Thursday, December 29, 2011

How Tomato Powder Saved My Chili

Yummy Hearty Chili

The other day I made some chili to take to work, so I did the prep work in the evening and left it in the crock pot overnight and checked on in the next morning.  To my dismay the chili I found in the morning looked more like a minestrone without the tiny noodles.  This is probably because it was meat heavy and bean light so it just didn't thicken the way I would have liked.  I tried it and the taste was good, but I had promised chili not soup, so something  had to be done.  Thrive Tomato Powder to the rescue!  I added about half a cup of the tomato powder, stirred it in and had the thick hearty chili I had hoped for.

Here is the recipe as closely as I can recall (it is tough because I just don't measure)

Bison Chili

Note – all measurements are estimates
2 lbs ground bison
2 cups Thrive Kidney Beans
1 large red onion
2 large Anaheim green chilies
3 cans petite diced tomatoes with  green chilies
1 cup Thrive Mixed Bell Peppers 
2 tbs olive oil
3 tbs whole coriander seeds
3 tbs cumin seeds
1 tbs cayenne pepper
1 tbs chili powder
2 tbs fresh ground pepper
2 tbs salt
3 tbs Thrive Beef Bouillon
Thrive Tomato Powder  and water as needed for consistency

Soak beans in water for 8-10 hours.  Grind coriander and cumin and set aside.   Fine chop onion and green chilies in food processor and set aside.

Heat skillet and add oil – to the oil add coriander, cumin, cayenne and chili powder and stir until it becomes fragrant (this should be only 1-2 minutes) and stir in the dehydrated peppers then add bison to the skillet and brown.

In a crock pot add the tomatoes and beans and turn up to high.  Once the bison is browned add it to the tomatoes and beans in the crock pot.

In the skillet where the bison was browned heat the onions and chilies until translucent then add to crock pot.  Add bouillon, salt and pepper and water as needed to cover the rest of the ingredients.
Once the mixture is simmering cover and reduce heat to low.
Walk away for 8 hours.

Check the mixture and stir.  Add tomato powder or water based on the consistency – tomato powder to thicken – water to thin.  Taste.  Add additional seasonings as needed.

Return lid and cook on low for an additional 4 hours stirring occasionally.