This simple chili is easy to make and packed with flavor, the perfect dish to get on your table quickly when you’ve got hungry people to feed, not a whole lot of time, and almost all pantry ingredients!
Chili is an awesome comfort food in that it’s delicious and filling and you can whip it up in absolutely no time. Most of the chilis I make, you can throw into a slow cooker and forget about until it’s time to eat, and the others, it takes you less than 30 minutes to brown some meat, open some cans, whip it all together, and then serve up a hearty meal.
This chili falls in the latter category. You brown some meat, you chop up some peppers, you open a few cans and jars, you whip it all together and let it simmer and let the spice just permeate, and then you serve it up under a blanket of shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla strips, and enjoy!
Sound perfect for a long hard week/month/year/week that feels like a month or year? I thought so.
Because this has been that. March was a long month. April has been a really long month.
It’s illuminated a lot of things for us to be grateful for. I will never again go look at a pantry full of all kinds of things and think, oh, it’s time to go to the store. Because I have a box of this and cans of that already and nothing punches you in the face with your privilege like realizing not only do I not have to risk going to the store, but I don’t have to worry about making money to go to the store.
It’s revealed a lot of things we should be paying more attention to. Opportunities to help and support our community. Ways to take care of the people who have lost jobs and businesses, to continue donating resources and consuming less and definitely working harder to create less waste. Time to teach my son to live charitably.
Are we hoping everything goes back to normal? Yes…and no. I really hope what we’ve learned from these months changes a lot about how we live. More remote work opportunities and less commuting, less wasted time, less sitting in a car or bus. More appreciation and compensation for people working in jobs we suddenly realized were essential. More hand washing. But yeah, I hope we have a world safe from this nasty bug to live all those lessons out in.
This recipe mixes pantry staples with a couple fresh ingredients for a just hearty enough for spring dish packed with flavor and good nutrients. I hope you enjoy!
[lt_recipe name=”Black Bean Taco Chili” summary=”This simple chili is easy to make and packed with flavor, the perfect dish to get on your table quickly when you’ve got hungry people to feed, not a whole lot of time, and almost all pantry ingredients!” servings=”4″ total_time=”30M” print=”yes” image=”https://homefrontcooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Black-Bean-Taco-Chili-0510-2-1024×683.jpg” ingredients=”1 lb ground beef;1 red pepper, diced;1/2 jar salsa; 1 cup beef broth;1-2 tbsp taco seasoning;1 can black beans;1 can roasted corn;1 cup shredded cheddar cheese;sour cream;tortilla strips;fresh parsley” ]Slice, seed, and dice the red pepper.;In a skillet, cook the beef and the diced red pepper over medium heat 5-7 minutes, or until the beef is browned.;Stir in the taco seasoning until the beef is nicely coated.;Lower the heat to low, and add the beef broth, half jar of salsa, and the black beans. Cook another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the mixture from sticking to the sides of the skillet.;Mix in the corn and let cook 1-2 minutes, or just enough time to warm up the corn.;Serve the chili in bowls topped with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, and fresh parsley, or the toppings/garnish of your choice. Enjoy![/lt_recipe]
Depending on your salsa and beans, this mixture can get dry. For a stickier chili, add 1 additional cup of beef broth.
If you don’t already have taco seasoning in your pantry, I have a quick recipe for that as well that you can whip up with ingredients you probably have on hand already:
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Combine all the ingredients in a small jar {you can double or triple it and shake it up in a salsa jar, too}. We make a lot of tacos around here, so I usually triple this up in a salsa jar!
Hope you’re all having a great week so far!
