Hack Chili

I've been completely unmotivated lately. The dishes are piling up, I haven't posted since the weekend, and this morning I barely eeked out 2 sixteen-minute miles. But since I subjected you all to the pity party on Sunday, there's no reason to reiterate my woes. Let's just say a few callous coworkers and the dreary, dreadful cold have done nothing to lift my mood.

Though I can't do anything about the coworkers, I could hack at the cold. As in, Hack Chili. Last night I wanted something to warm us up, and had promised Sweetie I'd try to recreate (and improve on) his father's chili sometime. However, chili takes a long time to stew. I was hungry. So we cut some corners.

-half a sweet onion, sliced
-half a pound of extra lean ground beef
-1 can red kidney beans, drained
-half a can chopped tomatos (would be a full, but Sweetie hates anything squishy and acidic)
-chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, and black pepper
-fat free chicken broth

I sauted the onion, then browned the beef in the same pan. Poured in the beans and tomatos and went to town with the spices, and doused the whole thing in chicken broth to simmer down.


Chili in the Midwest is served over spaghetti. I think that's weird. Sweetie thinks I'm weird for eating it plain. Last night I obliged him.


I've had a habit of putting things over noodles lately; have you noticed?

Free from the shackles of his Hoosier expectations, I ate the leftovers straight-up for lunch today. Half of a sweet potato, microwaved for 5 minutes in a sandwich baggie, supplied my complex carbs.


I think it was much better without the noodles. For one thing, it was easier to eat. For another, I have a bad habit of wolfing spaghetti down. I usually make a conscious effort to eat slowly so I don't irritate my digestive organs, but if it has pasta in it, I say heart-burn shmart-burn. I ate it at a decent enough pace to taste it this time. Plus, it's prettier.


Now, I think the chili might ahve worked over the spaghetti if it wasn't Hack Chili, but honest-to-goodness stew. Though the picture of the pan shows a lot of liquid in there, it either evaporated or was absorbed into the meat/beans by the time it made it to the bowls. Maybe next week, when I'm unemployed playing housewife, I'll give it another shot in the slow cooker.