Chili!

Unfortunately I've been extremely busy lately (with work) and haven't had a chance to explore or be out and about as much as I would like.  But a girl's gotta eat!  So I've been cooking mass quantities of food on the weekends so we don't have to cook during the week.  Today's endeavor was Nicaragua chili.  My mother-in-law gave me this recipe several years ago and it's been a staple every winter ever since.

Here's the "recipe".  I think I made her recipe one time and I have been making it from memory since then.  The great thing about soup though, you really can't mess it up. 

Nicaragua Chili

Ingredients:

• cup of celery
• cup of carrots
• 1 onion
• 1 green pepper
• Tablespoon of minced garlic
• 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• Stew beef
• 1 can black beans
• 3 10 oz cans diced tomatoes
• 3-6 oz tomato paste
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup red wine
• seasoning:  curry powder, salt, chili powder, cajun (all to taste)

1.  Cut up all the veggies.  I always end up putting a ton in.  If the ratio of veggies to liquid is off, just add more water.  I guess you could also use vegetable broth.

2.  Saute veggies and minced garlic in olive oil

3.  Add seasoning, beans, tomatoes, paste, water, wine and boil.

4.  Cook up the meat, cut it up, and then add to soup.

5.  Let it simmer until hot.  That's it!!!

You could also add some rice or quinoa to make it more hearty.  You could also do it without meat, with chicken, or Italian sausage.  Sometimes I sprinkle cheese on the top.  This whole process takes less than an hour but if you are really pressed for time, you could probably just throw all the raw ingredients into a crockpot and let it cook all day. 

Soup is awesome because it's hot, healthy, you always have leftovers, and it's a great way to clean out your pantry and use up a ton of veggies before they go bad.