Winter in Texas can mean two things: wearing a long sleeve shirt with shorts because the cold front came through and the highs will be in the 60’s, or Vanilla Ice Time aka Ice Ice Baby! We are currently experiencing the latter! (No matter how old you get, an ice/snow day is magical, even if it includes working from home in your pjs!) Everyone floods the grocery stores to stock up for our 1-2 days of hibernation because no one knows how to drive on ice, so the whole city basically shuts down. (My inner 80’s child secretly loves feeling like a contestant on Supermarket Sweeps stocking up — the only thing missing from my cart is the giant wheel of cheese!)
Chili is a classic Texan winter weather comfort food that leaves you filling full and cozy on unbearably cold days. Today I give you a sweet and spicy version of my basic chili recipe that is packed with superfoods and lots of flavor! Giddy up, and let’s get cooking!
Need:
3 cans tomato sauce
1 can black beans
1 can dark kidney beans
1 pound grass fed beef
.5 diced red onion
1 sweet potato
1 cup frozen chopped kale
4-6 tablespoons red chili pepper flakes
1 jar chili powder
1-2 tablespoons garlic powder
Fresh cracked pepper
*Optional garnishes: tortilla chips/pita chips, sour cream/Greek yogurt, shredded cheese
Hollyized Steps:
Gather all your ingredients. (Not everything is pictured since you can see documenting this dish was an afterthought.) Start cooking the ground beef in your chili pot with the red onions and fresh cracked pepper. Once it begins to brown, add in .25 jar of the chili powder. Peel and cube the sweet potato while the meat is cooking.
Next, simply add the rest of the ingredients to your pot with the beef! Drop in the sweet potato cubes, frozen kale, and pour in the tomato sauce.
Drain the cans of black beans and kidney beans, and rinse the beans in a strainer with cold water until all the gas bubbles are gone. Then, add the beans into the chili pot.
Mix the chili, and taste for spice. If needed, add additional chili powder and red pepper flakes. Top the pot with the lid and simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes. Then stir, and simmer on low heat for an hour. The longer than usual simmering helps soften the sweet potatoes.
Serve with your favorite garnishes like chips and sour cream, and enjoy the sweet and spicy flavors from the comfort of your toasty dining room! The best part about chili: the leftovers are even better than the day you made it! You now know another reason why God blessed Texas. 🙂
sweet, spicy and icy
Ingredients
- 3 cans tomato sauce
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can dark kidney beans
- 1 lb grass fed beef
- .5 diced red onion
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 cup frozen chopped kale
- 4-6 tbsp red chili pepper flakes
- 1 jar chili powder
- 1-2 tbsp garlic powder
- Fresh cracked pepper
- *Optional garnishes: tortilla chips/pita chips, sour cream/Greek yogurt, shredded cheese
Hollyized Steps:
- Gather all your ingredients. (Not everything is pictured since you can see documenting this dish was an afterthought.) Start cooking the ground beef in your chili pot with the red onions and fresh cracked pepper. Once it begins to brown, add in .25 jar of the chili powder. Peel and cube the sweet potato while the meat is cooking.
- Next, simply add the rest of the ingredients to your pot with the beef! Drop in the sweet potato cubes, frozen kale, and pour in the tomato sauce.
- Drain the cans of black beans and kidney beans, and rinse the beans in a strainer with cold water until all the gas bubbles are gone. Then, add the beans into the chili pot.
- Mix the chili, and taste for spice. If needed, add additional chili powder and red pepper flakes. Top the pot with the lid and simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes. Then stir, and simmer on low heat for an hour. The longer than usual simmering helps soften the sweet potatoes.
- Serve with your favorite garnishes like chips and sour cream, and enjoy the sweet and spicy flavors from the comfort of your toasty dining room! The best part about chili: the leftovers are even better than the day you made it! You now know another reason why God blessed Texas.
