Rainy Day Chipotle Chorizo and Beef Chili!!

Today was a weird weather day in Los Angeles, it is actually pretty cold! This morning we had hail, the last time I remember that happening I was 6 years old, I was living in Pacific Palisades, and my dogs refused to go outside. Right after the downpour of the year I would say, the sun came out and reminded us that seasons don’t quite exist here, only to confuse me when I go outside to still smell rain and not be able to feel my ears and nose because I wasn’t prepared for cold weather. I will stop complaining right now, because this weather is a walk in the park compared to the crazy storm Nemo that is raging through the Northern East Coast.

So whether you are faring through cold weather in Los Angeles, or shoveling through snow on the East Coast this rainy day chili will warm your cold little souls out there! We created a superb slow cooker beef and chorizo chili, with some extra goodies; a little cinnamon sweetness, a little chipotle kick, and a nice crunch of corn. Enjoy!

*Whenever we use tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, peeled tomatoes etc…We only use the brand Pomi. It comes in a paper container, and is delicious. Tomatoes should never come out of a can; they retain a metal flavor which takes a long time to cook out!

* Keep garlic salt, oregano, and garlic salt on hand, because depending on how long you want to cook your chili you may want to add more of these three ingredients to achieve your perfect flavor.

Ingredients: serves 10 cook time 3-4 hours
2.5 lbs ground beef
2 lbs chorizo
1 yellow onion
½ small can of chipotle peppers
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
4 oz tomato paste
12 oz Pomi chopped tomato
1 large can kidney beans
1 large can pinto beans
1 large can white or cannellini beans
¼ cup chopped fresh oregano
½ teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoon cumin
1 Tablespoon garlic salt
2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon paprika
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Sour cream
Grated cheddar cheese

 

To make your life easier measure out all of your spices ahead of time, take oregano off the stems and chop, dice the onion, and slice up your chipotle peppers.

In a large sauté pan heat your olive oil and then sweat your onions until they start to soften. Next add the ground beef, and the chorizo (remove casings), and break up using a wooden spoon. While the meat starts to sear add your oregano, onion powder, black pepper, paprika, salt, and cumin, by sprinkling it all over the meat. We do this because we want the meat to cook and absorb the entire flavor. When you feel that your meat has seared all the way, add the chopped chipotle with half of the sauce it sits in and the tomato paste, and stir.

Transfer the meat mix into a slow cooker (if you don’t have one use a crock pot). Add your beans, the Pomi, garlic salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the mix. Cook on low with the timer set at 3-4 hours, whatever your timeline is. Towards the end, you can even have it at warm until it is ready to eat.

30 minutes before you decide to serve the chili add the corn, this way it will retain a wonderful crunch. Once you are done serve with a dollop of sour cream and cheddar cheese! Boom! That is tasty!!!



Veggie and Beef Stew...squash that flu!

We are a little over  2 weeks into the New Year, and the theme seems to be a hopefulness of change, the revving up of engines to kick-start one’s resolutions, a slight sluggishness from over eating the whole holiday season, and….the flu. It seems to be that not only did we eat whatever we wanted, but I ended up with a month long cough, which was the opposite of awesome. After a week of a massive obsessive overhaul and quarter life crisis, in which we cleaned out all of our “junk”, we are so ready to start up some new adventures. But…before we can muster the energy to look at the stair-master or cleanse, we need this delicious hardy bowl of vegetable beef stew. The spice will clear your nose, and give you a little pep in your step, the vegetables will warm you from the inside out, and the beef will give you that last umph of meatiness that you crave.

So enjoy making this!

Ingredients: serves 4 people take about 3 hours

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

7 Tablespoons flour

16 oz low sodium beef broth

16 oz water

3 medium turnips

4 medium to large carrots

3 large stalks of celery

8 small red bliss potatos

1 ½ pounds beef tenderloin

1 white onion

1 Tablespoon paprika

1 Tablespoon salt

½ Tablespoon pepper

1 Tablespoon fresh thyme

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

2 Teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ Tablespoon garlic salt

This dish can be made in either a crock pot or a slow cooker, whichever you prefer.

To start, create your mise en place by cleaning your vegetables and chopping them. Mince garlic, chop carrots and celery to be the same size, about a ½ inch wide, and the turnips, potato, and onion into thin half moon shapes, all the same thickness as well. Place all vegetable and fresh herbs into your crock pot or slow cooker, with no heat on. Now take your beef tenderloin and cube it into 2 square inch pieces and roll in a mix of 3 Tablespoon of flour and a teaspoon of salt, and set aside.

In a sauce pan, we are going to create a roux which is going to help thicken our stew a bit. In a large sauce pan, melt your butter and by Tablespoon add the flour constantly whisking until mix thickens. 

Next add your cooking liquid (beef broth and water) about 2 cups at a time, whisking constantly. Add your spices and whisk in completely. Bring to a boil, and drop meat in. Cook for three minutes, then pour everything into your crock pot or slow cooker, and cook on low for about 3 hours.

The lovely thing about this is that you can leave your food and you don’t need to pay attention to any of it. You can go have a cocktail, read a book, have a nap, whatever you want. Once done, get a large spoon, and dig in!