Introduction
On a cold winter day, the comfort of a hot meal is like nothing else you can imagine. Soups, Stews and of course Chilli are at the top of the list of requests in our house. A good chilli takes time to master and can be the perfect comfort food or addition to your game day spread! I have been tweaking this chilli recipe and making it better for several years and I am finally ready to share it with all of you. Every cook has a secret ingredient, Mine is Cinnamon😉
Speaking of taking time to perfect our recipes: I made this recipe for the first time for my now husband about 7 years ago and it was terrible! The beans were not cooked and added an interesting crunch, the veggies were a little burned, the spice ratios were off, there was not enough flavour. I’m talking horrible! He still ate every bite with a smile and still married me 7 years later for some reason. Needless to say, I have been working on that recipe ever since.
Fast forward to today, this Chilli Recipe hits the spot on a cold fall or winter day, and it also packs a huge punch in the nutrition department. I love to make it in the fall when I am towards the end of my growing season and have some fresh veggies to add to it and right around the time, we get a fresh deer in November!
Why I choose Venison
The beautiful thing about eating wild game is you can be confident that animal lived a good life uninterrupted by human interference up until the moment of its death. When done right, hunting wild deer and other game is arguably the most humane way for us to harvest the meat that our bodies need. Hunting, butchering, and cooking our own wild game has become a passion of ours over the past few years.
Hunters have the distinct benefit of harvesting their own animals to feed their families as well as conserve and enhance the population of the animal they are hunting. The benefits to the environment are undeniable and the pride you feel for feeding your family in this way is unmatched.
My Chilli Has Beans
Now we come to an age-old argument that can become heated in some circles (cough cough Yellowstone) Does Chilli have Beans!? Say what you will, we are team beans!!! This recipe boasts 2 types of beans. The beans add additional protein, fibre and loads of vitamins and minerals. Not to mention they taste awesome!
I don’t know where the debate came from or what kind of person started it, but we don’t hate on any kind of chilli around here. So, if you would prefer to leave the beans out, that is your choice. We wont judge! But you should really try it 😋
What you need
When you think of chilli, a few words may come to mind: rustic, comforting, old school etc. For my it is simple and easy! You don’t need anything fancy for this recipe just a big ass pot, a long wooden spoon, a cutting board, and a sharp knife for your veggies. That’s it! Less mess and less cleaning. Simple and easy!
Ingredients:
- 1lb Ground Venison
- 1 Medium Onion
- 2 Medium Bell Peppers
- 2 Zucchini
- 2 Carrots
- 2 Roma Tomatoes (Or whatever you have in your garden)
- 2 Jalapeños diced
- 4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 Tablespoons Chilli Powder
- 1 ½ tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 3 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1 28oz can Diced Tomatoes (I like Fire Roasted to give a little kick)
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 ½ cups each of Kidney Beans and Pinto Beans (For a vegetarian version, add an additional 1 ½ cups black beans)
- 1 ½ cups corn
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tsp maple syrup
Directions
1. Chop up the onion, bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, and tomatoes so they are close to the size of a bean. Dice the garlic and Jalapeno. In a small bowl, mix your Chilli Powder, Cumin, Oregano, Smoked Paprika, Salt and Cinnamon and cayenne. Set aside
2. Grab your big ass pot and heat up the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook them until they just start to look translucent, about 4-6 minutes. Add your venison and sauté with the onions until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the bell peppers, zucchini, and carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the garlic and other spices and cook for another minute. Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, and broth. Let that all simmer together for another 5 minutes.
4. Add Your beans and corn. Stir everything and turn down the heat to low. Slap on a lid and let that simmer for about 30 minutes.
5. After the 30 minutes, add the lime juice and maple syrup.
6. Taste again and see if it needs more chili powder or salt.
7. Serve hot with your favourite chilli toppings.
Substitutions
While I would like to think that my readers are adventurous folks with open minds, I am also a realist. Not everyone is going to be on board with the venison right now. That is okay! If you would prefer to use ground beef or turkey or even take the meat out altogether there is nothing wrong with that!
Cooking is about creativity. Your kitchen is a place to take the flavours and techniques that you love and build things that you and your family can enjoy. Chilli is a very forgiving recipe, so I encourage you to take ownership over it and make it your own. I will often find a recipe on the internet and tweak it to fit into my life. In doing so, I have fostered in myself, a passion and love for cooking that has inspired me to share it with all of you. I hope to be able to pass this gift on to you and spark your love for cooking too.
Long story short, pick vegetable, meats, and spices that you will like and take this recipe and make it your own! But make sure you send me pictures of what you did! I love to see my people getting their cook on in the kitchen!
Benefits of Batch Cooking
This Chilli usually makes us about 6-8 large servings. I like to eat it for dinner 2 days and then freeze some to eat for a dinner later. Cooking large batches of things has huge benefits: You can stock up when ingredients are on sale, you can use what is available in your garden, you can save yourself a night of cooking after a long day/ week at work, you can have a stockpile in case of emergencies! There are lots of great benefits of batch cooking. If you are feeling ambitious when you go to make this recipe, double it and freeze the left over in Ziplock bags. Put 2 portions in each bag and only take out as much as you need for that dinner! It doesn’t get any easier than that!
Conclusion
A shift in perspective opens a completely new set of unlimited possibilities. Remember what I said in my post about muffins. Eating healthy food does not need to taste bad! In fact, it can taste amazing like this chilli! It is entirely possible that you will find food to nourish your heart, your soul, and your body. If in your goal setting for the year, you decided to focus on your health, this recipe is a great place to start. We don’t want to deprive ourselves of the delicious foods we love, we want to ADD food that we can learn to love which are also healthy for us.
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