Tri-Tip Chili

We recently had some friends over for a barbecue and ended up with a ton of leftover tri-tip. While my husband’s recipe is a tried-and-true favorite, excessive leftovers of any sort can be a challenge. Hence, this chili. It’s easy and delicious, and a great way to make something new with what’s hogging space in the fridge.

Tri-Tip Chili 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound cooked tri-tip, cubed
1 15-ounce can kidney beans
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 7 ¾ ounce can El Pato tomato sauce with jalapeño

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, cayenne and salt and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes, until fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Lamb Chili with White Beans and Oregano

I love a good bowl of chili (who doesn’t?) but when I make it at home I tend to use chicken or ground turkey. Time to shake things up with some lamb! This chili is packed with flavor and will keep you nice and toasty when it’s cold outside.

Lamb Chili with White Beans and Oregano 
1 pound ground lamb
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
4 cups cooked white beans*
2 cups beef broth
¼ cup fresh oregano, plus extra for garnish
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Crumbled feta (optional)

*A note on the beans: I made my own pot of beans, but if you're going the canned route, two 15-ounce cans will work just fine. 

Brown lamb In a large pot over medium-high heat until meat is thoroughly cooked. Transfer meat to plate or bowl lined with a paper towel.

Add the onion, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder and coriander to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 or 5 minutes. Return lamb to the pot and add beans, broth, oregano and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the lemon juice. Garnish with oregano and feta and enjoy.

White chili recipe a trusty fave

I’ve been rocking this chili recipe for years but have yet to share it on this blog … until now! If you like a spicier chili, swap out the cheddar for more pepper jack.

Turkey White Bean Chili 
1 large white onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
8 ounces diced green chiles
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar
Salt and pepper, to taste

 In a large pot over medium heat, combine onion, garlic and ground turkey, stirring occasionally and sautéeing for roughly 10 minutes, or until the turkey is brown. Add the chiles, cumin, oregano and cinnamon and sauté for five more minutes.

Puree two cans of the beans with three cups of the chicken broth in a food processor. Pour the puree in the pot along with the remaining beans and broth. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the cheese and simmer for another five minutes before serving. Possible garnishes include green onions, chopped cilantro, sliced avocado, sour cream and tortilla chips.

Library card a wonderful kitchen tool

One of the many wonderful reasons to have a library card is being able to test-drive cookbooks.

It doesn’t make sense to go out and buy every glossy, delicious tome that makes my mouth water. So when a book strikes my fancy, or if I’m interested in learning more about working with a particular ingredient or in a certain style, I log into my Sacramento Public Library account, peruse the catalog and make my reservation. I can keep a book for a minimum of three weeks (being able to renew online is another perk), which gives me plenty of time to read up on techniques, hunt for new recipes and the like. I use sticky notes or paper scraps to note recipes I like, make photocopies that I’ll file in my binder, and return the book by the time it’s due.

I’m currently snacking on “5 Ingredient Fix” by Claire Robinson and Betty Rosbottom’s “Sunday Soup,” a book I first found on my friend Lucy’s shelf years ago but never got around to buying for myself. I might still have to purchase “Sunday Soup,” as I’m tempted by at least half the recipes. The following dish is inspired by a chicken chili recipe included in the book. If you want to add more heat to the chili, use more chipotles and the adobo sauce in which they’re packaged. I beefed up this meal by making mini-bread bowls out of some Kaiser rolls I had in the fridge.

Chipotle Corn Turkey Chili
1 ¼ pounds ground turkey
2 cups chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeded and coarsely chopped
4 cups chicken broth
28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
4 cups corn kernels (if using frozen, thaw before adding to pot)
2 15-ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Salt and pepper, to taste
Possible garnishes: chopped cilantro, sour cream, shredded cheddar, tortilla chips

Cook turkey, onions and garlic in large pot over medium heat until meat is browned. Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, and chipotle peppers. Cook for another minute before adding broth, tomatoes, corn and beans. Bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes. To serve, ladle chili into bowls and add garnishes.

Chicken chili is low maintenance, highly delicious

I’ve been tinkering with slow-cooker chicken chili recipes for a while and I think I’ve come up with a winner. It’s pretty mild, and I’m OK with that, but I’m sure some grated pepper jack would heat things up a little bit.

Chicken and White Bean Chili
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks
2 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (4 ounces each) diced green chiles
1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken broth
3 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
½ cup corn kernels

Combine all ingredients in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat setting for eight hours, stirring once or twice. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve. Possible toppings include grated cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.

Cleaning out the cupboards? Throw everything into this chili

Our friend Lisa recently had a party and served a really chunky, packed-full-of-goodies chili.
She was kind enough to share the recipe, which I tweaked based on what sounded good and what I had in the pantry.

Kitchen sink chili
1 pound ground turkey
1 chopped onion
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups celery
1 tablespoon dried oregano
15-ounce can tomato sauce
7-ounce can of chopped green chilies
2 15-ounce cans chopped stewed tomatoes
5 15-ounce cans of beans (I used one can each of pinto, black and cannellini beans and two cans kidney beans)
2 4-ounce cans of chopped mushrooms
1 package of taco seasoning
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing Mix
2 cups frozen white corn

Brown turkey until just slightly pink in a large soup pot. Add onion, garlic, celery and oregano and finish cooking the meat. Pour contents of cans, without draining any of them, into pot. Add taco seasoning and dressing mix. Allow to simmer, covered, at least 30 minutes, before serving.

Want to bring a little heat to the dinner table? Try Fast & Feisty Chili

I’ve been playing with this chili recipe for some time. I originally tried it because I wanted one of my first forays into making chili to be an easy one. Sure, it was easy, but working with chipotle chiles in adobo was a completely new experience, and it left everyone at the table in tears.

Since then I’ve worked with each batch, trying not to not go overboard with the chipotle, as these little guys pack a slow burn of a punch. The recipe I started with calls for a tablespoon of adobo sauce, and I like to split that up into three teaspoons — the first two go into the pot early, and the third is optional, depending on how things taste once everything’s had a few minutes to simmer.

Even if you take it slow, this recipe takes less than an hour from start to finish.

Fast & Feisty Chili
Adapted from the Food Network
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 chipotle chile en adobo, seeds removed, chopped, with 3 teaspoons sauce, divided
1 bottle light-to-medium Mexican beer (I like Dos Equis Ambar)
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes with juice
1 15.5-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Heat olive oil in skillet or other large frying pan over medium-high heat. I omit olive oil when using a non-stick pan. Add onion, garlic, salt, chili powder and oregano and cook, stirring often, for roughly 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and the chipotle chile and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce, cooking for a minute more. Add turkey, breaking it up with your spoon or spatula, and cook until meat is no longer pink. Stir in beer and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes — crush them with your hands over the skillet — it’s just as messy as chopping the tomatoes beforehand, but at least you won’t have to wash a cutting board! Also add tomato juice, kidney beans and another teaspoon adobo sauce. Bring to a boil and cook until thick, about 10 minutes. Taste for heat, and, if you want more spice, stir in that third teaspoon of adobo. Serve in bowls and garnish with cilantro, grated cheddar and tortilla chips.