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18 November 2010

Springfield Chili

Well, it's finally started to cool off here in Texas, and the fall weather brings with it a hankering for comfort food. Yesterday, we opted for Springfield Chili (Cooking Light, Sept 2008).

We were in a hurry, so we missed our usual "ingredient line-up" shot. Rest assumed that it will be back in full effect next time! If we had taken one, you'd notice a pretty extensive list of ingredients, including 2 ground meats (turkey and sirloin), several cans of beans and tomatoes, and a few condiments and spices. Oh, and our favorite: 1 can of Modelo Especial.

The recipe first calls for you to fry up one strip of bacon. The grease from the bacon is then used to sautee onions and garlic. There was only one problem - our bacon was in the freezer. Since we were too hungry to wait on bacon, we splashed some olive oil in our Dutch oven and away we sauteed. (Besides, the holidays are coming up, and there will be plenty more opportunities for bacon!)

Next, the meat is browned, and then it's party time - in goes the beer. The recipe calls for light beer, but we used Modelo because it was all we had hanging around.

When the beer has reduced to about 1/3 cup, we incorporate the rest of the ingredients, save for the beans and cheese, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. It might help to stir every once in a while, but that's not at all necessary. The beans are then added and simmered in for another 10 minutes, and voila -it's chow time!

This recipe was easy to prepare because it was mostly, except for the onions, a measure-and-add process. (And if you're as lazy as we are and have chopped onions and bottled minced garlic on hand at all times, then it's 100% measure-and-add!)

Here's Mr. Yuppie's plate all fixed up - that's some mac and cheese he added for extra comfort! Our only reservation about this dish was that it lacked the kick we prefer in a chili. If you've got a spicy tooth and want some more voltage, you could add in some ground chipotle, cayenne, or even Tabasco. But that's an easy fix for something this low-maintenance, so we'll be keeping this one in the rotation.

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