SOUTHWESTERN CHILI

Last year I bought a quarter side of bison.  I had various cuts packaged from ground meat to roasts to  steak.  All that was left after a year in the freezer was a package of bison sirloin steak.   I decided to make a chili using the steak.  I mostly use ground meat to make chili but for this occasion I decided to chop the bison into small bite size pieces and used it to make southwestern chili.  One different ingredient used in this recipe is dark cocoa.  I have used cocoa before to make chili but you don't see it in many recipes.  After making this recipe, I think I prefer using ground meat to make chili.  Having small pieces of meat in chili seems to close to being a stew.

A variety of vegetables added to the pot.

The finished product.

SOUTHWESTERN CHILI

INGREDIENTS

1 large onion, chopped

1 green or red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 stalks celery, chopped

8 mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 tsp chili powder, or to taste

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef or bison

5 to 6 whole fresh tomatoes or a medium size tin of tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cups beef broth

1 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tsp unsweetened cocoa

1 (19-oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained or 2 cups cooked kidney beans

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot, saute the onions, peppers and garlic in the oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin and oregano and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, broth, the vinegar and chocolate and bring the mixture to a boil, crushing the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Simmer the chili, covered, for 1 hour, adding additional broth, if necessary. Add the kidney beans and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes more. Ladle into bowls and serve with rice and desired toppings.  Serves 4 to 6.  Adapted from the Foodnetwork.com