As I get older and take on new roles I learn what will break me and what will not. Two children who won't nap just might break me at this point. I was planning to make this salmon recipe for dinner, but since everyone was awake ALL DAY LONG I made chili instead. Even though it was from mostly canned ingredients (except the toppings, of course), I thought I'd share since it turned out really good for an afterthought meal.
Here's what I did:
1. Sauteed some red onion until it was translucent and then threw in a peeled, smashed garlic clove and sauteed for a minute more.
2. Added cumin, coriander, oregano, tons of chili powder and a bit of black pepper. (I skipped salt because I was using canned beans and broth.)
3. Stirred it around, and then added a can of organic Fire Roasted diced tomatoes. The "Fire Roasted" part turned out to be key; this chili had a flavor that none of my chilies has ever had...smoky.
4. Added a can of black beans (I would have added more, but we only had one can and I didn't have time to check the freezer for more that I'd cooked myself).
5. Added some beef stock we had in the fridge.
6. This is where it gets a little weird. The soup seemed thin, so I added about half a can of refried beans and then whisked it in. You know what? It was good. Seriously.
7. Walked to the store with the kids because I really thought we were all going a little too crazy at this point. Going there was a mistake, though, because there were about 500 undergrads shopping at the same time. Without being too mean, it made for a bad experience.
8. Walked home and then added the chicken broth I'd just bought (I'm not sure if it's normal to mix beef and chicken broth like this, but it turned out great).
9. Added a couple tablespoons of cornmeal for kicks.
10. And that was that. Then Drew got home and saw an opportunity for more homemade corn chips.
All in all it was a delicious meal that I'd make again if time is an issue. Let's just hope that I'm not making it because certain people are skipping their naps though.
