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! ;)