chilli weather- part 1.

so big day for this gal. i am starting a series! i've never really done a series before, and i didn't set out to start one.. it just kind of happened. it started when i got this issue of bhg

if you don't have it, you should get it. it's a good one. it's the october 2011 issue.

there is an entire section of different kinds of chili and i thought to myself, "i wonder if anybody will make all these... i would like to but i know me and cooking... i would only be able to stick to it if i had to." then the thought hit me. i should do a series about chili on my blog. and i'll call it chilli weather because it's a play on "chili" and "chilly". i am oh so clever. : ) stop laughing. 

so here is the start of my series. it's finally getting cooler down here in georgia, so i think it's time to start cooking chili. there are 8 different kinds of chili in this issue, so i figured over the course of this fall/early winter i would choose one each time i go grocery shopping. i go about every 2 to 3 weeks, so i guess you can expect another "chilli weather" entry every couple weeks. or maybe less than that.. i don't know. maybe i'll pick 2 next time i go shopping. hey i am allowed to be unorganized about this. it's only the first entry. you're totally allowed to be unorganized for at least the first few types of chili... or 8... whatever.

this is what the section looks like. i'm so excited! don't these all look so good??

so i started at the best place to start. the beginning. (sound of music reference. bonus.) the first chili is a basic beef and bean chili. there are a few things that made it a little different than your basic ol' run-of-the-mill chili, but i was familiar with all the ingredients at least... which means it is basic my friends : )

looks so good right?

so i didn't want to share the recipe here because well, i wasn't sure if that was legal or not. i mean, it's not mine to share. plus, even if it is legal, it's not really fair to bhg. if you don't have the magazine you can find it here on bhg's website. i had to log in to see it... but it's worth it. trust me. and it's not like i get zillions of e-mails from bhg for having a membership on their webiste. i hardly get any. so have no fear.

anyway. so here are my ingredients

i think i forgot to put my jalapeno in this picture.. but i had one of those too. and of course ground beef, but i get really weird about beef being out and i don't know... i didn't want it out with my produce and stuff. whatever. you don't care.

the thing that really stood out to me about this chili was the addition of semi sweet chocolate. umm, hello. anything with chocolate deserves a chance. come on.

i followed the recipe almost exactly except for a couple little things; it called for 2 to 4 jalapenos.. uh. what am i? i do have a tongue that i'd like to keep, thanks. i can't handle that much, so i cut it down to 1. it was one extra spicy one if that counts, and the magazine says they vary in spice and to adjust according to taste. so technically i was still following the recipe. also it called for 2 large onions. while chopping 1 we had this much

which seemed like a lot to me.. surely enough. and it was. and if you look closely you can see my jalapeno in this picture! told you it existed.

also, almost always when a recipe calls for minced cloves of garlic, i used the pre-minced stuff. all the time. i'm sorry. i am not spending my time peeling and mincing those tiny little cloves. i like to keep my fingers. and also i have other things to do.

the only other difference was that i am not sure how much chocolate i used. it calls for 1 oz. i just used some mini chocolate chips. it was probably between 1-2 oz. i can't really say, i didn't have a way to measure. so this may or may not be different than the recipe. i have no way of knowing haha.

so when it was all done it looked a lot like the picture!

yummy.

so i made poor phil tell me what he thought so i could take notes. of course i share my opinion too. overall we really liked this chili. as far as chili goes, on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best chili we've ever had) i gave it a generous 7. phil gave it a 5.5. phil really liked it a lot, but he didn't like the sweetness of the chocolate as much as i did. i think he likes a spicier and more savory chili. i liked the sweetness. it was different than other chili i've had. so here is a run-down of the things we liked:

-the taste of the cilantro was a different and refreshing element

-very thick texture

-the added texture and saltiness of the corn chips

-super easy to make

-fast to cook; doesn't need a slow cooker

-very hearty and filling

-typical chili; what i think of when i think of chili, but with a twist

-thickness provided by melted chocolate

-makes a LOT of chili

on a spicy scale out of 10, i gave it a 5. phil gave it a 3. clearly he likes spicy things because i'll tell you, i needed an entire glass of water while eating this.

on a sweetness scale i gave it a 4 and phil gave it a 5. like i said, he really liked the chili but i don't think the sweetness of it was his favorite element. but we would definitely eat this chili again.

the next chili on the list is called "two tomato stew chili" and it sounds fabulous. i'm excited for this one. i'll be honest though, finding this last chili to be so spicy with just 1 jalapeno in it makes me nervous for some of the others. some sound just downright on. fire. forget milk. i'll be eating those babies with a gallon of ice cream..... hmm... actually.. that a good excuse to eat ice cream : ).

thanks for joining me in my "chilli weather" series! i hope you will make these along with me too and tell me what you think!