Yes, the Super bowl gives you the best excuse to have chili, but why limit yourself to Super Bowl to indulge on chili?  Chili is not only nutritious (lean meats and fibre from the beans) but it’s easy to make, can be prepared in advance and even frozen for a quick weeknight meal.  The chili can be kept in the freezer for about a month.

If you don’t already have a favourite family chili recipe, here’s one which has a little bit of heat but not too much, so everyone in the family can enjoy it.   Unlike the Texan chili, this one does include tomatoes and beans. There’s even beer in it too!  You can make it exclusively with ground beef, but I prefer to mix up and add ground veal to the ground beef.  Another variance is to substitute the ground veal for ground lamb.

The best part about this chili is what I call the “accoutrements”, or the toppings, if you prefer.  The toppings bring it to another level and allow those eating the chili to tailor it to their own taste with more or less sour cream, cilantro, onions and/or lime.

This recipe slowly simmers for about an hour and half and will serve 8 to 10.

ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups (500 ml) chopped onions
• 6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 lbs (900 grams) lean ground beef
• 1 lb (454 grams) lean ground veal
• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more if you want a hotter chili
• 3 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh thyme
• 1 14 fl oz can (398 ml) diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 ½ cup (375 ml) low sodium beef broth
• 1 bottle of dark beer, Guinness
• ½ small can of tomato paste
• 1 19 fl oz can (540 ml) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 19 fl oz can (540 ml) black beans, drained and rinsed

toppings:

• 1 cup (250 ml) sour cream (light sour cream is just as good, if you’re watching the fat content)
• 1 small red onion, minced
• ¼ cup (60 ml) cilantro, minced
• 2 limes, cut into wedges

1. Heat oil in the Dutch oven or large 4 to 5 quart pot over medium-high heat.  Add onions and sauté onions until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes.  Add garlic and heat for 2 minutes until fragrant.
2. Add ground beef and veal and sauté until meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
3. Add chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, oregano and thyme and stir in.
4. Mix in diced tomatoes, beef broth, beer, tomato paste and beans.
5. Simmer in Dutch oven on the stove top for about 1 ½ hours.  Make sure to simmer over low heat or else you will loose too much of the liquid and dry it out.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  If you don’t find it spicy enough for your taste, you can simply just add a little more cayenne pepper.

chili and toppings

Serve chili into warmed bowls and let guests garnish their portions of chili with sour cream, onions, cilantro and/or lime.  You can also serve tortilla chips and do as my parents do, use the tortilla chips to scoop up every bite of chili!  Serve with beer and enjoy the game!