Friday, August 21, 2009

Chili, Chili!

This week I finally took a gander at my Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals cookbook. I'm not a huge fan of her meals for several reasons: ie. she uses too much oil for my taste, too many ingredients (most of which I do not like), and the meals are always a lot of WW points. But, the idea of a meal taking only 30 minutes to prepare intrigued me.




I decided to try out her Cajun Chili. I usually keep my distance from chili seeing as I despise beans...but this one didn't call for any...score! It was delicious and my husband even liked it for leftovers...which rarely happens. It also wasn't too terribly spicy so it isn't overwhelming for a summertime meal. The whole recipe serves 6 and I made it all. We ate it for 2 nights for dinner and I had just a small amount left over for snacking the next day. We added freshly shredded cheddar cheese and tortilla chips on top and it was fantastic!



And the best part about the recipe?? It called for 1/2 a bottle of beer. What did I do with the other 1/2 you ask??


Enough said.



Cajun Chili

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground pork
1 tbsp. Mexican chili powder
1 tbsp. ground cumin
4 shakes cayenne pepper sauce
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 rib celery, chopped (I omitted this just because I didn't have it)
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 bottle of beer
1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
A handful of chopped fresh cilantro (omitted...Matt thinks it tastes like soap...)
Kosher salt, to taste



Heat a pot over high heat.

Dump ground pork into the pot. Season with chili powder, cumin, and cayenne sauce, brown for 5 minutes. And the onions, garlic, celery, and bell peppers and cook, shaking pan now and then, for another 3-4 minutes.

Add beer and stir up the bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the tomatoes and cilantro. Bring to a boil and season with salt.

We topped with cheese and chips! Enjoy!

Happy Friday!

14 comments:

Danielle said...

Sounds yummy!!

A New England Girl said...

I have never been a fan of Rachel Ray, but because you guys approve of this recipe, I'm going to have to try it! It looks delish and the ingredients don't sound typical of Rachel's. Thanks for sharing! :)

Kristen said...

looks yummy, might have to try it!

Unknown said...

Really? It was good? I was given one of her cookbooks, tried out a few recipes and we just didn't like them. I [shock] ended up throwing the book away...

Dollface said...

chili is soooo yummy... and I have not used any of her recipes yet, but I will def have to try them!! xxxooo

Anonymous said...

yummm this sounds so delicious!! and perfect for football sundays!! i might have to try it out!!

Lucy Marie said...

Please make this for me. Yes please. And I agree with you - I'm not a huge fan of rachel ray.

THE Stephanie said...

That looks so yummy!! I'm wondering about the pork, but I guess I could go with it, or sub ground turkey or beef. Either way, it looks delish!!

Anonymous said...

Yummy, yummy! Thanks for sharing. That looks so good!

Annie said...

i always think rachel's meals look YUM-O! ha
your chili looks delicious!!
i miss chili, perfect fall/winter food! feels like fall in my area now so i mise well make some..hehe.
i used to make some of her dishes but i would just leave out the weird stuff she would add...they would still turn out good :)

hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Lindsey said...

YUM!!! Garth would love this, thanks for sharing friend!!

Girl Meets Beau said...

Yumm! I love chili. I am going to try this! And I love that you had enough for 2 meals!!

Thanks for the recipe :)

Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing} said...

mmm chili with no beans i might be able to handle (HATE beans!)

Brittany Ann said...

Yum! Do you think I could make it in a Crock pot?