You know the recipe for chili that goes around and around all the Whole 30 forums? It’s like that, but still a bit different.
Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:
This recipe makes a healthy portion of chili so in the spirit of cook-once-eat-twice (COET) you could make tacos too. Simply, stop after you incorporate the spices and remove about a pound of the meat, serve it on a bed of lettuce or rolled up in some lettuce leaves with your preferred toppings. Then continue to cook the chili with the rest of the ingredients (just don’t forget to halve everything else or start with three pounds of meat instead), when it’s done cooking save it, freeze it, dole it out for lunches – whatever rocks your world and minimizes kitchen time.
Also, it’s just chili. It’s really good chili when prepared the slow and steady way, but it’s perfectly good chili if you are in a hurry and don’t want to wait for a 2-hour simmer.
On that note, don’t break the bank. If you have an open carton of chicken stock or half a 28 oz can of regular old diced tomatoes hanging out in your fridge use them. If you don’t use the beef broth and fire-roasted, chopped tomatoes I won’t tell. And, it will still be good. Heck, throw that leftover bell pepper or zucchini in there too.
Lastly, if you are cooking for picky kids who can “feel” spicy foods as soon as they see them, it may be worth the effort to make sure your chili powder is mild. Or, if your kids are not Paleo-ing or W30-ing shred some cheese on it or put it on a bun and call it sloppy joes.
Don’t stress, it’s just food. Enjoy it!
The Whole30 Chili
Serves: 6-8
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 2-3 hours
Total Time: 2 ½ hours
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 2 white onions, diced
- 4-8 cloves garlic, minced or 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 lbs. ground beef
- 2 Tbsp. chili powder
- 2 Tbsp. ground cumin
- 1 ½ Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
- 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne, or to taste
- 1—6 oz. can tomato paste
- 1—14.5 oz. can fire-roasted, chopped tomatoes
- 1—14.5 oz. can beef broth
- 4 oz. strong coffee
- 4 oz. water
Toppings:
- 1 bunch Cilantro, chopped
- 2 Avocado, diced
- 1 white onion, diced
- Hot Sauce
Recipe:
Heat a large Dutch oven (or other deep pot) over medium-high heat. Add the coconut oil. To the melted oil add the onions. Cook until they’re translucent and some are beginning to brown, 6-7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté about 30 seconds. Add the ground meat and break it up into small pieces as you brown it.
When the meat is brown determine your oil content. If you want less in your chili drain some off now. Don’t drain it all away. One way to do this would be to push everything to the sides and see what pools in the middle, then using paper towels absorb some out.
Add spices to the meat and incorporate them evenly. Stir in the tomato paste and combine well.
Add the chopped tomatoes (with their juice), beef broth, coffee, and water to the pot. Stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer uncovered for two hours.
Top with diced onions, a dash of hot sauce, cilantro, and avocado.