To say that I have been busy is an understatement. How did a whole year pass by and I didn't blog? Well, it's like this, once a few months had gone by, I felt bad for not posting. Then the summer came and I didn't spend any time on the computer, with taking the kids to camp and all the other summer stuff we did.  Then, with summer over, the new school year started, at a new school and before I knew it a whole year had passed! By that time, it was simple embarrassment that kept me away.  Not that anyone is interested in all the things I've been up to in a year, but I got much better at my crochet and amigurumi, I caught up on Vampire Diaries (I watched 4 seasons on Netflix!), and I got hooked on Pinterest.

Today I decided to share my 3 favorite chili recipes.  It's cold and rainy out and I usually make chili on this type of day.  I figured I'd share these recipes since I hadn't posted in so long. First, I'll give you the recipe for an uncommon type of chili... Chicken Chili or White Bean Chili.

 White Bean Chili

• 7 cups of chicken stock
• 4  15.8ozcans of cannellini beans (navy beans can be substituted)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp cayanne powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1 1/4 lb white meat chicken
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 can diced tomatillos
• 1/2 small diced onion
• 4 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1/2 c rough chopped, fresh cilantro

In Dutch oven, combine stock, beans and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Meanwhile, cook chicken through and shred. Saute onions and garlic.  Add 1/4 cilantro, onion and garlic to stock and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. For thick chili, use a potato masher and mash some of the beans.  When serving, top with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro. Also, serve with corn bread.

As popular as White Bean Chili has become, I'm sure you've either made it before or at least tried it in a restaurant.  But the next chili recipe is a little different... Cowboy Chili is made with steak instead of ground beef.

 Cowboy Chili

• 12 oz boneless beef top round steak, diced
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 c chopped onion
• 1/2 c chopped green pepper
• 2-3 ribs celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 15.8 oz can kidney beans
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 2-3 tsp cayenne powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cocoa powder

Cut beef (if it's partially frozen, it's easier to cut), across the grain, into bite sized pieces. In a Dutch oven, brown beef in olive oil. Add onion, green pepper, and celery, add garlic at the last, saute gently. Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, spices, salt and cocoa powder. Heat to boiling, reduce heat and simmer covered 1 hour.
Stir in beans; heat to a boil again then reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until desired consistency, about 20 minutes. Serve with a topping of sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.
Serves 4-6.

And finally, my best recipe for chili, using ground beef and beans. Not everyone likes their chili with beans... Simple but very good.

 Chili with beans

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1-2 ribs celery, diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 2 15.8oz cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce
• 1-2 Tbsp Chili powder; or 2 tsp cumin and 1-2 tsp of cayenne powder (depending how spicy you want it to be)
• 1/2 tsp dry basil
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• hand full of coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

In Dutch oven, brown ground beef, drain. Saute onion, celery, green pepper, add garlic at the last, saute gently. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and spices to ground beef, onion, celery and green pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer partly covered 1 hour. Add beans, bring to a boil again, reduce heat and simmer to heat beans through, about 10 minutes. Serve topped with sour cream, shredded cheese, and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
Serves 6-8

I try to make these the same way every time but sometimes I don't have all the ingredients and have to improvise. With that said, crushed tomatoes don't make a good substitute for diced. Feel free to modify these recipes to taste but these tend to be staples of the week when it's cold and nasty outside.

Enjoy!