EASY One Pot Chili!

It's Chili Time!

So even though it's still in the 70's/80's in Georgia, that is a considerable cooling off from our HOT summer weather! Time to make my famous chili! This time I'm adding in fresh organic turmeric and ginger because we need anti-inflammatory right now from all our hard work on our homestead!

A great chili always starts off with quality ingredients! For our veggies, we choose organic, local and/or homegrown! For our family of 6, we do a big pot of chili! I use one Sweet Pepper, two small Vidalia onions, a crap ton of fresh garlic, a handful of ginger and turmeric all chopped up accordingly!

I heat my cast iron skillet (this time I'm using my big enameled one so I can just keep it all in here) up real good on medium heat and coat it generously with extra virgin olive oil. Then I add my peppers and onions and a good sprinkling of salt to help them release their juices.

Sautee a little while to get them started and then add the turmeric, ginger, and garlic and stir thoroughly. You may need to add a little more oil if it begins to stick.

Stir and cook just a little more then push all the veggies to the edge opening up room in the center for your meat.

I use one pound of grass fed beef and one pound of natural ground pork. I really like using two different kinds of meat if I can. Sometimes venison or turkey and cook until browned.

Next, we add the tomatoes, this is where I kick myself for neglecting our garden and having no home canned ones to use. So store bought will have to do. I got one large can diced and one crushed for varied texture.

Then come the seasonings, this is the fun part! Feel free to be creative here and use as little or as much as you want! It's a good thing this blog is full of pictures because I don't measure anything, just guesstimate from the photo. I use a ton of ancho chili powder. About half as much, or less, of Hungarian paprika. Some Cumin, Oregano, red pepper flakes and/or cayenne powder, and my TOP SECRET INGREDIENT!

Even though us older kids like it really spicy I have to be careful about the two little ones. They like a little spice though so I can add my Sweet Heat! A little sugar to cut the heat and acidity and I can add some lemon pepper and Jalapeno from our garden!

Then I cook it for as long as I can stand it with the lid on on low to really pull all these amazing flavors together! When I am putting my cornbread in the oven I add a can of beans to the chili to finish it off!