Some days I just want a hot and easy to make meal ready whenever anyone wants to eat, so in the winter I normally opt for soup, stews and chili. I will generally get my poblano and black bean chili started about 2pm and let it simmer away until everyone has had a bowl somewhere around 8pm. Then half the chili goes in the refrigerator for the weekend and the other half goes in a bag and into the freezer. Poblano black bean chili will only get better with time, so store it happily.  This is a huge batch of chili if you are having a party pop it in a Crockpot on the buffet table and you can feed an army, great for football season parties.

I substitute half the ground beef with turkey to cut back on calories so I fell less guilty about the cheese and sour cream I put on top, not to mention the corn bread. Adding the fresh roasted poblano peppers gives a warm chili flavor that is enough spice for most to enjoy but not so much that the kids will refuse to eat it. It’s a nice compromise.  But to make my mother, a total spice fiend, happy I serve some fresh jalapeno, raw onion and a little hot sauce on the table.

Poblano and Black Bean Chili

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs mixed turkey and lean ground beef
  • 2-3 roasted seeded, and peeled poblano peppers
  • 6-8 cloves of diced garlic
  • 8 ribs of celery including leaves chopped
  • 3 large onions chopped about 5 cups
  • 1 can of beer 12 oz
  • 2 cans of diced tomatoes 28 oz
  • 2 cans of tomato sauce 8 oz
  • 1 can of tomato paste 6 oz
  • 1 can chili beans with sauce 15 oz
  • 1 can dark red kidney beans drained 15 oz
  • 2 cans black beans drained 15 oz
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • ½ tbsp salt
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp oregano
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • ½ tsp ground chipotle chili powder

Instructions

  1. In a large chili pot add a drizzle of olive oil brown the ground meat. Add the garlic and let it cook along with the meat until the meet has browned and the garlic softened. Add the diced onion and celery and cook until tender. Then pour in the can of beer and scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the diced poblano peppers.
  2. Ok the next part is so simple, it’s just open a can a pour it in. This is a low stress recipe so get out the can opener and go for it. Add all the canned tomatoes with liquid. Add three kinds of beans being sure to drain and rinse the black and kidney beans. Stir and add about 2 cups of beef broth based on how much liquid you already have. You want the chili a bit more liquid than the final product so it can boil down and thicken adjust the broth accordingly. Last add the spice and give a final stir.
  3. Leave the pot on the stove with the lid off to simmer for hours, the more time the better. Stir occasionally being sure that the heat is not so high that the chili will stick or burn in the bottom. Taste before serving to adjust heat and salt.
  4. Serve with sour cream, grated cheese, raw onion, and corn bread.

Recipe Notes

The chili burned! It’s ok take a deep breath! If it has just stuck on the bottom of the pot and burned lightly, you will be fine. Don’t loosen anymore of the burned chili from the bottom, it could affect the flavor. Remove the pot from the stove and pour it into another pot, don’t scrape the burned bottom, put new pot on the stove and finish cooking. No one will ever know.

If you are making chili in a Crockpot add less beef broth as you will have less evaporation. You can make chili first thing in the morning before work and leave it in the Crockpot all day. Dinner will be ready to eat when you get home.

If the chili is to thin, crank up the heat and stir the chili more often until it reaches the right thickness, you can also toss in another can of black or red beans to help it thicken.

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