Healthy Two Bean Chili

I'm running out of time here in California to get cold, chili making days, so I thought I'd throw a pot together, which may be my last for a little while.  :( 

I love chili and have tried so many different recipes, and through experimenting this has become my favorite chili by far.  I know there are loads of chili recipes out there, but hopefully you will enjoy this one.  The Super Bowl is coming up and this would be a great addition to the party.

Let's do this!

1/2 pound lean ground beef
3/4 pound lean ground turkey
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 poblano chili pepper
4 tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tbsp. cumin
kosher salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 14.5 oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5 oz. can cannellini beans (white kidney beans), rinsed and drained
1/2 cup beer
1 cup beef broth
1 cup V8 juice
2 tbsp. olive oil

Heat a medium dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat.  Add olive oil, onion, bell pepper and poblano pepper.  Saute for about five minutes or until they start to soften a little.  Add the ground meats, breaking with the back of a wooden spoon.  Add some kosher salt and pepper.  Add the beer.  Cook until meat is done and no longer pink, and most of the beer has evaporated, stirring and breaking the meat up occasionally.

 

While the meat is cooking, add half of the red kidney beans and half of the cannellini beans to a bowl.  I love cannellini beans because they are so creamy and add a slightly different texture to the chili, instead of just using red kidney beans.  Mash them with a potato masher until they are broken up some.  I do this because I don't like a lot of beans but I like the texture and flavor they give to the chili.  You could also put them in a food processor and pulse a few times if you don't want to mash them.

When meat is done, drain the meat.  Add back to pot.

Reduce heat to medium.  Add chili powder through cumin, along with some kosher salt and pepper.  Stir and cook for about a minute, to let all of the dry spices get incorporated into the meats.

Add the tomatoes, whole beans, smashed beans, beef broth, and V8 juice to the pot.  Stir well and taste to see if you need to add any salt or pepper.

Let simmer on low heat, covered, for at least 30 minutes and up to all day.  The longer it simmers the better it is, of course.

I love to chop up red onion and add a little to each bowl of chili.  It's always good to add something fresh like that to anything that cooks for a long time.  Chopped scallions are also great, or cilantro.  Grated cheese is another great thing to add to your bowl.  You can serve it with tortilla chips, some crusty bread or corn bread.

Enjoy!

Until next time...

Lady by the Bay