Cheap, Simple Chili for a Cold Night

Easy Chili

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey (optional)
1-2 cups diced zucchini or green leafy vegetable (optional- this is a good way to sneak in a green veggie if you need to)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon mild chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
pinch of chili flakes or 1 squirt sriracha (to taste-- optional if you don't like your chili hot)
1 28 oz can diced stewed tomatoes (I like Muir Glen organic)
2 15 oz cans cooked kidney beans (or pintos or black beans)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1-2 cups water or stock (optional)


Tools
Pot
Spatula
Knife and cutting board
Can opener

Method
Saute onion (and optional vegetables) in olive oil. Add ground meat and continue to cook until veggies are soft and beef is browned. Add herbs and spices, stir to combine.

Add canned vegetables, including all liquids. Simmer on low for 1/2 hour to 1 day+, adding liquid if necessary.

From here, it's all you. This recipe is infinitely customizable depending on what you have on hand. If this isn't spicy enough, or cumin-y enough, add your desired spice. Be careful with salt, as things taste saltier when they cool. If you oversalt while it's simmering, it may be too salty when you're eating it. If you need more veggies, finely dice some carrots, throw in some frozen corn, whatever. Tonight, my chili has chopped bok choy in it, because we have extra in the fridge from the veggie boxes. I put in one head of baby choy.

Chopped cilantro is nice stirred in and fresh on top, as are the traditional accoutrements of chopped green or white onion, sour cream or cheddar cheese and cornbread. Or this easy wheat bread.

If you have dried beans and are starting from scratch, just make sure the beans are cooked before they get in the pot with the tomato. All the other ingredients are fine to cook with beans that aren't soft yet, but the acid in the tomato won't allow the beans to soften all the way. You can use the quick beans method at the bottom of this older post. This recipe can be made very inexpensively, especially if you purchase the inexpensive packets of spices in the Mexican/Ethnic area of the supermarket.

Chili is also very important to chili dogs, chili burgers, chili fries and chili nachos covered in cheese if you are entertaining a hungry crowd. It's all about stretching those proteins as far as you can. Chili nachos= 1 bag corn chips on a foil-covered baking sheet, covered with chili, sprinkled with grated cheddar cheese and baked until melty, topped with sour cream, salsa and chopped green onions. Yum. College food.

Note: always start your shopping in the vegetable area, picking up staples like onions, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and zucchini when in season. These vegetables are inexpensive and keep well. They can be diced and added to almost anything to improve the nutritional value. Buy a bag of frozen peas and frozen corn, too. I like green onions in eggs and cornbread and with potatoes. Steamed cabbage with a little soy sauce over cooked rice is a great base for dinner, with meat or tofu.

Starting in the vegetables puts the focus on the less-expensive and more nutritious fresh foods. This is from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Gradual Vegetarian, published in 1985. It shaped my shopping habits in college, and most of the advice still holds up 23 years later.