Sweet and Spicy Fall Chili

Here is a list of things I love about the Fall season:

Pumpkin-everything, scarves,  sunflowers, colourful strolls, rosemary spice, ruining a perfect pile of leaves, combat boots, movies under covers, new books on cold nights, family dinners …. comfort food ….

This last point has been posing a bit of a problem.

I say this just days after I dragged my best bud through the streets of Ottawa, on a particularly chilly eve, on pursuit of the perfect bowl of French Onion Soup.

He grumbled, I tided him over with a beer and the proclamation that this would be my last cheat meal before starting a few weeks of eating healthy.

But, carb-heavy, rich and flavourful, those “just-like-mom-used-to-make recipes”, that seem to be synonymous with colder weather, don’t often do much for your waistline.

In an attempt to satisfy both my desire for a hardy meal and Kate & I’s (we live together, for all you non-regular readers) resolution to eat better, I cooked up a yummy Fall chili that made enough leftovers for the rest of the week.

Combining three different recipes – this one from our friend The Domestic Blonde, this paleo recipe and my mom’s own tried tested and true version – I came up with my own spicy concoction that left my test audience reaching for seconds.

Cheers to cooler weather, warm snuggles and heaping helpings.

Ingredients 

1 kg lean ground beef
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 stalks of celery, minced 1 jalepeno pepper, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can (796 ml) crushed tomatoes
1 can (796 ml)  diced tomatoes
1 small can pizza sauce
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
black pepper to taste
water, as needed

Instructions: 

Saute the onions, celery, garlic and jalapeno, using a little bit of olive oil, until tender.
Meanwhile, brown the beef in a frying pan.
Add crushed tomatoes, pizza sauce, chili powder, cumin and garlic salt to onion mixture.
Once the meat has been cooked, and strained add it to the pot also.
Stir all ingredients and then add diced tomatoes.
Reduce heat and let simmer, the longer the better.

This version was really spicy because I left all the seeds of the jalapeno in it, but you could easily do without for a more mild version.
I served it hot with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and a little crumbled light cheddar cheese.

If I had to say there was one component of this recipe that made it extra special, it was the garam masala. It’s an indian seasoning that blends coriander, cumin, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon. It gave the chili a warm, spicy sweetness. As not everyone has this spice in their pantry, I would substitute a couple pinches of cinnamon to do the trick.

Many of the recipes I looked for called for using pasta sauce. I had pizza sauce on hand, so I decided to use that instead. Worked just as good in my books!

Note: You could also make this recipe in a slow cooker and let simmer on low all day.