Though I am saddened that this is my last ‘official’ week of bringing you the wonderful recipes provided to my by the Texas Beef Council, I am super excited to bring you on of my families favorite meals of all times! PLUS, I get to share how fabulous this is to make for those ‘hard to please everyone’ Holiday Company is Coming meals!

Let’s face it, we have enough to do over the holiday season.  Shop, wrap, reshop, rewrap if the dog got to it, shop some more.  Who has time to throw together a complicated, hard to eat meal that will just end up as leftovers for your fridge to be crammed with?  I like easy, as you know!  And there is one meal that is always easy, everyone loves and everyone wants for leftovers!

CHILI!

But not any ole’ regular chili, this is Cowboy Beef and Black Bean Chili and it is spoon lickin’, bowl cleaning, may I please have some more good!

And, almost more importantly, so incredibly easy to make and serve.  For your holiday company meal,  just set up a Chili bar with cheese, onions, sour cream and crackers and let everyone make their own festive bowl!

And if I can do it… YOU can do it!  All I did was buy some lean beef – because this is healthy chili too, y’all, add some veggies and black beans, plus some spices – but all stuff you can pronounce so that is a plus – and let it simmer!

Here is the recipe!

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Cowboy Beef and Black Bean Chili

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. lean ground beef (95% lean)
  • 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1-1/2 cups chopped onion
  • 2 Tbsp. minced garlic
  • 2 medium yellow bell peppers, chopped
  • 1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup chili powder
  • 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed
  • 1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
  • 1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) chili-seasoned or zesty-style diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 can (14 to 14-1/2 oz.) ready-to-serve beef broth
  • 12 oz. dark beer
  • 1/3 cup tomato paste
  • 1 Tbsp. honey
  • 2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, rinsed, drained
  • chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Instructions

Brown ground beef in stockpot over medium heat 8 to10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking up into 3/4-inch crumbles. Remove from stockpot with slotted spoon. Set aside. Pour off drippings.

Heat oil in same stockpot over medium heat until hot. Add onions and garlic; cook and stir 3 to 5 minutes or until onions are tender. Add bell peppers and jalapeño; cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until peppers are tender.

Return beef crumbles to stockpot. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, thyme and red pepper; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, broth, beer, tomato paste and honey; bring to a boilReduce heat; cover and simmer45 minutes. Uncover stockpot; continue simmering 30 minutes or until thickened to desired consistency, stirring occasionally. Stir in beans; cook 5 to 10 minutes or until beans are heated through. Season with salt and black pepper, as desired. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Nutrition information per serving: 364 calories; 10 g fat (3 g saturated fat; 4 g monounsaturated fat); 76 mg cholesterol; 1131 mg sodium; 39 g carbohydrate; 10.6 g fiber; 34 g protein; 8.1 mg niacin; 0.8 mg vitamin B6; 2.2 mcg vitamin B12; 7.3 mgiron; 19.3 mcg selenium; 6.5 mg zinc.

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My Tips:  I used 94%/6% Lean Beef.  As long as you get as lean as you can find, you should still be healthier than most chili’s! I used Minced Garlic from a jar and it was fine!  Remember, I like easy stuff!  I seeded the Jalapeno a little fearful for the heat!  I did not need to worry and could have left the seeds in and not needed a gallon of Iced Tea to follow!  Since it was Texas Chili, I used Shiner Bock beer.  It reduced down and I got that rich, warming flavor all the way through!

See my whole process below:

This recipe is fun to make.  It has lots of easy ingredients, makes you feel like a 5 star chef with the easy chopping and can not be messed up!  At least, I really tried and it came out great!  I served mine this week to try it out with a healthy dose of low-fat cheese and reduced sugar cornbread and everyone was happy!

The next day – when the flavors really started to combine, I heated up a small bowl over spaghetti noodles and oh my goodness, that was GOOD!  You can variate with rice too – even brown rice!

There are so many options that make this the perfect ‘Company is Coming What am I Going to Make?” meal!  Just cook up a pot ahead of time and heat it up right before you eat!  So good, so flavorful, so easy!

A Side Note:  It has been a real honor for me to bring you this series of fabulous recipes along with my 9 other Texas Beef Blogger’s.  Please take a moment to check out all of their blogs and what else they have to say!  I extend great gratitude to the Texas Beef Council for letting me learn how to prepare healthier meals with beef and getting to share them with you!

The Texas Beef Bloggers

Mommy Upgrade * Screwed Up Texan * Meal Planning Magic * Crystal and Comp * My Baking Heart * June Cleaver Nirvana * The Nerd’s Wife * Mom’s Toolbox

**I am a compensated blogger for a four week campaign with the Texas Beef Council.  All opinions, writings and photos are mine.  Recipes have been provided by the Texas Beef Council.**