Last night we made our first big batch of chili of the season. My dad brought me some deer meat, and my mom sent me her famous chili recipe. From there, I went out on a limb and modified a few things in our family recipe (sorry Mom, but we were out of beer!). I guess the chili was pretty good considering Sam had THREE bowls. Hope y'all enjoy!
Deer Chili
3lbs ground venison
2 sweet onions, chopped
2 green bell peppers
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 Jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
4 tablespoons of chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
32 oz. canned diced tomatoes
32 oz. stock (chicken or vegetable)
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
24 oz. canned kidney beans
add salt and ground black pepper to taste
Heat your large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray and add the venison; cooking 5 minutes or so until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. Cover to keep warm, and set aside.
Reduce your heat to medium. Add onions, bell peppers, garlic, and jalapeno to pan. Cook about 10 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in chili powder, cumin, red pepper, salt and ground black pepper. Add venison, diced tomatoes, stock, and tomato paste stirring well until combined. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat, simmering for 30-45 minutes. Then add the beans, and allow the chili to cook uncovered for 15 more minutes.
Apple Tart
For dessert, you can make this SUPER SIMPLE apple tart via The Pioneer Woman. It's probably the easiest dessert I have ever made, and only has four ingredients: 1 Puffed Pastry, 4 Apples, 1 cup Brown Sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon Salt.
Preheat oven for 415 degrees.
Set out puff pastry to thaw on a non-stick baking pan, sprayed with cooking oil. While it is thawing you can core your (unpeeled) apples, half them, and then slice each half as thinly as possible. Add your salt and sugar to the apples, stirring to combine. Allow the apple mixture to sit for a few minutes while you cut your pastry sheet in half. The arrange the apples along your pastry rectangles in a straight line, overlapping. Bake for 20 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden brown.
