Let’s talk cooking styles, shall we? Are you one who one follows recipes faithfully? You decide what you are going to make, gather your ingredients, and make a mad dash to the grocery store for any items you still need. You measure ingredients and your food is predictably wonderful? That was me a long time ago.
The joke at our house is that if whatever I make, you’ll only have once. That’s because my cooking style has morphed into opening cupboards, seeing what I have, and then throwing something together and it will either be amazing or awful! Then if my family really likes one of my “thrown together” meals, I quickly make notes and then try to recreate it. Once successful, I share my recipe here with you! So today’s recipe is brought to you by….Mad Scientist Cooking!
Italian Chili
Well, oregano is a spice that is used in both Mexican and Italian cooking so I thought, “I think we should give chili an Italian twist”. Are you ready to make some with me?
Ingredients:
- 2 cans of Black Bean Fiesta Grillin’ Beans
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 large poblano (or green bell) pepper chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 4 clove garlic minced
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 pound Italian meatballs
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can diced tomatoes with chili peppers
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp oregano
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp oil (I use coconut oil)
Okay, now it’s time to get cooking!
Directions:
- In a large pot, cook the onions, celery, and peppers in oil until they are softened, about 5 min.
- Add the garlic and Italian sausage. Cook, breaking up the sausage, about 5 min or until the sausage is cooked.
- Add the remaining ingredients and cook covered for 30 minutes, stirring about every 5 minutes to makes sure your chili doesn’t stick. (Note, it will look like you need to add water but wait to add some. The tomatoes will release a lot of water.)
- After 30 minutes, your chili is ready to serve!
I love my chili with cornbread, don’t you? Anyway, here’s a bowl! I wish you were here ’cause this really is delicious. My youngest has asked for this 3 times since my original experiment and I bet your family will love it too!
This makes a huge batch, enough for a few meals. It will keep in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze for later. Also, this is a soup that improves with time so your family won’t be saying, “Ugh, leftovers.” Nope, they’ll be saying, “Yay, Italian chili!”
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