Yummy Chili

I love soup and chili is a sort-of soup. Plus, it's comfort food in the winter. I usually love my chili topped with cheese and more onions. But dairy is out for now so I topped this chili with avocado slices.

And of course, chili gets better the next day, so I'd say make a double batch and have plenty of leftovers. I'm going to a potluck next week and I'm going to be bringing this chili. That way I know there is something Whole30 approved, clean, and filling.

I found this recipe for chili from Melissa Joulwan and modified it slightly.

Food for Thought:

• Since this recipe has you simmer for at least 2 hours, make sure to start in time. I didn't start prepping until 5pm thinking we'd eat at 6pm. Wrong!
• The hint of chocolate adds a bit of interest, but I could have added even more chocolate.
• One pot cooking is great! Easy for clean-up.  And only a small bowl to mix the dry ingredients together.
• Could be great in a crock pot. Make everything on the stove first, and then transfer to crock pot to finish cooking and simmering.  That's how I'm going to do it for my upcoming potluck.

Would I make this again?  Definitely YES. This was a winner

Ingredients - Serves  3 - 4:
2 tablespoon Olive Oil or Coconut Oil
1 onion, diced  (I used 1/2 sweet onion and 1/2 red onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound of ground beef
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Ancho chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 can (14.5 ounces) beef broth
1 cup water

Instructions:
Add oil to a large deep pot and saute onions until translucent. If you use coconut oil, you can turn the heat up a bit higher. It took me about 5 minutes until the onions were translucent. Then add the minced garlic and saute the onions and garlic for another minute.

Add in the ground beef and crumble it either with a wooden spatula in the pot or just with your hand before placing it into the pot.  Brown it until it is no longer pink.

While it is browning, in a small bowl combine the dry ingredients: oregano leaves, chili powder, ancho chili powder, ground cumin, salt, and unsweetened cocoa. Mix these together with a fork and then pour into the pot.  Mix the dry ingredients with the ground beef mixture until it is thoroughly mixed.

Add the tomato paste, the diced tomatoes plus the juice, the beef broth, and the water.  Mix it well into the ground beef mixture.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let this simmer for at least two hours.

When ready to serve, top with onions, avocado, or even cabbage.  Here it is with a side of crispy brussels sprouts.

Grilled (sort of) Salmon with Avocado-Lime Salsa

For Day 1 on the Whole30 Eating program I had scrambled eggs with kale and tomatoes for breakfast, I actually only had an apple for lunch, and for dinner, I made grilled salmon. I was going to bake it in the oven, but I took out my George Foreman grill and used that.

As a side dish to the salmon, I sauteed yellow squash with some onions in olive oil.  No too many photos for this one.

Ingredients (serves 2 - 4)
2 pounds of salmon, cut into 4 pieces (I had just over a pound of salmon with the skin on)
1 TBS Olive Oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp Ancho Chili powder

And for the avocado salsa
1 avocado (diced)
1/2 red onion (diced)
juice from two limes
chopped cilantro
salt to taste

Food for Thought

• You could probably season the salmon and make the avocado salsa the night before.
• For the avocado salsa, I'd probably double or triple the batch and use the next day on top of some scrambled eggs or even put in a salad.
• This is the first time I've use the George Foreman grill to cook anything but burgers and it was easy with little clean up. My Foreman grill is a small one and had to cook only one salmon piece at a time.
• Since my salmon had the skin on, I grilled the seasoned-side face down so I could remove the skin after about 2 minutes and continue grilling.
• Not too much clean-up. The grill was easy to clean and the avocado salsa was all mixed together in one bowl.

Would I make this again? Yes!   The salmon was flavorful with those spices; however the lime flavoring overpowered the seasonings on the salmon (I thought).

Instructions

Mix the spices together in a small bowl.  Spread some olive oil on the salmon and then spread (or pat) the spices on the salmon. Let this sit on the counter or in the refrigerator for about 15 - 30 minutes (now is a good time to start sauteeing other vegetables for you side dish.)

When ready to grill (you could also put this in the oven or the barbecue), I had to get a sharp knife and cut through the skin. Place each piece on the grill and cook until desired amount of done-ness.  I think I only cooked mine for about 3-4 minutes.  

As I mentioned earlier, since my salmon had the skin on, after about 2 minutes, I lifted the lid and peeled the skin off. Then continued to grill for about another 45 seconds or one minute.

For the avocado salsa:

Combine the diced onion, lime juice, and diced avocado in a bowl. Mix in some finely chopped cilantro to taste. Add salt to taste.  Stir it all together and refrigerate until ready to use.