I absolutely love fall and winter, not only because it brings with it cooler temperatures, but that it inspires me to get in the kitchen and make comfort food for dinner. Chili is one of my all time favorite comfort foods, next to pot roast and soups. Yesterday, here in the beautiful Mission Valley of Montana, the majestic mountains that I can view out my family room window were dusted with the first snow of the season. Outside the air was crisp and cool that caused my body to feel a bit shocked from the burst of brisk air that blew up against me. It’s definitely time to pull out the sweatshirts, slippers and cozy blankets. It’s also a perfect day to kick off down home comfort foods for dinner. Chili is not only easy to make, it’s a classic comfort food on cold days and it the chili and cumin spices will warm up cold bones and bodies.Chili is one of those easy, easy dishes to make. If you have four basic ingredients, a ground meat like hamburger, sausage, or ground turkey, beans, onions and tomatoes, then you can pull together a tasty chili within an hour. Growing up the only chili I ever ate had no beans, but that was a shame, because beans are my star ingredient in chili. I like to use three beans, not only for flavor, but for color, texture and heartiness. In this chili, I used kidney beans, black beans and cannellini beans. The most common bean used in chili is kidney. Of course I recommend using all three varieties, but if you only have one choice on hand, then use what you have. You can certainly use home canned tomatoes or fresh tomatoes if you like, just make sure they are seeded and peeled and a pinch or two of baking soda will cut the acid from the tomatoes. Feel free to season to taste. If you like it hotter, add more chili powder or cayenne, if you like it milder start with less and you can always add more spices as you go. Mama’s Three Bean Chili uses only one pot, and a cutting board, so clean up will be easy! While the chili is simmering, whip up a quick batch of Mama’s Delicious Gluten Free Cornbread. Click Here for recipe.
Hearty Three Bean Chili
Ingredients
- 1.25 lb ground hamburger, less than 10% fat. (ground turkey okay too!)
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 large Anaheim chili pepper, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 -28oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 -14.5oz cans diced tomatoes (plain or with green chil’s), with liquid
- 1 -14.5oz can tomato sauce
1 -14oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained - 1 -14oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 -14oz can cannellini beans or white beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 – 14oz can yellow corn or 2 cups frozen, rinsed and drained
- 2 Tbsp. chili powder
- 2 tsp. cumin (for added flavor is cumin seeds and mortar and pestal to ground up)
- 1½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper
- ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper
- 2-3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, minced
- 1- 2 cups of water to thin, if needed (for desired thickness)
Garnish
Sour cream, cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, chopped green onions, fresh cilantro
Directions
In large soup pot, brown hamburger over medium heat. Drain off any fat. Add diced onion, red bell pepper, Anaheim chili pepper, minced garlic and 1 tsp of salt to pot and sauté with hamburger over medium heat for about 5 minutes, just until tender, stirring frequently. Once the vegetables are tender, then add all the tomatoes, sauce, beans, and corn. Stir to evenly distribute. Then add chili powder, cumin, remaining 1/2 tsp. sea salt, ground pepper and cayenne pepper. Simmer over medium low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If needed use 1/2 cup water at at time to thin sauce to desired consistency. About 15 minutes before serving, add minced cilantro and simmer another 5-10 min and then serve.
GFM Tip Instead of ground beef you can use ground turkey or chicken. Instead of red bell pepper you can use green bell pepper of desired. Season to taste. If you like it less spicy start with just one Tbsp. Of the chili powder. If you like it to have more heat, increase chili powder or cayenne pepper.
Hearty Three Bean Chili is a delicious gluten free comfort food to warm you up on cold days. It is delicious, hearty, full of vegetables and beans, and nutritious. Serve for family dinner, or serve at potlucks, larger family functions, for the school sports teams and more!
- 1.25 lb ground hamburger, less than 10% fat. (ground turkey okay too!)
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 large Anaheim chili pepper, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 -28oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 -14.5oz cans diced tomatoes (plain or with green chil’s), with liquid
- 1 -14.5oz can tomato sauce
- 1 -14oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 -14oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 -14oz can cannellini beans or white beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 – 14oz can yellow corn or 2 cups frozen, rinsed and drained
- 2 Tbsp. chili powder
- 2 tsp. cumin (for added flavor is cumin seeds and mortar and pestal to ground up)
- 1½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper
- ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper
- 2-3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, minced
- 1- 2 cups of water to thin, if needed (for desired thickness)
-
[b]Garnish[/b]
- Sour cream, cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, chopped green onions, fresh cilantro
Instructions
- In large soup pot, brown hamburger over medium heat. Drain off any fat.
- Add diced onion, red bell pepper, Anaheim chili pepper, minced garlic and 1 tsp of salt to pot and sauté with hamburger over medium heat for about 5 minutes, just until tender, stirring frequently.
- Once the vegetables are tender, then add all the tomatoes, sauce, beans, and corn. Stir to evenly distribute.
- Then add chili powder, cumin, remaining 1/2 tsp. sea salt, ground pepper and cayenne pepper. Simmer over medium low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If needed use 1/2 cup water at at time to thin sauce to desired consistency.
- About 15 minutes before serving, add minced cilantro and simmer another 5-10 min and then serve.
Notes