Chili

Pulled Pork Chili

Pulled Pork Chili
Serves 10 (1 cup portions)

This morning I woke to 45F temperatures. To me, that means chili season. But some chili can be high fat, and some high sodium. This is neither, just high flavor. This is one of those little life hacks that I talk about on one my Make Your Someday Today Trevitorials. Make good food and eat it. When you make it yourself, you know what is in it!

In a large (3-4 quart kettle) add:
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
Add your preferred chili spices

Sautee that together until the onions begin to get translucent (5 minutes)
Add:
1 tablespoon tomato paste. Stir to mix together, then add:
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained, and low sodium if available
2 cans beans, drained and rinsed
1 pound pulled pork

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. After 30-40 minutes, taste and add more seasoning as needed. This is better if you can then chill it for a few hours or overnight.

So, why is the beer in the picture? I make my beans with a pressure cooker. I use 1 cup dried beans (here is a mix of white navy beans and black bean), one onion diced, 2-4 cloves garlic minced and 4 cups beer. This is one of my favorites, Green Bay’s own Wisco Disco. Put the lid on, set to high pressure and leave them cook for 45 minutes. When it is time to add the beans to the tomatoes, I dump everything in, beans, beer, onion and garlic.

Nutritional data:
Calories:         210
Fat:                  5.4g
Sat fat:             1.7g
Chol:           38.5mg
Sodium:      32.7mg
Carbs:            18.2g
Fiber:               4.6g
Protein:            19g

Eggs Over Chili

Eggs Over Chili
Serves 1

This is a nice way to use a little leftover chili and make a hearty breakfast.

1 cup chili (your preferred style)
2 eggs, prepare in your preferred style

Warm the chili and place on a plate. If desired top with cheese.
Cook eggs to the desired preparation, and placed on top of chili. Drizzle hot sauce if desired.

I can’t provide nutritional data for your food because I don’t know your chili. How are my chili is made with a lot of beans, ground beef, low sodium V-8 juice, onions and whole fresh tomatoes, as well as some spices and herbs. For being used kidney beans but I use dried beans and then rehydrate them in my pressure cooker. This avoids a lot of the sodium that you’ll find in canned beans. If you eat a lot of beans and their concern about sodium, I would recommend investing in a pressure cooker.

My chili recipe:
1 pound ground beef, browned
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onion
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Spices and herbs as desired (I used Penzey’s Salt Free Regular Chili Powder.)
2 medium tomatoes, diced
32 ounces low sodium V8 juice (or tomato juice if you prefer)
2 cups cooked kidney beans (approximately 1 can)

  1. In a large kettle, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook until beginning to turn translucent (2-3 minutes.)
  2. Add tomato paste and spices. Stir together.
  3. Add tomatoes. Let cook for 2-4 minutes.
  4. Add V8, beans and meat. Cook until hot. This is best if prepared a day in advance, so that the flavors have a chance to meld together.

Note:  Penzey’s also has Medium and Hot versions of their salt-free chili powder.

Nutritional data for this chili:
Calories:       178
Fat:               5.6g
Sat fat:          2.1g
Chol:          38.5mg
Sodium:         91mg
Carbs:         15.2g
Fiber:            3.8g
Protein:       16.2g