Surprise Chili

Because I hadn't had meat in a few days, I was craving it. So I searched for a SBD-friendly chili recipe. I have made chili before on this diet - and several times not on the diet because it's easy, filling and delicious. And it's a good way to pack a lot of protein into a meal. I was inspired by this recipe but as I went forward with the soup, I omitted and added according to what I had on hand. I thank Marisa at Slashfood for the inspiration!

This is how my recipe went down:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Roma tomato, chopped

1lb ground beef (90/10 - or less fat if you can), browned and drained

1 14-oz can black beans, rinsed (I used the Giant brand Nature's Promise)

1 14-oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed (I used the Giant brand Nature's Promise)

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes (I used Hunt's Fire Roasted with Garlic)

1 14-oz can tomato sauce (I used the Giant brand Nature's Promise)

1 tablespoon (approx.) chili powder

1 teaspoon (approx.) cumin

Salt & Pepper

4 or 5 dashes hot sauce (I hope this didn't have sugar!)

1 large leaf (I should have added more) green chard, sliced in 1-in ribbons

Make sure all ingredients are free of added sugar.

In a 3 quart saucepan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the onions and a minute later, the garlic. Saute until soft but not brown. Add all ingredients, in the order listed, except the chard. Let it all simmer for about an hour. Next add the stalkier parts of the chard to get it cooking - about 10 minutes. Then add the remainder of the chard and let it cook on low for 20 minutes - keep checking to make sure chard doesn't get over cooked and lose it's greenness.

Greg ate his with tortilla chips as I jealously watched. Fat free cheddar would have been good on top too.

Oh and I call this a surprise because of the chic peas, chard and dashes of hot sauce which gave it an extra kick! They were great additions and the chard gives you some green veggies in the meal.