Chili Con Carne

A tasty recipe shared by a friend, and as I write this the nights are getting darker and colder, and this dish is the perfect meal for these evenings!

The definition of Chili Con Carne is “chili with meat”, often containing spices and peppers. Over time, tomatoes and beans have become common additions for “chili”, but they are not included in the original translation of Chili Con Carne.

The recipe shared with me was a family recipe, handed down through generations, and written on a 3 x 5 recipe card, ahhh those were the good old days right? 😉 It’s even titled MY OWN TRIAL AND ERROR RECIPE - MOM”. Hold on to those treasures!

This is simple to put together in the morning, searing the meat first, and then placing in the crock pot for the remainder of the day. My next experiment will be trying this in the instant pot, I always like to compare the two. But for one of those crock pot days, this is an excellent recipe to try.

INGREDIENTS -

2 pounds stew meat
Then - start with the following spices, you can always add more but you can’t take it out 😂
2 Tbsp granulated garlic
1 Tbsp oregano
1 Tbsp cilantro
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Flour (gluten-free works!) to dredge the meat in and a tablespoon to thicken with
Approximately 4 cups beef broth
Optional toppings - cilantro, cheese, sour cream
Optional to serve over - rice or riced cauliflower

Salt and pepper the meat well and then dredge in the flour. Add avocado oil to a heavy skillet and bring heat to medium high. Brown the meat in the skillet and then place in the crock pot. Add the broth to about 1 inch over the top of meat. Stir in spices. Cook on high for 6-8 hours. Remove about a cup of broth, cool, then stir in 1 tablespoon of flour to make a thickener. Stir the flour mixture back into the pot and cook long enough to thicken.

This can be served with rice or riced cauliflower, or not! It’s good all by itself!

Enjoy this reminiscent recipe, and then write down some of your favorites to pass along! Enjoy!