Weeknight Chili

There was a time when I just didn’t cook. At all. After a while, especially when going to college, eating out all the time gets pretty expensive. Since I needed my money for other things, I needed to learn. My first cooking at home experiences included making microwave meals. So many microwave meals that my stomach actually turns a little when I look at the frozen dinner section in the grocery store. Don’t get me wrong, I still eat frozen burritos, but no one should live on frozen dinners.

One day I really wanted chili but I could never find a frozen version. I did have some frozen ground beef and a can of diced tomatoes and even some kidney beans so I decided to see what would happen if I made my own concoction with what I had on hand. And it was good. It might not be traditional chili but it is quick and easy and I bet you probably already have what you need to make it. So simple and great for a quick weeknight dinner.

Chop up an onion and put it an a pound of ground beef into a skillet over medium-high heat. Break up the ground beef as it cooks. Brown the ground beef and cook the onion until translucent, about 5-7 minutes.

While cooking, add the Worchestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Stir so that it gets worked in to the meat. One of the things that I love about this recipe is that you can use the cheapest ground beef you can find because once it’s browned, you just drain off the excess fat and transfer it to a medium saucepan.

Place the saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the kidney beans, diced tomatoes, sliced mushrooms and chili powder. Stir until incorporated and bring to a simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can simmer it for longer if you want the flavors to develop further. It only gets better the longer it cooks!

Serve immediately. Top with shredded cheese and jalapenos if desired. Enjoy!

Weeknight Chili

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Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1/2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 can kidney beans drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 small can sliced mushrooms drained
• 1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
• shredded cheese & jalapenos for topping, if desired

Instructions

• Place the ground beef and the chopped onion into a large skillet over medium, high heat. Brown the ground beef and cook the onion until translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
• While cooking, add the Worchestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
• Once browned, drain off the excess fat and transfer the ground beef mixture to a medium saucepan.
• Place the saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the kidney beans, diced tomatoes, sliced mushrooms and chili powder. Stir until incorporated and bring to a simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can simmer it for longer if you want the flavors to develop further.
• Serve immediately. Top with shredded cheese and jalapenos if desired. Enjoy!

* The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.

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