Chili Today, Hot Tamale

Chili Today, Hot Tamale

     ~ or ~

How many points did I just eat, anyways?

At last week's weight watcher meeting, I got into a discussion with one of the very supportive weigh-in gals about why it's a real pain-in-the-you-know-what for me to officially track what I eat. So, join me as we make some chili (this batch got a a 9 out 10 rating by me but a 7.5 out of 10 ranking by my kids for being a tad too spicy, likely because of the habenero). We'll also figure out how many weight watcher points I actually ate. Don't be intimidated by the number of ingredients - it's really very easy to throw together. 

Casa 13 Chili

Prep Time: 1/2 hr

Cook Time: 1/2 hr

Feeds a small army, about 24 cups (I like the volume for easy meals for the week and hubby will eat like 4 cups at a time)

Ingredients:

• Giant Onion (about 1lb) diced
• Head of Garlic minced
• Spray Olive Oil in nifty aerated bottle (just enough to gently coat giant pan)
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• Chili Peppers (I usually get at least 1 of everything at the store. This time I used 2 Anaheim, 1 Poblano, 1 Jalapeno, 1 Fresno, 1 Serrano, 1 Banana Chili, and 1 Habenero - the only real hot one) finely minced in food processor
• 3.5 Pounds Ground Beef
• 1 bunch Cilantro, chopped
• 2 Cans Diced Tomatoes
• 1 Tbs sea salt
• 1 tsp dark chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp Mexican Saffron
• 1/2 tsp red chili pepper
• 1/4 tsp Carob (I use Teeccino herbal coffee)
• 1 Can Garbanzo Beans (with liquid)
• 1 Can Black Beans (with liquid)
• 1 Can Pinto Beans (with liquid)
• 1 Can Sweet Corn (with liquid)
• Bell Peppers (diced by hand) I used 1 orange & 1 red pepper this time
• 2 Tomatillos chopped
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup red wine (mainly because I have a bottle that needs to be used up and I don’t like to drink red wine straight)

Casa 13 Chili Ingredients
(not pictured: pinto beans, tomato paste, carob spice, red wine)

Directions:

Spray Olive Oil to just coat very large skillet (I got my gigantor one from Costco years ago and don’t know what I’d do without it) and melt butter. Saute Onions and Garlic till soft. Add Spicy peppers and cook for a few more minutes before adding beef to brown in center of skillet. Mix in dry spices, cilantro, and canned tomatoes (I like to gently food process the S&W ones because the chunks are really big). Then mix in 3 different beans, all with liquid. Cook for about 15 minutes. Add Bell Peppers, Tomatillos, tomato paste, and wine (optional) and simmer as long as desired (at least 10 minutes). 

Serve with your choice of shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado, green onions, cilantro, chips. 

Food Processor makes short work of mincing onion and garlic

Woh! Check out those funky brown seeds in the hot habanero pepper

Onions and Garlic Sauteing in Butter and Olive Oil

All the Spicy Peppers minced and mixed in
(There's like 4 + cups of antioxidants in here, baby!)

Move the veggies over to brown the beef

1Tbs Salt, 1tsp each chili, paprika, saffron, cumin, red pepper, plus bunch cilantro chopped

I think this stuff is swill to drink, but great to cook with - see ingredients below

Carob, Barley, Chicory, Dates, Orange Peel, Almonds, Figs

Add Spices to Skillet

It helps to add weight to grind fresh herbs in food processor,
good thing I also wanted less chunky tomatoes

Add the 3 bean cans, liquid and all

Hand chop bell peppers for nice pieces that add visual interest to the chili

Tomatillos are kinda like a cross between a tomato and an apple and a staple in mexican food (high in pectin)

Decided I wanted tomato paste

and I have this bottle of red wine sitting in the fridge to use

Mmm Mmm Mmm - Casa 13 Chili is good to go!

Garnish to your hearts delight - 11 point as shown

The Damages:

I estimated a bit using the weight watchers online recipe builder, but I think 6 points per cup sounds about right. The cheese adds another 2 points per quarter cup, the tablespoon sour cream is 1point and the 9 chips is about 2 points (I found THE BEST local Los Reyes Tortilleria corn chips and pat myself on the back for only eating 9! ). So, 11 points total. Not bad for totally tasty, filling, and chock-full of veggies & anti-oxidants. If you steer clear of the spicier chilies, it’s a very kid friendly food. My kids love this chili in general. 

