Jeb’s Chili

Posted on by aurorameyer

 

One of J’s favorite dishes is his father’s chili. It makes more than enough for three meals and a few lunches for us. Like most of our favorite meals, this one gets better the longer it simmers. It looks complicated, but I promise it’s easy and worth it.

Jeb's Chili

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

Base Ingredients:

  • 1 pounds and 1/2chili or stew beef you can also use ground beef if you want
  • 1 pound pork chop cut up or you can use ground pork
  • 2-3 green bell peppers chopped
  • 1-2 onions chopped

Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1 beer (any kind cheap is particularly good)
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 2 tablespoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder (REGULAR chili powder not ancho, not super, not hot. Trust me)
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 2 teaspoons ground chipotle we buy them whole and use a coffee grinder for this
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 to 1/2 d cup iced celery
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 can rotel or green chiles
  • lime juice as needed
  • 1 can rotel or green chiles
  • lime juice as needed

Instructions
 

  • Brown the meat.
  • Add the chopped bell peppers and onions and cook until desired caramelization.
  • In a separate pot make the sauce by adding the first 11 ingredients and simmering for about 45 minutes until smooth.
  • Then add the tomatoes and meat and peppers and onions. Simmer one to two hours.
  • Add 1 to 4 tablespoons massa flour to thicken if needed (most of the time we leave this step out).
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

My opinion: This is delicious with shredded Monterrey jack cheese, lime juice and tortilla chips. J prefers his with corn bread. It’s perfect for a cold winter’s night.

Smoky Chipotle Hummus

Posted on by aurorameyer

Smoky Chipotle Hummus by aurorameyer.com

For Oscar night back in February, J found the perfect dishes to go with Argo. After that first try, we perfected this hummus recipe, which was surprisingly easy. Everyone who tried it liked it and I wish we’d made a bigger batch this last time. A side of Garlic Bagel Chips absolutely makes this dish!

Ingredients:
2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste, we found ours in the ethnic isle at HyVee)
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (we didn’t have fresh lemons on hand and just used the refrigerator version)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chilies (we used chipotles in adobo sauce, which added an extra smokey flavor and we also available at HyVee)
2 large garlic cloves, minced (in truth we used about a tablespoon total)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 4-ounce jar sliced pimientos in oil, drained
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (if you have it, great, if not no big deal)

Directions:
Reserve 3 tablespoons garbanzo beans for garnish if you want, we didn’t and just food processed them in. Tip: do not use a blender. I’ve tried and promise you’ll regret it. Burned out motors do not smell appetizing! Using a food processor, pulse the remaining garbanzo beans and next seven ingredients until smooth. Add pimientos and pulse until pimientos are coarsely chopped. Transfer hummus to a medium bowl. Stir in cilantro. Season hummus to taste with salt and pepper (we used sea salt and white pepper). Sprinkle with reserved garbanzo beans. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Accompany with bagel chips.

My opinion:
I’ve only recently joined the ranks of those who like hummus and now that I’ve tasted this will never go back to store-bought blandness. It was so easy and with the extra garlic and white pepper a future go-to dish for carry-ins and pot lucks.