Three Bean and Beef Chili

Chili season is slowly making its appearance. The mountains are getting their first signs of winter, and leaves are falling everywhere. I decided to make a pot of chili one cold evening and was instantly brought back to my childhood when we used to order chili in a bread bowl at our local ski area. This recipe makes a generous serving of healthy chili. I love the adobo sauce flavor that comes through, but if you're not a fan or you'd rather have a mild flavor, you can scale back the amount of chipotle chilis and adobo sauce you use. The ingredients for this recipe are simple. I couldn't find black beans or pinto beans when I made this, so I just added extra kidney beans and cannellini beans.

As with all chilis, this freezes really well and can be served with biscuits, bread bowls, rice, or you can just eat it plain. If you're trying to keep it healthy, use a lean ground beef, like 90% lean. In Switzerland I don't have the option to see how much fat is in my ground beef, so I'm sure mine was more of an 80% lean beef. If you have never cooked with chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, don't worry about the extra chilis you will have left over. They freeze really well and once you get hooked on the flavor, you will find many other was to use them up. The picture below if proof of just how cold it was in my town. There are actually really big mountains behind those clouds.

Recipe from Ellie Krieger
Serves 8

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced (about 1 cup)
2 carrots, diced (about 2/3 cup)
1 red bell pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
2 teaspoons cumin
1 pound ground beef
1 28-ounce (800 gram) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
1 to 2 chipotle chili in adobo sauce
2 teaspoons adobo sauce
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
garlic salt and pepper, to season
1 15.5-ounce (425 gram) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5-ounce (425 gram) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5-ounce (425 gram) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

In a dutch oven over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion, carrot, and bell pepper and mix. Cover and allow to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened. Add the cumin and cook another minute.

Increase the heat to high and add the beef to the pot. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, breaking it apart with a spoon. Mix in the tomatoes, water, chili, adobo sauce, oregano, and some garlic salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover and pot, and allow to simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Add the beans to the chili. Continue cooking the chili, partially covered, for another 40 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Serve plain or with a dollop of sour cream. Pin It Now!