Do you ever have those days where you plan to make a specific dish only to come home and find you don’t quite have the ingredients you need? And its 5 pm, right in the middle of traffic time, and you loathe the thought of venturing back to the grocery store? That’s exactly what happened to me last week when I came up with this varied version of venison chili using what I had on hand. I won’t tell you what I was planning on making (i.e. expect another recipe coming soon), but I have to admit, I still ended up with something quite delicious. We all have our favorite chili recipes that include your basic kidney beans, chunks of green or red pepper, and at least one packet of chili seasoning, but with some subtle changes, I was able to redo chili in my own way. If I remember correctly, one taster even said it was “ballin.'” (Thank you, roommate!)

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb ground venison burger meat
6-8 mini sweet peppers, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt and pepper
2 tbsp of rendered fat
1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 16 oz can of diced tomato
1 8 oz can of black eyed peas
1 packet of Knorr vegetable mix
1 bullion cube
1.5 cups of water
1/2 of your favorite beer (about 6 oz)
1 tbsp of Italian seasoning
Sour cream and shredded cheese (to taste; optional)

STEPS:

1. Brown the venison in 1 tbsp of olive oil, and season it with the salt and pepper. Depending on how your processor grinds the meat with fat, there may be quite a bit of fat needing to be drained (see photo). Don’t throw it all away- that’s great seasoning for cooking your veggies! Before you drain the meat, spoon out about 2 tbsp of the fat and set it aside.

Aren’t the mini peppers the cutest?

2. This is where I switched to my dutch oven. It was a Christmas gift from my sweet mom a few years ago, and I absolutely love it. Browning the meat in a skillet first is just easier, in my opinion, since you have to take the meat out of the pot anyways to cook your vegetables. ANYWHO. Pour the reserved rendered fat from the meat into the pot, and cook the peppers, onion, and garlic in it until they soften.

3. Add the diced tomatoes, water, black eyed peas, and the drained meat, then bring the mixture to a boil. Next, add the packet of vegetable mix and throw in the bullion cube, reducing the heat to a simmer for about an hour. It may look watery, but it will cook down a fair amount in that time. Stir every 15 minutes or so just to make sure the flavor isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pot!

4. While I was waiting for the chili to get its groove on in the pot, I whipped up some garlic toast using loaf bakery bread, olive oil, and 2 cloves of garlic. Drizzle the bread with olive oil and let it toast under the broiler on both sides. Then, cut the end off of a garlic clove and rub it all over the warm toast. Mmm mmm mmm. Simple as that.

5. Grab a bowl and a big ol’ spoon, and scoop yourself as much of that chili as you can handle. Drop a piece of garlic toast on the side to start soaking up all the amazing flavors, too.

Or, top it with a dollop of sour cream and your favorite shredded cheese!

ENJOY!