BBQ Quinoa Chili

One of my favorite things about fall and winter is, of course, the food! I mean, isn't Thanksgiving about the food?? I know, I know...it's about being grateful. For food. Anyway, soups, stews, chowders, chilis, hot chocolate, ciders...all things that seem silly to eat in the summer, right?

This recipe is my favorite chili recipe. I made it this year for our church's chili cookoff and Halloween party. I've never added quinoa to it before, but while I was cooking it up I was looking through my pantry for another can of beans and my bag of quinoa like *jumped* at me. Literally. It was kinda scary but hey! It is Halloween, right? My husband, who is the unofficial official taste tester said it was a fabulous addition, so I'll be keeping it as part of the recipe from now on.

If you haven't tried quinoa before, you are missing out! I love the texture it adds to food, and it's so much healthier than rice or potatoes. Once you use it a few times, you start realizing you can add it to so many things - salads, soups, stews, sauces, etc. I actually crave it. Weird, I know.

Feel free to change things up! Omit the beef for a vegetarian option! Add more beans, less beans, different kinds of beans. Add more spice. Whatever! It's all up to your palette. I have little kids, so I have to hold back on the spice, and we use the beans we prefer, but in the end it's your chili. So do what you want!

BBQ Quinoa Chili
Girls in Aprons

1 pound hamburger
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 15 oz can black beans, mostly drained
2 15 oz cans kidney beans, mostly drained
1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes (I used petite diced tomatoes with garlic)
1 28 oz can tomato sauce (I actually really like Progresso Recipe Starters Fire Roasted Tomato, so if   you have that on hand you can use that)
1 T chili powder (you can omit the chili powder and cumin and use a chili seasoning packet too)
1 tsp cumin
Salt to taste
1/3 cup bbq sauce (I recommend Sweet Baby Ray's Original)
1/2 cup quinoa

Brown the hamburger in a large sauce pan. About halfway through the browning, add the pepper and onion. Cook until hamburger is done and peppers and onions are no longer crunchy, about 5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Stir to combine. Add spices and BBQ sauce. Let simmer for about 30 minutes on low, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook 1/2 cup quinoa according to your package directions. Make sure to rinse your quinoa or it will clump together! Once it is cooked, add it to your chili. Serve chili with sour cream, green onions, avocado, shredded cheese, or chips!

Walt Disney's Chili and Beans

I've been in need of a vacation for, like, ever. Seriously. My job is pretty demanding and high stress, so the idea that a family vacation was coming up was sometimes the only thing holding me together.

 

After saving for two years, we finally took our family to Disneyland. We went the week after Thanksgiving, which in my opinion is the perfect time to go. Weather was decent, lines were short (longest wait was 20 minutes), and the park was all dressed up for Christmas. Every night we got to watch Sleeping Beauty's Castle light up for the night and then it would "snow" on Main Street. By far my best memory of the trip. The kids were speechless.

 

 

While most people, including my children and husband, bought Disneyland trinkets, Mickey Mouse ears, and other paraphernalia, I had my eyes on a Disney Parks cookbook. There were 4 to choose from and I settled for Chef Mickey, which for some reason is priced unbelievable high online. I'm thinking because it's really only available at the park? The cookbook offers recipes from restaurants at Disneyland and DisneyWorld, plus some older recipes from the mysterious "vault" that Disney always eludes to.

Being a bit enamoured by the experience, I was more than thrilled to see two of Walt Disney's personal recipes listed in the book. One for Chili and Beans and one for Browned Roast Beef Hash. I went with the chili first. I had almost all the ingredients and just had to find out how Mr. Disney himself liked his chili!

 

Chili and Beans
Walt Disney's personal recipe

2 lbs dried pinto beans
2 medium onions, sliced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 cup chopped celery
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
1 (28-oz) can chopped tomatoes, undrained
Salt and pepper, to taste

Wash and sort beans and soak overnight in cold water.

Drain beans and place in a 2-quart saucepan. Add fresh water to cover by 2 inches. Add sliced onions and simmer, covered, for 2 hours, until tender.

Heat oil in a large pan and saute garlic. Add beef and celery and cook until lightly browned. Add chili powder, paprika, and thyme. Mix in chopped tomatoes. Cover and simmer for one hour.

When beans are tender, combine with the meat, stirring gently. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Girls in Aprons note: I added about 3/4 -1 cup of drained water from the pinto beans into the beans and meat mixture to give it a little bit of a sauce to go with the dish.

Cook's note (aka Walt's personal notes!!!) - For a spicier chili, add 1/8 tsp each of coriander, turmeric, chili seeds, fellen, cloves, cinnamon, and ground ginger. You can also add dried hot pepper to taste.

Bean Salad

We had a church gathering the other day and the refreshments were an array of salads. Everyone had signed up under "spinach salad" and "fruit salad" and "pasta salad" and then there was the "bean salad" and no one had signed up. When you think of a salad party, do you really think of a bean salad? Maybe you do, but I certainly didn't. But I felt compelled to sign up since no one else did. Poor bean salad just doesn't get the praise it was meant to.

This was delicious!

The dressing is a basic viniagrette - oil, vinegar, salt, and Dijon mustard, although I added some sugar just to sweeten it up a little.

Even my kids, who I'll admit are pretty good eaters, but still...even my kids are in love with this salad. That sort of makes it a winner in my book.

In this recipe, the green beans need to be blanched. If you don't know what that means, all you need to do is throw the trimmed and chopped green beans into a pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then immediately transfer the beans using a slotted spoon into a bowl of ice water. This shocks the beans and stops the cooking process.

Bean Salad
by Girls in Aprons

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 lb green beans, ends removed, chopped into bite-size pieces, and blanched
1 English seedless cucumber, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Combine all ingredients and toss with dressing. Serve immediately.

Dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Whisk together and toss with bean mixture.