There were five other chilies competing against our Team Betty Crocker Chili (see my post from Monday) and so the pressure was on.
Team Betty chose the Pepper and Bean Chili with Salsa Cream (served with rice and fresh salsa) recipe to compete in the contest. Hey Cate C. and LoveMyGarden, thanks for voting for this one—it was our favorite too. We really, really wanted to win the cook-off and so get an edge, we changed the title of our chili to Kick-Butt 3-Bean Chili with Salsa Cream. Can I use that title in a Betty Crocker blog? Oops.
We were competing against some other very tasty and delicious chilies including:
Team #1: Black Bean Chili with Cilantro
Team #2: Black Bean and Chorizo Chili
Team #3: Espinoso Pollo Chili (flavored with cactus pads and beer)
Team #4: Awesome Chili Blanco
Team # 5: Kick-Butt (Ahem..) Vegetarian 3-Bean Chili with Salsa Cream
Here is Livia, our Peruvian technician. We owe our win to her because of her idea to add the salsa (in the bowl that she is stirring) and rice to our recipe (at the end of this post). Yeah Livia!
Team # 6: Hearty Beef Chili
WE WON!!! Team #5 really won!
Kristen, Susan, Julie, Lori, Livia, Andi, Shirley, Polly, Maria, Marcia.
I'll tell you how to find the other five chili recipes and share with you the recipe for the Redstone Restaurant Famous Cornbread with Maple Butter (which we served with our chili), next week. Stay tuned.
Kick-Butt Three-Bean Chili with Salsa Cream
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 to 16 oz) garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (15 to 16 oz) kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (15 to 16 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
3 small bell peppers (any color), diced
1 Anaheim or jalapeño chili, seeded, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Salsa Cream
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons Livia’s Salsa (see recipe below)
1. In 4-quart Dutch oven, mix all ingredients except sour cream and salsa. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bell peppers are tender.
2. In small bowl, mix sour cream and salsa. Top individual servings with salsa cream. Serve with Livia’s 3-PepperSalsa and Livia’s Garlic Rice.
6 servings
Livia’s 3-Pepper Salsa
1 medium red onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
½ teaspoon salt
3 tomatoes, seeded, finely chopped
1 small poblano chile, seeded, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1 small jalapeno chile, seeded, finely chopped
1 small yellow bell pepper, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice of ½ lime
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1. In small bowl, mix onion and salt; rub mixture together with fingers. Pour water in bowl to cover onion; pour onion and water into sieve to drain. Return onion to bowl. Repeat rinsing and draining onion several times to remove the harshness. Drain well, removing all excess water.
2. In medium bowl, combine onions and remaining ingredients; mix well. Refrigerate until serving.
3 1/2 cups
Livia’s Garlic Rice
1 cup long grain white rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, cut into thin slices
1 ½ cups water
½ teaspoon salt
1. Place rice in small bowl. Cover with water; let stand for about 15 minutes. Pour rice and water through a sieve to remove excess water.
2. Meanwhile, in a 1 ½-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook and stir until light golden brown.
3. Add rice, stirring often, for about 3 minutes. Add 1 ½ cups water and salt; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 15 minutes.
4. Remove garlic slices (floating on top of rice) with fork before serving.
3 cups.