chili

Chili is one of my favorite things to eat during the winter season.  My grandmother used to make chili for the clients that came to the house to see my grandfather for hair cuts.  My grandpa had one of those old school barber chairs, and cut hair in the basement.  As I grew up and my mom took us to visit on weekends, my grandmother continued to make the chili, and she knew my cousins and I looked forward to it, as well as any dessert that she had also prepared.  Most of the time the desserts that she had were pound cake, or blueberry pie.  I cherish those memories.  I thought I would share my memories with you.

I chose to use half of a poblano and onion to start the chili


I sauteed the onion and pepper in olive oil until they were soft


I decided to lighten the recipe up with turkey and lean beef, and seasoned with cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Start with 1 teaspoon of each spice with salt and pepper to taste, and build up from there.

My grandmother used kidney beans in her recipe, but I only had black beans


After all of the ingredients including the onions, poblano, turkey, beef, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, black beans, and chicken broth.  When I let this simmer for about 40 minutes, the flavor brought me right back to my grandmother.

I decided to eat some of the chili over a sweet potato and broccoli

What a great healthy way to honor my Grandmother, one of the warmest women that I ever knew.  I know that she is so proud of me and I hope she would think this chili is just as tasty as her original version.