Garden Grown Chili

Simmering Away

The cold, snowy weather today inspired me to make up a batch of chili.  Simple enough recipe from an old crockpot cookbook, but adapted using stuff I grew this summer:

2 pounds Ground Beef
2 Cups Chopped Onions
4 Cloves Garlic
3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt and Pepper, or more to Taste
1 Teaspoon Paprika
1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
2 Quarts Canned Tomatoes
1 Pound Dried Beans (about 2 cups)

Onions and Garlic, Dried Hot Peppers (Cayenne, Hinkel Hatz, Fish), Paprika made from dried Zavory Peppers, (A Penn State-developed variety) Greek Oregano (had to push aside the snow to get to it), some of the dried beans (German Red Lima, Lazy Housewife, and Spelt, and some store bought red kidney beans) and of course, Tomatoes all were grown in my 2011 garden and preserved for just this kind of use.

Onions, Garlic, Spice Mixture and Tomatoes

Prep the beans (soak over night, or boil for 2 minutes - allow to soak in the hot water, covered, for 2 hours, drain and rinse, cook for 1 hour in 6 cups fresh water), Brown the ground beef, saute the onions and garlic, add the spice mixture, and add the prepared beans to a crock pot, or dutch oven.  Cook, covered, for another couple of hours.

Chopped Parsley and Greek Oregano

Red Zeppelin Onion, and Last of my Yummy Sweet Bell Peppers for Topping



Final Serving

One of these years, I'm going to be organized enough to enter the Chili Cookoff at the Chambersburg Ice Fest.