Cincinnati Style Chili

There are several differences between my typical chili and Cincinnati style chili.  First of all you cook the ground beef in liquid rather than browning it up before adding liquid.  This makes the chili a finer texture rather than chunky.  Because you don't get the chance to drain the meat, you need to use a lean ground beef, or use ground turkey, so that you don't have a chili that's too greasy.  Also some of the spices are a little unusual too....cinnamon and cocoa powder.  Don't let this scare you away!  The difference that it adds to the taste is pretty subtle and you could always cut it back some.  Cincinnati chili is typical served on spaghetti and topped with a mound of shredded cheddar cheese.  The cheese really makes it yummy in my opinion!

The chili by itself would be considered one-way, on pasta is two-way, on pasta topped with cheese is three-way, with beans or onions is four-way, and with beans & onions is five-way.  So you could set up a chili bar so that everyone could have their chili the "way" they want it!  This would also be awesome on a chili dog!

Cincinnati Style Chili

1lb ground lean beef or turkey
1c onions, small dice
2T chili powder
1T cocoa powder
1t cinnamon
1/2 ground cumin
8oz canned tomato sauce
1c beef broth
1/2 T apple cider vinegar
16oz thin spaghetti, cooked according to package directions

toppings:
shredded cheddar cheese
diced onions
canned kidney beans, rinsed and reheated in water
oyster crackers

In a medium saucepan, add broth and meat.  Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until meat is no longer pink.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer on med-low for about 10 mins to blend flavors.  Serve chili over pasta with toppings.

Middle Eastern Rice with Black Beans & Chickpeas

My friend Kristi found this recipe on the All Recipes site.  It is great website to search for recipes.  This is a nice one-pot dish.  It calls for several spices that may seem intimidating but once you try them you'll probably go looking for more recipes to use them in!  You can find All Recipes' original recipe here.  I cut the recipe in half and adjusted some of the ingredients.  I also thought it was even better the next day.

I have another little tip for you too.  I don't frequently buy fresh parsley because once I use it for a recipe the rest goes bad before I can use it again.  Solution: I found these tubes in the organic section of the produce area that have 3 bunches of chopped parsley in one tube.  You just squeeze out the amount you need and put the rest in the fridge.  It worked great and doesn't cost much more than the fresh parsley especially considering that you don't have to do the chopping and there is no waste!  They also had other herbs, ginger, and chili peppers.  A real find!

Middle Eastern Rice with Black Beans and Chickpeas

1lb ground turkey, browned

1T olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1c instant brown rice

1t ground cumin

1t ground coriander

1/2 t ground turmeric
1/4t ground cayenne pepper
1c chicken broth
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1T chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over med heat.  Stir in garlic and cook 1 min.  Stir in rice and spices and cook for 5 mins.  Add broth, bring to a boil and cook for 10 mins.  Add cooked turkey, beans, and parsley to rice.  Cook for 5 more mins and add salt & pepper to taste.