Chili

Dry bean chili...a combination of a bunch of different recipes. Easy to add more or less of anything (herbs, spices, beans, ground beef, peppers....) that appeals to you!

Ingredients

1½ lb dry beans (kidney beans, pinto beans, navy beans...or a combo)

2 cloves garlic, whole, lightly crushed

2 bay leaves

1 sprig each rosemary & thyme

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 sweet onion, diced

1-2 T olive oil

1 lb ground beef

½ lb ground sausage

1 bell pepper (red or green), diced

1 jalapeno, minced

2 t chili powder

2 t cumin

2 T brown sugar

2 t dried basil

1½ t smoked paprika

½ t dried oregano

¼ t black pepper

21 oz canned tomatoes (diced or crushed)

6 oz tomato paste

2 T Worcestershre

1 oz beef bouillion

6 oz beer

salt & pepper to taste

Optional: shredded cheddar, sour cream, sliced scallions...

Directions

Place dry beans in large pan or bowl and cover the beans with water 1-2 inches. Add 2 crushed garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves and rosemary & thyme sprigs; soak overnight. Add additional water, as needed; soak overnight again. Drain; remove herbs, bay leaves and garlic cloves - discard. Place beans in a large stock pot or crock pot.

Brown the diced onion in olive oil in a large skillet until soft and translucent. Remove to large stock pot (or crock pot) with beans. Brown ground beef and sausage in same skillet until cooked through. Add to onions and beans in stock pot. Peppers can also be sauteéd first, if desire, or added directly to stock pot. Add canned tomatoes with juices, spices, tomato paste, Worcestershire, bouillion and beer.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Simmer, covered, 3-4 hours minimum, 6-8 hours or longer in crock pot...until beans are tender and flavors well blended. Salt & pepper to taste. Add additional water or beef stock for thinner chili; continue to simmer UNcovered if thicker chili is desired.

Serve with shredded cheddar, sour cream, sliced scallions...

Cornbread is always a nice side with chili!

not your traditional Ham & Bean Soup

I had a ham bone saved to make soup. Last time, I made split pea, which I love, but I wanted something else. Ham and White Bean soup. But I didn’t have everything for a traditional Ham & White Bean soup, and I wasn’t going out on a shopping run: It’s snowing like crazy outside. School was cancelled today (again!), and I'm cozy inside and soup sounds perfect. So I made soup with what I had.  Sweeter and with more tangy acidity than any traditional Ham & White Bean soup – but that works for me! As near as I can remember…

Ingredients

1 lb ham bone, with extra meat and fat attached

1 lb diced ham*

2 15-oz cans white or cannellini beans

            1 can I drained, the other I dumped in the pot with the juice

1 15-oz can light red kidney beans

            only because I didn’t have more white beans

½ onion, small diced & sautéed until caramelized

1-2 t minced garlic

            I threw this in at the end when sautéing the onion

¼ C tomato paste

2 bay leaves

2-3 T honey

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 t sriracha

water or broth

salt to taste

I had Himalayan pink salt, but that wouldn’t be necessary, little was needed at all…ham is pretty salty already

Directions

Sauté the diced onion to caramelize it, adding the garlic in at the end. (My onion also had thyme, but not much; I would have also thrown in some small diced carrot to sauté and caramelize with the onion, but I didn’t have any. Next time…)

Throw the onion and garlic in a stock pot with everything else and let it all simmer at least an hour. Add water (or broth) to adjust the consistency to your liking.

Remove the bone, pulling off any remaining chunks of meat (if large chunks of fat fall off into the soup, remove those as well). Fish out the bay leaves. Season to taste.

Enjoy!

* The ham originally had a honey and Dijon mustard glaze; also cloves. There was maybe ½ cup of the sauce and drippings with the leftover ham; those flavors came through in the finished soup as well, though I added a little extra honey. Without the sauce, I’d add 1 T each mustard and honey, a pinch of clove; taste it and adjust as desired.

Caribbean Rice & Beans

My Culinary Arts students cooked up a Caribbean feast, including these Caribbean style rice & beans using a recipe from the Food Network. We also made Caribbean jerk chicken with tropical fruit, and pholouries with mango chutney. They did a great job -- and my World Literature students, who were in the middle of our Caribbean Literature unit -- benefited deliciously from the C.A. students' efforts!