there are many reasons i wanted to go into business for myself, but one of the biggest reasons was my schedule. i detest living on someone else's schedule. while i'm a hard worker and work most of my waking hours, i want to work on what i want to work on, when i want to work on it. if that happens to be at eleven at night on a tuesday, so be it. it's on me. 

of course there are downsides. there is never anyone to cover for me, there is no "vacation" time and i work most holidays. but i do have control over my days off. so this sunday i scheduled myself off so i could actually ATTEND a party. 

naturally, i'm bringing some food (it is my bestie's house, i can't not contribute). and when she suggested i make chili, i knew exactly where to go searching for the perfect recipe... 

last year when i stopped working and was finalizing all my wedding planning, i went DEEP into chili recipes. i tried at least a dozen recipes and used wes and my mother as test subjects to hone in on the BEST chili. i was looking for a classic, go to chili you count on for events just like the super bowl. 

after flipping through pages of scribble recipe notes covered in oil droplets and sauce stains, i found just what i was looking for. the page with a large note at the bottom. "WES REALLY LIKES THIS ONE." winner, winner. 

super bowl chili
serves: 5-6
prep time: 20 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
inactive time: 2 hours
total time: 3 hours
ingredients: 1 lb ground beef. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 brown onion, diced. 1 bell pepper (your choice of color), diced. 1 jalapeno pepper, all but about 10 seeds removed, and small diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 chipotle pepper, seeds removed and small chopped. 1 tbs fresh chopped oregano. 1 tbs cumin. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 bottle of beer (i used new castle but use what you like to drink). 1 14oz can diced tomatoes. 1 14 oz can kidney beans, rinsed. 1 14 oz can pinto beans, rinsed. 4 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs salt. .25 tbs ground pepper. 1 cup mexican blend cheese. handful of cilantro for garnish. lime wedges for garnish. 

in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot. add in the onion, jalapeno and bell pepper. 

season with one fourth of the salt and pepper and cook until the onions are translucent. about 7-10 minutes. 

press the veggie mixture to the sides of the pot. pat the ground beef dry and season the meat with half the remaining salt and pepper. turn up the heat to medium high. 

add the beef to the center of the pot and allow the meat to sear on one side before flipping it. about 5 minutes. 

allow the other side of the meat to sear before breaking it up with a wooden spoon. 

when you have broken up the meat, add in the garlic, oregano, brown sugar, cumin, chipotle and stir well tog combine. 

continue to cook the mixture, stirring every minute or so until the garlic is fragrant. about 2-3 minutes.

pour in the tomatoes. 

and the beer. 

bring the mixture to a simmer. allow it to cook down for about 5 minutes. 

add in the last of the salt and pepper, chicken stock and beans. 

stir well to combine and bring the chili to a boil. once boiling, reduce the heat till the liquid is gently simmering. simmer on low for 1-2 hours for the liquid to reduce a bit and the flavors to meld. 

serve hot, topped with cheese, lime and a couple of cilantro sprigs. 

xo, a

super bowl chili
serves: 5-6
prep time: 20 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
inactive time: 2 hours
total time: 3 hours
ingredients: 1 lb ground beef. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 brown onion, diced. 1 bell pepper (your choice of color), diced. 1 jalapeno pepper, all but about 10 seeds removed, and small diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 chipotle pepper, seeds removed and small chopped. 1 tbs fresh chopped oregano. 1 tbs cumin. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 bottle of beer (i used new castle but use what you like to drink). 1 14oz can diced tomatoes. 1 14 oz can kidney beans, rinsed. 1 14 oz can pinto beans, rinsed. 4 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs salt. .25 tbs ground pepper. 1 cup mexican blend cheese. handful of cilantro for garnish. lime wedges for garnish.
in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot. add in the onion, jalapeno and bell pepper. season with one fourth of the salt and pepper and cook until the onions are translucent. about 7-10 minutes.
press the veggie mixture to the sides of the pot. pat the ground beef dry and season the meat with half the remaining salt and pepper. turn up the heat to medium high.
add the beef to the center of the pot and allow the meat to sear on one side before flipping it. about 5 minutes. allow the other side of the meat to sear before breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
when you have broken up the meat, add in the garlic, oregano, brown sugar, cumin, chipotle and stir well tog combine.
continue to cook the mixture, stirring every minute or so until the garlic is fragrant. about 2-3 minutes.
pour in the tomatoes.
and the beer.
bring the mixture to a simmer. allow it to cook down for about 5 minutes.
add in the last of the salt and pepper, chicken stock and beans.
stir well to combine and bring the chili to a boil. once boiling, reduce the heat till the liquid is gently simmering. simmer on low for 1-2 hours for the liquid to reduce a bit and the flavors to meld.
serve hot, topped with cheese, lime and a couple of cilantro sprigs. 

