Yippee Cayenne Tex Mex Chili

Howdy, y'all!!


For lunch we grilled bison burgers and put onions on it, and made a green salad, and a gorgeous fruit salad for dessert ; pomelo ( our new citrus friend, which tastes like a cross between oranges and grapefruit), oranges, dragonfruit, cactus pear, apple and a bit of banana...very refreshing after the savoury flavours of our bison and salad..
Today's recipe:

Yippee Cayenne Tex Mex Chili!!

1 can black beans ( low or no sodium, rinsed and drained )
1 can kidney beans ( low or no sodium, rinsed and drained )
1 19oz can of corn, drained
2 med. white onions, coarsely chopped
3 cans diced plum tomatoes
1 1/2 lbs top sirloin, cubed small
3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp dried chili flakes
pepper
1c. water
1 tsp. sea salt

( toast all the dry spices in a dry frying pan, until you can smell the aroma of the spice mixture and it's colour changes to a little darker...the flavours will be more complementary to the chili if you toaast them like this...don't let them burn, if you see any smoke at all get them off of there, and keep them moving as much as you're able while you do this... )
Add the spices to the cup of cold water and mix them before you add to the chili ingredients!!

In a little oil in a heavy saute pan, saute the onion chunks until they start to brown and go clear...add the beef and sear it, don't cook it all the way through...put the onion and beef in a crock pot and add your other ingredients...

Let it all perk away for a couple of hours at least before serving...the meat should be cooked through IN the crock pot, and the smell of awesome chili will fill your house...my 13 year old son came in and said "What smells good?" I showed him the contents of the crock pot and he said "I'll be eating a LOT of that...."

We're serving it with a little grated cheese on top ( not a thick greasy coating, just a sprinkle ) and I also made Super Simple Corn Muffins from Tosca Reno's Clean Eating Cookbook, page 280.  They're yummy and crunchy and a wonderful companion to the chili....I hope you enjoy it...

K, pardners, ah'm off tuh git mah vittles dished out tuh ma cowpoke...yeeeeeee haaaaah!!!

Bo Nuong Xa and Biceps!

Tonight? Bo Nuong Xa...Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef grilled on bamboo skewers and served on a little basmati and some romaine lettuce...Whoo!!!

I took the dogs to the dog park for a looooong walk, it's gorgeous there with all the fresh snow and the trees, there are long paths through the woods and everyone was all bundled up and loving the fresh air and sunshine, it was really nice...and Toby, the 6 month old puppy, never stopped running once, and is now asleep...very nice day..I didn't take Foxy along as she's only 8 pounds and would have been a pup-sicle a third of the way in...

Below is the recipe for our dinner, which I won't give a silly name since it already has a name I can't pronounce! The marinade smells soooooo good...and our new produce for this week, lemongrass!! What an amazing aroma from what looks like a giant piece of grass...yum!  And our fruit choice for something new, Pomelo...a massive ( the biggest, actually... ) citrus fruit going...we havent cut into it yet, we'll have it tonight probably...

So here is the recipe!

Bo Nuong Xa

2 teaspoons white sugar (or agave syrup or Splenda )
2 tablespoons soy sauce (we use the reduced sodium one )
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks lemon grass, minced
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 1/2 pounds sirloin tip, thinly sliced
skewers (dont' forget to soak them first! 30 minutes or so! )
12 leaves romaine lettuce
fresh cilantro for garnish
fresh basil for garnish
fresh mint for garnish
thinly sliced green onion for garnish

In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, soy sauce, pepper, garlic, lemon grass, and sesame seeds. Place the meat in the dish, and stir to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Preheat grill for high heat. Discard marinade, and thread meat onto skewers accordion style.

Brush grill grate with oil or spray it with cooking spray BEFORE you heat it up. Arrange skewers on the grill. Cook 5 minutes per side. Serve hot from skewers, or remove from skewers and serve on lettuce leaves. Garnish with cilantro, mint, basil, and sliced green onions.
You can also serve it over a little basmati or brown rice, which I like. 

There you have it!! Enjoy immensely...in the crock pot right now is a tex mex style chili which I will post the recipe for tomorrow, I want to make sure my spice proportions are right before I post and I won't know til it perks for a bit...it'll be called "Yippee Cayenne Tex Mex Chili"

Have a good night!!