Chunky Beef and Vegetable Chili

Note: I was sent a box of various Bob’s Red Mill products to make the below recipe. Opinions are mine alone.

This past weekend, a friend and I got together to stock our freezers. The fall is a super busy time of year for most, so we wanted to have a variety of meals ready to make some nights (and mornings) easier. We settled on eleven (11!) recipes, organized a shopping list split between the two of us, and set up prep work (chopping veggies for the most part) for the night before. The next morning, we met at my place and got to cooking!

Chili is a go-to freezer recipe. Not only does it freeze well, but it works great on its own, with cornbread, over polenta, as a “dip” with corn chips, with eggs for breakfast, etc. This recipe originally began as a vegetarian chili, but we had more ground beef leftover, so in it went!

I am a firm believer that dried beans make for a tastier dish than canned beans. There is some prep work needed, but it is very much worth it. I used Bob’s Red Mill Red Kidney Beans and Cannellini Beans for this recipe.

source: bobsredmill.com

We made a LOT of this chili, somewhere around 20 servings, so I’ve scaled it down for this post to make it more appropriate. Feel free to double if needed.

Note: I will share and link all of our recipes below. It was quite a successful cooking day!

Ingredients (makes 8-10 servings):

• 12 oz dried Bob’s Red Mill Red Kidney Beans (~1/2 bag)
• 12 oz dried Bob’s Red Mill Cannellini Beans (1/2 bag)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (in bite sized pieces)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large red bell peppers
• 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 (28 oz) can no-salt-added tomatoes, undrained
• 1 lb ground beef
• cilantro, chopped, for garnish

The night before, add the red kidney beans and cannellini beans to a very large bowl. Fill the bowl with water, at least 1 inch above the beans. Cover and let sit overnight.

When ready to make the chili, heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until fragrant, stirring occasionally. Stir in the spice mixture and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add in the roasted bell peppers, butternut squash cubes, chicken broth and canned tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the chili cooks, add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat, swirling to coat. Add the ground beef, stirring to break up the beef as it cooks. Cook until browned, about 5-8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ground beef to the pot. Discard the drippings.

After 20 minutes, add the beans to the pot and bring to a simmer. One added, assess the amount of liquid in the pot. It will become thicker, so you may need to add a bit more chicken broth or water, depending on how chunky you want your chili. Simmer for 25 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally.

To serve, spoon into a bowl and top with chopped cilantro. To freeze, spoon into freezer-friendly containers and let cool to room temperature uncovered. Once cool, cover and freeze.

This chili is so nice and hearty. I added a bit of cheese and hot sauce on top and it was delicious! I love the chunkiness to this dish, if you prefer it less chunky, feel free to chop the tomatoes before adding. You can also cut the rest of the veggies smaller if you’d prefer.

Here are some of the other recipes we made – I’ll add links as I post; if from another source, source is listed in parentheses:

1. Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups (from Budget Bytes)
2. Beef Shepherd’s Pie (from Food Network)
3. One Pot Moroccan Chicken (from Half Baked Harvest)
4. Frozen Cinnamon-Peach Oatmeal Cups
5. Pistachio Muffins
6. Ratatouille
7. Lemony Red Lentil Soup
8. Slow Cooker Parmesan-Herb Pork Loin with Chunky Tomato Sauce
9. Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
10. Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
11. Chunky Beef and Vegetable Chili

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Yum

Chunky Beef and Vegetable Chili

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• 12 oz dried Bob’s Red Mill Red Kidney Beans (~1/2 bag)
• 12 oz dried Bob’s Red Mill Cannellini Beans (1/2 bag)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (in bite sized pieces)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large red bell peppers
• 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 (28 oz) can no-salt-added tomatoes, undrained
• 1 lb ground beef
• cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

1. The night before, add the red kidney beans and cannellini beans to a very large bowl. Fill the bowl with water, at least 1 inch above the beans. Cover and let sit overnight.
2. If prepping the night before (or ahead of cooking the recipe), chop your onion and add to a zip top bag.  Slice the garlic cloves and add to the same zip top bag. I purchased pre-cubed butternut squash. If you have a whole squash, peel and cube and add to a separate zip top bag.
3. Combine the 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small container.
4. Preheat your broiler. Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise. Remove and discard the seeds and membranes. Add the pepper halves, skin side up to a baking sheet. Broil on high for 15 minutes, or until starting to blacken. Keep an eye on the peppers while they cook, they can go from nothing to blackened pretty quickly.
5. Add the pepper halves to a zip top bag and seal. Let stand for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove from the bag and peel off the skin of the peppers, discard. Chop the peppers and add to another zip top bag.
6. The next morning, drain the beans and add to a large pot. Fill with water, at least 1 inch above the beans, and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and simmer for about 90 minutes. The beans should be mostly cooked, about “al dente.” Drain and set aside.
7. When ready to make the chili, heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until fragrant, stirring occasionally. Stir in the spice mixture and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add in the roasted bell peppers, butternut squash cubes, chicken broth and canned tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. While the chili cooks, add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat, swirling to coat. Add the ground beef, stirring to break up the beef as it cooks. Cook until browned, about 5-8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the ground beef to the pot. Discard the drippings.
9. After 20 minutes, add the beans to the pot and bring to a simmer. One added, assess the amount of liquid in the pot. It will become thicker, so you may need to add a bit more chicken broth or water, depending on how chunky you want your chili. Simmer for 25 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally.
10. To serve, spoon into a bowl and top with chopped cilantro.
11. To freeze, spoon into freezer-friendly containers and let cool to room temperature uncovered. Once cool, cover and freeze.

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