Food

[chezmax]

First, there's a new mexican place in town! (YAY!!!!)

Next to the Mongolian Grill in the University Plaza, in the former-former-home of PC Waterloo, Casa Salsa opened this week. They're massively busy (which is a good sign), and their food is pretty good. It's not gourmet Mexican by any means, but it's awesome for quick non-Taco-Bell Mexican. B++. Would eat again.

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I made some awesome slow-cooker chili on Sunday. It's also not gourmet chili, but I adjusted my recipe a bit, and the results were really quite tasty. In case anyone else is curious, I've included the recipe. If you're of the opinion that chili doesn't include beans or tomatoes, don't read. This is the style of chili I'm used to around here.


You'll need:
1 Large Can (29 Oz.) Diced Tomatoes
1 Can (tiny: 5.5 oz?) Tomato Paste
1 Lb. Ground Beef
1 Package Sliced White Mushrooms
1 Mediumish Onion (I used standard white cooking onions)
1 can (19 Oz?) Red Kidney Beans
1/2 can (uh, 7 oz?) Black Beans (I would probably use the entire can next time I make it)
2 Utterly Heaping Tablespoons of Chili Powder (this is probably equivalent to 6 regular table spoons)
3 Cloves Garlic (or less, or more...)
About half-teaspoon of dried basil (optional!)
About a teaspoon of salt
Pepper to taste.
A few dashes of Worcestershire

I browned the ground beef with a few dashes of Worcestershire, and then added the garlic and onions and cooked for a bit. Then I combined everything in the slow-cooker, and let cook for 6-8 hours.

You may want to add other vegetables, or peppers, or cayenne powder, or the like (I make my chili quite mild, so that everyone can eat it; you can always add more spice, you can't take it away... :P)

Comments

[nobodyhere.livejournal.com]

Yay!

If it's the same Casa Salsa as at the Kitchener Market, I'm a big fan of their vegetarian dishes. They'll substitute refried beans in most things, and the fajitas can be ordered with (really tasty, marinated) tofu.

[bridgeoutahead.livejournal.com]

hot damn! Mexican!

[zanate.livejournal.com]

My advice for pretty much any chili recipe: Chipotle peppers. Either dried and ground up, or chipotle in adobo sauce (comes in wee cans) chopped up.

On top of that, when quingawaga ground her own chili powder (from dried ancho and cayenne peppers) the effect on the resulting chili (along with the chipotle, it should be mentioned) was fantastic. If you're interested, Vincenzo's sells dried peppers.

Apart from that, it doesn't sound much different from ours in composition. Though I've found that slow-cooker chili tends to be a bit watery.

[billijean.livejournal.com]

Chili without beans or tomatoes? uhhh... huh? Then it isn't chili. It's um... fried mushrooms with beef.

For less watery - use half diced and half crushed tomatoes. Also, add a bit of cumin, yes. Yes. I said yes. And a wee bit of dark chocolate. Yes. No, really. The darker the better. Trust me :)

[taffer.livejournal.com]

I should try this... I've got a slow cooker, and have also lost my chili-making mojo. The last batch I made was terrible. :-\