Chili and Beer Bread

One of my favorite cold-weather easy-enough but made from scratch meals is chili with beer bread. I adapted the chili from a meatless version found here, since Dan really didn't like that one, but for the beer bread I stick to the directions found here. (Warning: the recipe website is old and has annoying pop-ups and banners. Sorry.) We aren't really beer drinkers so we tend to keep a 6 pack on hand for the sole purpose of making beer bread. Last winter we bought a sampler pack to try different tastes--a light lager makes a very different beer bread than an oatmeal stout, for example. Both are delicious, in case you're curious. Even a cheap can of Bud will still make great beer bread, though. You could even use either 3.2% or non-alcoholic beer, if you prefer. According to one of my Facebook friends, you can use anything fizzy, but we like the yeasty flavor you get from the beer.

So. Here's my chili recipe. I try to keep everything on hand in my pantry or frozen except for the onion and the pepper. It's an easy and satisfying meal to make when you're short on grocery money--usually $2 will get you the veggies, and the beans and tomatoes are usually under $1 per can or even less. You can get cheap spices at Aldi or the dollar store.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground meat (beef, pork, turkey, chicken, whatever.)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beans (kidney, pinto, black, whatever.)
1 large white or yellow onion (or 2 small)
1 large bell pepper (green or red or whatever.)
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
salt and black pepper to taste
red (cayenne) pepper to taste if desired
4 cups water
1-2 tbsp corn starch

Directions:
1. Brown meat in a large skillet and drain. Do not rinse skillet. Put meat in slow cooker. (If making meatless, skip these steps and instead add 1 tbsp oil to a skillet.)
2. Dice onion and bell pepper. Add to skillet and saute over medium-high heat until the onion is translucent and the pepper is softened slightly. Add to slow cooker.
3. Drain beans and add to slow cooker. Do not drain tomatoes--add the whole can with their liquid. Stir.
4. Add spices and stir.
5. Pour in water, stir and cover. Turn on slow cooker and cook on low 8 hours or high 4 hours. (Alternatively, if you have 6 hours to kill, cook on high two hours and then turn down heat to low.)
6. Just before serving, stir and add corn starch to thicken. Adjust seasoning if needed.
7. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and beer bread!

Photographic evidence:

Chili Photo: After step 4.

Chili Photo: Midway through step 5.

Chili Photo: Fully simmered!

Beer Bread Photo: Plunked in a cold oven (forgot to take a photo until a minute later)

Beer Bread Photo: Golden and delicious.

Chili & Beer Bread Photo: Finished product!