I love making chili. It’s so satisfying to eat after a long day, it freezes well, and it takes almost no time to prepare. You can add avocado cubes to it, or cheese, or serve it over a baked potato. Yay chili!

Usually I make mine with beef and pork and plenty of spice from fresh jalapeños and/or chipotle chili powder, but I wanted to make a milder-tasting one so the kids would eat it. The Critic added some hot sauce to the finished product because he likes things spicy. Otherwise, he loved it and he even ate the kale, which for my hockey-playing beer-drinking small town husband is quite great.

I used lean ground chicken for this recipe, but you can use whatever meat you have. You could also use a meat substitute, such as Yves Veggie Cuisine ground round.

Any beans work with this, too. Today I used navy beans, but white kidney beans, red kidney beans, black beans, whichever ones you choose will be fine. Chili is one of those dishes that is very hard to screw up. Just have fun.

 

Serves 4

1lb lean ground chicken or other ground meat, or veggie ground round

½ bunch kale, chopped

½ large onion, chopped

1 large clove of garlic, crushed

1 398ml (14oz) can of white kidney or navy beans, drained

1 796ml (28oz) can of crushed tomatoes, or 3 cups diced fresh tomatoes with their juice

1 156ml (5.5oz) can tomato paste

2t chili powder – you can mix types such as regular chili powder with ancho, chipotle or any other ones

1/4t ground cumin

1/4t salt or more to taste

1-2T olive oil

 

In a large pot, heat the oil.

Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent and fragrant.

Add the meat and sautee until browned.

Add the rest of the ingredients, stirring to incorporate the kale into the mixture. If you’re timid about spice, you can gradually add the salt and chili powder until you get the flavor you’re looking for, but remember – the flavor of the dish continues to grow during and after cooking.

Simmer on low heat until flavors are mingled and meat is thoroughly cooked, around 20 mins.

It’s even better the next day, if that’s possible.