Chili con Carne (Also Makes a Great Pasta Sauce!)

Cottage in the Sky

Everyone seems to have a different idea of who invented chili.

Was it the Franciscan friar, Bernardino de Sahagún, who wrote in 1529 about chili pepper-seasoned stews being consumed in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan? Or was it Sister Mary of Agreda of Spain who, in the 1600s, went into trances and mind-travelled to faraway lands only to wake up and record a recipe for chili with antelope meat, onions, tomatoes, and chili peppers? Or perhaps it really was the early-1700s immigrants from the Canary Islands, who settled in San Antonio, Texas, and brought along their chili recipe.

Who can say?

Whatever the case, the savoury aroma of chili conjures images of warm sweaters, autumn leaves, and fireside reading. Meaty, spicy, tomatoey! It doesn’t get better than that.

Ingredients

• 12 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 kg cubed sirloin beef or lean ground beef, organic, grass fed, pasture raised.
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 4-5 chilies dried or fresh, sliced
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika (or cayenne)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pepper, grind as desired
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
• 12 to 15 mushrooms, quartered
• 1 tablespoon 100% pure Canadian maple syrup
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup peas, asparagus, green beans, or Brussels sprouts, chopped as needed
• 4 cups dried beans (garbanzo, fava, kidney, black), soaked and cooked
• 1 jar tomato sauce, organic

Why Cooking With Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated Oils Is a Problem

Refined vegetable oils became available in the 20th century after extraction technology was invented. These oils, extracted from plants using a chemical solvent or an oil mill, are often chemically altered.

Too much omega-6, relative to omega-3, may contribute to chronic inflammation, increasing the risk of obesity, heart disease, arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease.

To add insult to injury, heating up monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils make the fatty acids fragile and more sensitive to undergoing oxidation, thereby degrading them into free radicals and harmful compounds.

Why is this important?

The fatty acids in oils are used to build every cell membrane in your body. Using degraded fatty acids weakens your cell membranes, inviting disease into your body’s cells.

When cooking at high heat, it’s important to use oils or fats that are stable and don’t oxidize or go rancid easily.

Cooking With Saturated Fats

Some experts still believe saturated fats like butter, coconut oil, and animal drippings are implicated in cardiovascular disease and obesity.

What Should You Cook With?

Tomatoes!

Step 1: Cook the Meat

1. Use enough chopped tomatoes to cover the bottom of your cast-iron frying pan. (Cast iron is best because it adds the element “iron” to the dish and can help stave off iron deficiency.)
2. Place beef atop your nest of tomatoes and turn to medium heat. (Never cook above medium because higher temperatures can destroy enzymes, proteins and vitamins.)
3. When the meat is almost browned, add in the carrots and chilies.
4. When the beef is fully cooked, add in the rest of the spices.

Step 2: Cook the Vegetables and Add Meat

1. In a stock pot over medium heat, caramelize the onions. Here, a little coconut oil will go a long way. Add a pinch of salt to speed up the process.
2. Add the mushrooms and maple syrup and leave to cook.
3. Add the items in the frying pan.
4. Add in the rest of the tomatoes, vegetables, beans, and garlic.
5. Add the tomato sauce, stir well, and leave to simmer.

Tomato Sauce or Tomato Paste?

I don’t know how to give chili that creamy, tomatoey broth without using store bought tomato paste or sauce. A better cook probably would. If you’re out there, please enlighten me!

Even so, I no longer use tomato paste because it’s canned.

Why?

Because the tomato product most certainly goes into the can hot, which causes the can’s plastic lining to secrete Bisphenol A (BPA), which, when ingested, disrupts hormones in the human body.

I’m on a journey to eliminate as many processed food products as possible from my diet and replace them with whole, real food. So I don’t often recommend a pre-made product. But making tomato sauce from scratch is labour intensive. Look for tomato sauce with all organic (and recognizable) ingredients packaged in a glass jar. It makes the chili so much better!

Freeze Your Chili

Back when we weren’t so strict about eating only real food, we used to buy pre-made hummus. Thankfully, I kept all the containers! Single-serving containers are perfect for small households. But remember to allow the casserole to cool off before ladling into plastic storage containers, and then freeze.

Reusables are the best and it’s so great if you don’t have to buy containers. Packaging is overwhelming our world. Can you reuse it? Maybe? Yes!

A freezer full of frozen meals makes it easy to heat up healthy food during work-week nights.

I take two of these single-serving containers out of the freezer (for hubby and me) and let thaw. After only five minutes, they pop out of their containers into a pot. (Never heat food in a plastic dish.)

Serving Notes

Once food is cooked:

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This content is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for formal and individualized diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, and/or dietary advice from a licensed medical professional. Do not stop or alter your current course of treatment. If pregnant or nursing, consult with a qualified provider on an individual basis. Seek immediate help if you are experiencing a medical emergency.

THRIFTY ♥ ENVIRONMENTAL ♥ HEALTHY

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