Chicken and Quinoa Chili

My sister and I used to eat my mom's chili on top of saltines.  Saltine + chili + sour cream + chedda cheese. Oh man, it was delicious.  A few years ago I had a craving for my mom's chili again and I asked her what her recipe was and she said, "oh, I just used Carrol Shelby's." My world was shattered.  But not really, because I knew I'd be able to duplicate the flavor for my family! 

I usually start my chili with onion and green pepper (sooo good) and then add canned tomatoes, ground chicken/turkey and then beans but I happened to have a lot of cooked quinoa and a few ears of corn I needed to use.  The beauty of chili.  It's so versatile.

Ingredients

1/2 c diced onion
1 diced green pepper
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 lb of ground chicken/turkey
1 can diced tomatoes (save can for water)
1 can kidney beans (drained)
2 cups of fresh corn (frozen or canned will work too)
2 cups of cooked quinoa
1 package of Carrol Shelby chili mix

Directions:

1.  Saute onion and green pepper until soft.
2.  Add ground chicken/turkey and cook until half way done.    
3.  Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and 1 1/2 cans of water.
4.  Add chili mix, salt and cheyenne (provided in chili mix). 
5.  Allow to simmer for 15 minutes, then add corn, drained beans and quinoa.  Allow to simmer for 5 more minutes. 
6.  (optional) If you like a really thick chili, you can add the masa flour that is included in the mix. 

Serve with corn bread, saltines, cheddar cheese, sour cream, lime, avocado, on top of burgers/hot dogs, bake potatoes...the list in endless. 

Spicy Red Pepper Marinara

If you like flavor, you've gotta try my Spicy Red Pepper Marinara.  Some (my husband) would say this was an accident but I call it destiny.

Ingredients:

1 diced red pepper
3 pounds of peeled and gutted roma tomatoes
1/2 onion
2 pinches of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon of Italian seasonings
1 T sugar
1/2 cup of red cooking wine
salt
pepper
oil
1-2 cups of water

1.  Drizzle your pot with oil and saute your perfectly diced onion (see my post on how to dice an onion the right way). Add salt, pepper and chili powder.  Cook 2-3 minutes then add your diced red pepper.

2.  Add two pinches of red pepper flakes and red cooking wine.  Allow cooking wine to reduce, then add your tomatoes.

3. Now add your peeled and "gutted' tomatoes.  (see my post on how to peel a tomato)  Add 1 cup of water and allow tomatoes to cook down.  Don't let the liquid completely evaporate.  Gradually add water as needed throughout the cooking process.  I let my tomatoes cook down for about an hour.

 4.  Once the tomatoes have cooked down and reduce by about half, it's time to puree the veggies.  Transfer your tomatoes and pepper to a food processor and puree on high until smooth, or to your preferred consistency.

5.  Add sugar and Italian seasonings to your puree. 

6.  There should be no standing liquid in your sauce so allow the sauce to cook (with the lid off) to allow the liquid to evaporate.  Ever have a super runny tomato sauce?  It's probably because the lid was left on while cooking and the liquid just dripped right back into the pot. 

I used this sauce in a spinach and kale lasagna.  How will you use yours?