Chili

Burrr, it's getting a little bit frosty around these parts lately. Time to put a hoodie on the cat! 

 

Dustball doesn't seem to mind trying on his Halloween hoodie.

 

He looks thrilled, I know!

Besides dressing up the cat, I whipped up a nice batch of chili to warm up with.

 

 

So the other day I came across a recipe for a unique spicy chili with chunks of apple in it. Apple in chili-- nooo-- I'm not ready for that yet.  However, it got me thinking that potatoes might be nice. 

 

I started out cooking up some lean ground beef, drained the fat, seasoned it with salt n pepper, sprinkled in some hot sauce, added a minced onion and green pepper.

 

Next, I stirred in 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, tomato sauce, chili (kidney) beans and a dash of red (cayenne) pepper.  I like a sweet and spicy chili.  This is the part, where before adding much brown sugar or red pepper, you get to do a little sampling to gauge how much of each is to your liking.  My kids used to volunteer for this part of cooking and now they run away.?.    :)

 

While that simmered away, I peeled and scrubbed some potatoes. Yes, both.  You see I just have potato skin issues.  Oddly enough the rest of my family loves tator potato skins.  Ok, that sounds weird since I got me a new buddy named Tator.

 

 

I considered tossing the potato's right in the chili from the get go, but I wanted them to have a... well... waxy (I guess is the right word) texture.  Rosemary and black pepper were my spices of choice.  I buttered the pan, coated the skinned ones with melted butter, sprinkled on the spices and roasted at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

 

During the last 30 minutes of cooking time on the chili I tossed in a few fresh tomatoes, a can of hominy and the ingredient that turns the heat up in this dish-- white wine vinegar!   Do a little before and after taste test and you'll see what I mean!  It's unbelievable how much a few sprinkles of vinegar can kick up the spicy taste.    

 

Whoa this was some good chili!  For added yumminess, I topped it with a bit of freshly grated smoked mozzarella cheese.  The potatoes turned out just how I wanted them to be all smooth, and tender with a waxy like texture.

 

They soon wound up being mixed with the chili.  Oh my, this was some good food!