Peggy’s Texas Chili

How about a bowl of hearty chili this week for lunch?  Cowboys on cattle drives up to the midwest learned to make chili from the vaqueros (Mexican horsemen and cattle handlers) on the drives with them.  Often the cooks on the drives were Mexican.  Although classic Mexican chile sauce does not have meat in it, cattlemen ate what was available when salted, dried meats ran out (hundreds of beef on the hoof all around them!) to create what has become an American tradition!  Doesn’t get better than a good bowl of Texas chili!

Since chili has to simmer quite awhile for the flavors to blend, I like to make big batches and freeze it.  This recipe makes 8 large bowls.  The nutritional info is calculated with the can of Eden black soy beans, making the recipe as written unacceptable for Induction.  If you omit the beans, as many Texans would, this chili recipe is perfectly OK for Atkins Induction!  Although many Texans say “real” Texas chili doesn’t have beans, I beg to disagree.  I consider myself Texan (lived here 50 years now with my Texas husband) and I find chili without beans too rich and always put one can into a big batch to mellow out the heavy spices.  Quite honestly, I’ve never had a die-hard Texan in the “no beans chili” camp back away from my chili, my husband included.  So I do hope you’ll give this one a try. 🙂

I use several different chile peppers in this recipe, but each has a distinctive flavor they bring to the chili, in my opinion.   Of course, you can change the peppers called for herein, if you can’t get some of them, but in doing so, you will definitely change the final flavor and ‘heat’ factor. Below top photo are dried anchos.  Guajillos below.

INGREDIENTS:

3 lb. ground beef

4 oz. onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

2   4 oz. cans chopped green chiles (I use mild)

1  10 oz. can tomatoes with green chiles (I use Rotel ‘mild’)

1  14.5 oz. can diced/crushed tomatoes, no-salt3 c. water

1 T. chili powder (mine is a 50:50 mix of Bolners ‘Fiesta’ chile powder & Chimayo chile powder)

½ tsp. ancho chili powder (or ½ dried ancho pepper, seeded, chopped) 

2 tsp. ground cumin

1  dried Guajillo chile pepper, seeded and chopped

1 Serrano pepper, seeded and chopped (or Jalapeno pepper)

2 tomatillos, skin removed and chopped

1 c. cilantro, chopped

1 oz. (2 T.) tomato paste

1  14.5 oz. can Eden Black Soy Beans with liquid (optional)

DIRECTIONS: Over medium-high heat, brown meat and onion in large stew pot.  When done, add all remaining ingredients.  After the chili comes to a boil, reduce fire to low, cover tightly and simmer poon lowest heat for 1-2 hours (the longer the better, so the tomatoes literally cook apart into the liquid).  Stir often to avoid scorching on the bottom of the pan.  Add a little water throughout cooking, as needed.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 8 large 2c. servings, each contains:  (these numbers include the optional beans)

540 calories, 32 g  fat, 10.6 g carbs, 4.73 g fiber, 5.87 g NET CARBS (less without the beans), 49.5 g protein, 935 mg sodium