Noah's Chili in Recipes

Noah's Chili

• 1 bag black beans
• 1 bag kidney beans
• 1lb ground beef (I usually get the 97% lean)
• 2 8oz cans of tomato sauce (I prefer low sodium)
• 1 can stewed tomatoes (I sometimes cut the chunks of tomato in the can down to a smaller size)
• Green onions^
• 1 medium yellow onion^
• 4-6 fresh tomatoes^
• 1 green pepper^
• Garlic (5 medium cloves diced if fresh or 2 tbsp if from diced jar)
• Noah's Chili Seasoning^

1. In large pot, bring water to boil and add beans. Boil on medium-low heat or 2 hours, or until beans are soft. (I usually add some salt to the water before putting the beans in) Make sure to stir the beans every 15 minutes so as not to burn them. (This will also help make sure you don't over cook the beans. Start tasting them around the hour:40 mark.)
2. (This step is dependent upon if you have another pot) Pour tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes into a pot and bring to a light simmer. Add chili seasoning to taste. The tomato mixture should go from a bright red to dark brick red. The longer it simmers the better the taste. Cut up tomatoes to desired size and add to tomato mixture.
3. Dice green onions, yellow onion, green pepper, and garlic (if fresh). In sauce pan, using a small amount of olive oil, start by frying garlic, then as each begin to soften, add in this order: yellow onion, green pepper, green onion. Once all the veggies are frying and starting to soften, add ground beef and fry until brown.^^
4. Add to tomato mixture and allow to simmer while beans finish. When beans are soft (taste one of each), drain beans in colander, then add to tomato-beef mixture. The longer it simmers, the more the flavors combine.
5. Sprinkle with cheese and serve with corn tortilla chips or saltine crackers.

Like the Beef Noodles recipe, this is a version of the chili my Grandmother made all the time. However, hers was a 50s version; cans of tomatoes, packets of chili seasoning, no veggies. Very simple, and good. However, that recipe is what put me down the path to creating my Chili Seasoning recipe (and later my Taco Seasoning). I was tired of the packets possibly having gluten in them (as a filler or stabilizer), and not being sure if my gluten intolerant friends could eat it... and also, who knows what else is in those processed packaged seasoning packets. From there I tried a variety of different veggies in it and settled on the ones listed above. So really, it's no longer my Grandmother's chili recipe, it just tastes a lot like it.

^ Veggies are not required. It's just something I enjoy having in my chili. If you do choose to use the veggies, make sure to leave the onion powder out of the Chili Seasoning recipe. ^^ This step is difficult if you do not have a big enough frying pan, or if you are making a double batch. Another way it can be done is to fry the veggies and beef separately, adding to tomato mixture as each are finished, and allowing to simmer while the beans cook.