Thursday, July 17, 2008

My new favorite chili recipe

Not much is going on around here. Little Man is struggling with the solids and still wants to nurse all the time, sometimes every hour. It's getting old. He did take some nice, long naps today, though. We're going to try to get back on a good schedule tomorrow. I can't keep this up much longer.

The real reason for this post is to brag about the awesome pot of chili I made for dinner tonight. Inspired by my bro-in-law, Jon, I recently purchased a pressure cooker ($12 on clearance. Score!). I made the whole thing, using dried beans, in about 45 minutes (and that included having to put the baby down for a nap and dealing with a plumbing fiasco in a couple of the units in our building in the middle of cooking). And it tasted SO good! Here's the recipe I used/made up as I went:

2 cups dried beans, quick-soaked in pressure cooker (Put 2 cups of beans, 6 cups of water, and a little oil in the cooker. Bring up to pressure, then remove from heat. Let sit 10 minutes, then quick-release the pressure and drain.)
3 T oil
1 onions, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 lb ground pork
2 T paprika
1 T oregano
2 t cumin seeds
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 t chipotle chili powder
1 bay leaf
1 c water
2 cans (14.5 oz) tomatoes
1/2 c cilantro, chopped

Heat oil in pressure cooker. Saute onions and peppers. Add pork and cook until no longer pink. Add remaining ingredients, except cilantro. Lock lid in place, bring to full pressure, then cook for 2o minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 - 10 minutes before quick-releasing pressure. Stir in cilantro and season to taste with salt (I used about 2 t). Serve with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips. Yummy!

1 comment:

Jon Paul said...

I'm glad you like the pressure cooker. They really are fast, aren't they? Keep trying with the solids. I remember Seth only liked a couple of things like sweet potatoes, avocado (a complete food), and mashed bananas. I got a precious video from that time period of Bryanna trying to shove some outrageous mixture down his throat, and he was just not having it.