Walts Almost Famous Black Bean Chile Recipes

FANTASTIC BLACK BEAN CHILI

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat; cook onion and garlic until onions are translucent. Add turkey and cook, stirring, until meat is brown. Stir in beans, tomatoes, chili powder, oregano, basil and vinegar. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 60 minutes or more, until flavors are well blended.

WALT'S ALMOST FAMOUS CHILI CAKES

Steps:

• I had a thought -- I bet this would taste Ok pan fried -- so I mixed in a little flour and an egg to hold it together and fried it in a little butter for breakfast --
• OMG -- Wasn't expecting the result -- Wow !!! Came out like a pan cake of sorts -- not exactly a fertata but close - not an omelet -- somewhere in between -- I cooked the concoction until it blackened pretty good hoping it would hold together
• Since it had been in the fridge for a few days the flavors had evened out and the result was a mild chili flavored cake -- didn't need a topping but a salsa or picante would be great on top or for dipping -- maybe some mustard on the side
• We had tried a similar thing a few days earlier with Diane's left over C&D -- we noticed the dumplings had de-constituted in the fridge -- it was still great -- a wonderful gooey mess -- I thought it would make a nice pan fried cake -- added a little flour and egg and fried it in a little olive oil -- it was pretty darn good !! On the 2nd batch I added a little Cavendar's - Greek Seasoning and it Wowed me -- Oh My !!

WALT'S ALMOST FAMOUS BLACK BEAN CHILE

Steps:

• Cook hamburger in a large pot on high -- cook until the meat appears to firm-up. If you use lean meat it won't generate much fat or liquid - stir meat constantly
• Add the chopped up onions and keep cooking until the onions start to turn translucent
• Add the can of black beans with liquid
• Add the can of diced tomatoes with liquid - stir
• keep stirring occasionally
• add the chile powder -- stir
• add the cumin -- stir
• adjust taste by adding chile powder or cumin
• add Louisiana hot sauce - stir
• let cook for a few minutes - occasional stirring
• add honey - stir
• add ketchup (if needed for sweetness)
• let cook for a few minutes - stirring occasionally
• adjust taste with hot sauce - honey - or ketchup - black pepper - stir in if added
• cover and reduce heat - let cook for 20 to 30 minutes
• take cover off for last 10 minutes to thicken the chile
• serve immediately or later (6-8 servings) serve with cheese on top or not serve with crackers on the side or crumbled in keep the pot simmering as there will probably be several seconds served put leftovers in the fridge -- they will taste even better tomorrow ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This recipe cooks enough for about 6-8 servings depending on size. It has been our experience it doesn't last long. We have taken to doubling the basic recipe and freezing about 1/3 of it for another day. BTW -- this chile usually tastes great out of the pot but it tastes even better reheated the next day. Feel free to use what ever brands you want for your ingredients -- brands don't seem to make much of a difference in the final taste -- I do most of my dry ingredient choosing with my nose -- and then adjust flavors as I go through spoon tasting -- this recipe usually comes out with a nice layered mix of heat, sweet and sour. The chile and cumin give it the overall chile taste -- the rest of the ingredients just add to the palette -- One optional added ingredient to this recipe is cinnamon. In small amounts, it can add an interesting current to the mix (some people don't like it added though) I add it occasionally -- around Christmas it seems appropriate.