"Fly By The Seat of Your Pants" Chili - a Chili Recipe for a Chilly Evening

This morning I walked out of my apartment and into some bits of hail spitting down on my purple leaf patterned umbrella. From the response on Facebook I learned that there had been snow in Manhattan and snow on and off all day in Albany. With this harbinger in mind and a post from Bethenny about tailgating tips I got hungry for some warm, seasoned comfort food: chili! I had a busy day at work which didn't leave much time for poking around to find a quick recipe that wouldn't yield too much food for one. After some pondering and chatting with my friend Ann about her chili cooking tips I headed to the store with an idea of what I would do to satisfy my craving. 

Salsa is one of the ingredients I think has great unrealized potential. Walking about the very poorly laid out Food Emporium with a can of crushed tomatoes in my hand I meandered back to the Mexican food section to switch it out for a jar of Frontera (read: Chef Rick Bayless) Jalepeño Cilantro salsa. Some Stew Leonard's sliders were in my freezer, tomato paste in the pantry, onions I always have on hand, and the spices were all set too; just needed some cheese, black beans, the salsa, and some flour tortillas. 

The chili came together quickly and with ease- the pay off was hot, spicy, thick, cheesy and just what I was thinking.

"Fly By The Seat of Your Pants" Chili

2 small onions (or 1 medium), diced

Some Olive Oil (or whatever cooking oil you like)

12 oz. or ground beef, turkey, or chicken

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. Adobo seasoning

1/8 tsp. cumin

Pinch cinnamon

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1 jar Frontera Jalepeño Cilantro salsa (or whatever kind you like)

1 can drained black beans

Shredded cheese, to top

Flour tortillas or Tortilla chips

Serves 2 

Heat medium saucepan, heat oil, add onions. Cook until slightly softened. 

Add ground meat and break it up, mixing into onions. 

Sprinkle seasoning onto meat, stir. 

Add tomato paste. Stir and cook for about a minute, the meat will be coated red. 

Add the whole jar of salsa. Bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer and cover pot. Stir occasionally. 

Cook until chili had reduced and started to thicken then add the black beans, stir, bring to boil then reduce and cover again until thickened again (this does not take long).

Serve in bowls topped with shredded cheese and tortillas. 

(Or make a small quesadilla to serve with)

Hope this warmed up your evening! If you make the chili using this recipe please let me know how yours comes out! Enjoy.