This past week, Nashville finally got snow that stuck! I've never lived anywhere that snowed & stayed. This week was absolute heaven for me.
If you follow me on Instagram, you'll recognize this furry face! This is my dog Montie! He's a 4 year-old German Shepherd mix that I rescued last summer! He is the sweetest boy & had a blast in the snow this week. I really wanted to try sledding with him, but he is too much of a spazz that he couldn't sit still long enough to get on our makeshift sled.
The snow was absolutely beautiful, but it was so cold! The best way I could think of to warm up is with a hot bowl of chili. This chili is perfect year round & you can spruce it up by putting it on top of fries or hot dogs. Ummm, yum! This makes enough to fill a 6 quartInstant Pot. Make once & freeze the leftovers! If you're not a fan of chili being too spicy, use half the amount of cayenne and red pepper flakes.
You'll need:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large white onion, diced
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 lb ground beef
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (15 oz) northern beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (10 oz) Original Rotel
1 can (10 oz) mild Rotel
1 can (28 oz) Cento crushed tomatoes
3 tbsp Amore tomato paste
4 cups beef broth
1 bag (15 oz) frozen corn
2 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp cayenne
2 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp salt
3 tsp pepper
Garnishes:
Scallions, finely chopped
Cilantro finely chopped
Shredded Mexican cheese
Sour cream
Pickled Jalapenos
Avocado, diced
Let's get cooking:
Set your Instant Pot to saute mode. If you don't have an Instant Pot, place a large saucepan on medium-high heat.
Add the onions & cook for 1 minute. Next add your shallots, bell peppers, & garlic & cook until the onions are translucent.
Break up the ground beef & cook until slightly browned (don't worry about it being cooked all the way through - it'll be slow cooking for a few hours).
If you don't have an Instant Pot, transfer your aromatics & beef to a slow cooker or dutch oven. Add the remaining ingredients & mix well. Cook on the stove top covered on medium-low heat for 2 hours, then turn the heat to low & cook for 2 more hours. If you have an Instant Pot, cover with the lid, set it to vent mode, & set timer for 4 hours. If you are using a slow cooker, cover & cook on low for 4 hours.
Serve it up with whatever garnishes you like!
Some fun ideas to serve up your chili:
Layer up your chili between tortilla chips or Fritos & top with cheese, sour cream, scallions, pico de gallo, avocado, & pickled jalapenos
Cook up some potatoes in the air fryer, or roast em, & top it off with some chili & cheese for some filling chili cheese fries
Top of hot dogs to make chili dogs
Melt a block of Velveeta with 2 cups of the chili to make some yummy chili con queso