Tag: comfort food

Traditional Chili (Our Family Recipe)

On By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes4 Comments

It is a cold, rainy day here in Colorado today, so chili was an obvious choice for dinner.  We’ve been doing this recipe since the very first year that we met twenty-six years ago, so it is one of our “go to ” recipes.  It is great comfort food and, typical to these types of meals, is even better the second or third day after you make it.  We will often fire roast tomatoes from the farmer’s market and use those to make the chili, which gives an even richer flavor, but we’ve included our traditional preparation here.  Enjoy 🙂

Bowl of Chili

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Lean Ground Beef
  • 28 oz Can Red Kidney Beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 28 oz Can Chili Beans in Chili Sauce
  • 28 oz Can Diced Tomatoes
  • 4 tbsp Chili Powder
  • 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tbsp Ground Red Pepper
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine Ingredients

Instructions

In a large pot over medium high heat, add the ground beef and spices.  It is important to add the spices while cooking the ground beef as it allows the meat to absorb all of the flavor.  Once the ground beef is thoroughly cooked, add the chili beans, kidney beans, and tomatoes.  Fill the can from the chili beans half way with water and pour into the chili, getting any remaining chili sauce from the inside of the can.  Heat to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 4 to 8 hours, stirring occasionally.  The longer that you cook it, the thicker the chili will be.  Serve as is or add cheese, sour cream, jalapeño peppers or any of your favorite toppings.

Stir Thoroughly
Bring to a boil
Chili
Name
Email
Website
Comment

French Stew (Hunter’s Stew)

On By Isobar ExpeditionsIn RecipesLeave a comment

We have a family recipe that we’ve always called “French Stew”, but really it is a Hunter’s Stew, which means that you can substitute any meat, carb, and vegetable and it still works.  Basically it is whatever hunters had available to throw into a pot and simmer together to make a hearty meal.  We had been to the local farmer’s market that day and grabbed some fresh vegetables, so it seemed like a perfect meal, especially considering that the temperatures were starting to drop to a more seasonable range this weekend.  The nice thing is that is an inexpensive, easy to make, and yet delicious meal that anyone can make.  It is one of our Autumn, “go-to”, meals and we always enjoy it.

Farmer’s Market Vegetables

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Lean Ground Beef (or any other stew meat)
  • 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 3 Medium Carrots – sliced in 1/4 inch thick
  • 3 Medium Potatoes – cubed
  • 2 cups Green Beans – cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1/2 Small Onion – diced
  • 1 Stalk Celery – diced
  • 3 Small Bay Leaves
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 5 cups Water (may need to be adjusted)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
Simmering Stew

Instructions

On a medium high heat brown the ground beef in the vegetable oil.  Add the celery and onion when the beef is halfway browned.  Add water and bring to a simmer.  Add remaining vegetables and seasonings, simmer until the vegetables are fork tender (approximately 45 minutes).  Serve with your favorite fresh bread and butter.

French Stew or Hunter’s Stew
Name
Email
Website
Comment