Chili

Chili is not something I would ever order at a restaurant. The only chili I've ever really liked is my dad's recipe. He doesn't have the recipe written down and he's never told it to me, but I've spent some years trying to recreate it.

I'm not one of those chili purists either. I believe that "real" chili is for the foodie snobs who have nothing better to do than write food blogs and complain. All recipes are adaptations from other recipes and I think a little variation is always a good thing, especially in cooking!

With that being said, I put beans in my chili! Today I used black beans and pinto beans. I also used beer in my recipe. It made the chili smell so sweet! Chili powder, chili flakes, cayenne pepper, and lots of garlic too, very hot and spicy. I don't like stewed or diced tomatoes, so I just used crushed. I also added a bit of salsa and red onions. Then there's the corn, the ground beef and of course, dad's secret ingredient, peanut butter.

I let it simmer on the stove for 2 hours. I would have just used the crockpot, but it's not big enough. This huge pot of chili can feed 6 men! A cup and a half of my chili is 420 calories, 8.6g of fibre, 29.2g of protein, and 99% of your daily intake of iron. I consistently have low iron and I take supplements, so that is major for me!

I paired my bowl with some focaccia bread and a bit of butter. Boom 600 calories in total! What a delicious, filling, healthy meal that doesn't break the Calorie Bank. I don't think my chili will ever taste exactly like dad's, but this version here deserves an index card to be added to the recipe box.