Oh, and while I like the kick of the serrano and habanero peppers, I will admit that going to the gym the next day was a bit interesting… the chili oils found their way into my sweat which kinda burned as it poured down my face in the sauna after I finished an hour of zumba and an hour of yoga (yea, I’ve lost 7 pounds in 2012 so far, go me :)

Are you going to make this chili or what? Happy Eating, Exercising, and Entertaining!

xoxoxo,

DragonYogaLady

RANDOM CHILI LINKS

• Pretty Picture with different chilies labeled

• How hot are those peppers anyways? Habanero is up there but the Bells, Anaheim, and Poblano are quite mild… Checkout the Scoville Heat Scale for chilies.

• Wow - local Vista, CA tortilla & chip merchant has $10-20M/year revenue - Los Reyes Torilleria  I LOVE these chips I found at Frazier Farms that are made just up the street

• Hot Tamale Song on YouTube (seriously catchy and cute)

• Red Hot Chili Peppers (the Band) in their Birthday Suits, and another version for your desktop wallpaper! ;)

Dragon Yoga Lady Starts Blogging

 ‘finding the zen in my fiery breath’

Dragons doing Yoga - "Warrior Pose"

My son’s 3rd grade teacher recently said to me, “kids these days don’t really get to build anything anymore.” Before I could agree, she added, “well, I know yours do, of course.” I’ve been thinking a lot about this comment, not as it relates to children or materials that could be used to make leprechaun traps but to me and our world in general. 


What have I built lately?

<big pause while mentally adding and erasing daily activities>

OK then. What should I build? 

More than a few times I have been asked, “where’s your blog?” See - while I help others find their voices as a ghostwriter, my personal publishings have been limited to mainly facebook status updates.

So, I am now building a blog.

I still have some issues with the word, “blog”, however. When blogs first hit, I thought it was funny that a fancy (yet not-so-attractive) moniker was needed for new web content in the form of original web content. Having been online since 1991, I remember when cyberspace was mostly comprised of real people whose posts didn’t need to be edited by teams with styleguides at their fingertips. Thus, I resisted jumping on the blog-bandwagon mainly because I didn’t like the sound of the word, “blog”. But like the name or not, I believe blogs are the current lifeblood of cyberspace. They are the connectors of our technology driven humanity. And now I add more of my voice to the digital consciousness, hopefully for the greater good.

Enter “Dragon Yoga Lady”. 

It’s a new lunar year, and the dragon is the only mythological animal characterized in the Chinese calendar. These not-dainty creatures represent primordial life-forces and their powers are vast if often uncontrolled. Both revered and abhorred across the world, dragons are depicted as fire-spitting, water ruling, and multi-headed beasts. 

I feel like a dragon when semi-lovingly referred to as “my little noisemaker” (hubby) and “our company bulldozer” (Harvard educated corporate attorney). So, I do yoga and other stuff to hopefully find life’s balance. Occasionally, I even try to be dainty. 

My senior High School English teacher wrote in my yearbook, “May life be an orange crate from which you can editorialize.” Dragon Yoga Lady is all about exploring the universe as I experience it. There will be musings on feeding my family, finding my center, photography, land-use, animals, literature, conspiracy theories, movies, and whatever else the wind blows that day. I promise lots of pictures and links to inspiration. I hope to enlighten and/or entertain.

Would you like to join me on this journey? I welcome all comments - just try to be kind because unlike dragons with thick skin and scaly armor, my heart is often exposed. :)

Namaste.

Finding Balance

RANDOM DRAGON TIDBITS

• When hubby saw me taking pictures of toy dragons on custom yoga mats, he commented, “Is this some sort of lingering afterthought of your Dungeons & Dragons days?”

• “Hiccup VERY LUCKY nice, kind Toothless not do a pee-pee on his head!”   -Toothless the dragon in ‘How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale’ by Cressida Cowell (This is the current bedtime story in our household.)

• There are 5 different kinds of dragons in Chinese Astrology. 2012 is the year of the 'Water Dragon'.

• I have yet to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but found the HipChicks bookclub read a wild ride into the dark streets of Sweden.

• Dragons on the Big Screen (and TV, too). I thought Norberta (ala Harry Potter) would be a good name for our bearded dragon, but apparently Beardie is easier to remember and/or pronounce.