the last couple days in socal have been raining and i freaking love it. LOVE IT. the last two days were spent at home, fireplace blazing and lots of action in the kitchen. 

wes had to work all weekend, so i asked him what he wanted for dinner. no surprise, i got the same answer i usually get from my VERY italian husband. bolognese of course. 

since the rain was coming down, there was no way i was leaving the house for additional ingredients so i decided to adjust for what i had in the house. and thank goodness i did. this version is much lighter in fat, but is very full in flavor. perfect for a rainy day, or a just because we want to day. 

turkey bolognese
serves: 6
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
ingredients: 1 lb ground turkey. 2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped. 1 onion, diced. 2 celery stalks, diced. 2 carrots, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped. 2 tbs + 1 tsp basil, finely chopped. 1 tsp dried thyme. 1 c white wine. .25 c tomato paste. 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (if you only have whole, you can crush them yourself). 1.5 c milk. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 lb your favorite pasta. grated parmesan for serving.

start by crisping your bacon pieces in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. about 15 minutes. stir occasionally to break the pieces away from one another and all sides brown. 

when the bacon is crispy and browned, add in the onion, carrots and celery. season with a few pinches of salt and a bit of pepper and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. stir every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 

push all your veggies to the sides of the pot. pat the turkey dry, season with half your remaining salt and pepper and add to the pot. cook until browned, breaking it up and stirring every couple minutes. about 7-10 minutes. as the turkey browns, work your veggies back into the mixture. 

stir in the thyme, oregano, 1 tsp of the basil and the garlic. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1 minute. 

when the garlic is fragrant, pour in the wine. cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 

stir in the tomato paste until everything is lightly coated. season with remaining salt and pepper and pour in the tomatoes. stir well to combine. 

simmer until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced slightly. about 10-15 minutes.

while your tomatoes are simmering, heat a large pot of salted water over high heat until boiling. when your tomatoes have simmered, pour in the milk. stir well to combine and bring the bolognese back up to a simmer. once the sauce simmers, reduce the heat to low just to keep it warm. 

cook your pasta per the instructions. when your pasta is al dente, strain and pour right into your sauce. stir well to coat the noodles.
serve pasta topped with fresh parmesan and basil.

xo, a

turkey bolognese
serves: 6
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
ingredients: 1 lb ground turkey. 2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped. 1 onion, diced. 2 celery stalks, diced. 2 carrots, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped. 2 tbs + 1 tsp basil, finely chopped. 1 tsp dried thyme. 1 c white wine. .25 c tomato paste. 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (if you only have whole, you can crush them yourself). 1.5 c milk. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 lb your favorite pasta. grated parmesan for serving.

tart by crisping your bacon pieces in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. about 15 minutes. stir occasionally to break the pieces away from one another and all sides brown.
when the bacon is crispy and browned, add in the onion, carrots and celery. season with a few pinches of salt and a bit of pepper and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. stir every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 
push all your veggies to the sides of the pot. pat the turkey dry, season with half your remaining salt and pepper and add to the pot. cook until browned, breaking it up and stirring every couple minutes. about 7-10 minutes. as the turkey browns, work your veggies back into the mixture. stir in the thyme, oregano, 1 tsp of the basil and the garlic. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1 minute.

when the garlic is fragrant, pour in the wine. cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes.

stir in the tomato paste until everything is lightly coated. season with remaining salt and pepper and pour in the tomatoes. stir well to combine. simmer until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced slightly. about 10-15 minutes.
while your tomatoes are simmering, heat a large pot of salted water over high heat until boiling.
when your tomatoes have simmered, pour in the milk. stir well to combine and bring the bolognese back up to a simmer. once the sauce simmers, reduce the heat to low just to keep it warm.
cook your pasta per the instructions. when your pasta is al dente, strain and pour right into your sauce. stir well to coat the noodles.
serve pasta topped with fresh parmesan and basil.