to say that it is chili season. Enjoy!