Three-Times QUICK CHILI

Three-Times QUICK CHILI

Table of Contents: Beef

The recipe is quick to make, quick to cook, and quick to be eaten!
Please do no omit the cocoa ingredient.  If you have doubts, mix all ingredients except the cocoa and taste.  Then, stir in the cocoa and taste again.  It’s an “ah-ha moment”.  Do you agree?

2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 ½ cups onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 T. chili powder (I like Mexene)
2 T. plain flour
2 tsp. dry cocoa powder (do not omit!)
2 tsp. salt
1 T. ground cumin
1 T. sugar
2 cups water
16 oz. tomato sauce
Cooked beans, if desired (I like Bush's Chili Hot Beans)

Garnish with sliced green onions (optional)

In a Dutch oven, brown the beef and drain off all the fat.  Add the onions and garlic to the drained beef, and cook until onions are limp.  Stir in the remaining ingredients, except the beans, and mix well.  Cover and simmer 30 to 45 minutes.  Add beans and cook 5-10 minutes longer.  Garnish with the green onions, if desired.  Serves 6 to 8.

This is a very simple chili recipe and mild compared to some chili recipes.  It is interesting that cocoa is an ingredient in many Mexican dishes that are not desserts.  It adds an extra zing to the chili and changes the color to a lovely rich, light mahogany.

The Mayan Indians of South America probably began the connection between chocolate and romance.  The Mayans served a ritual beverage to the bride and groom at betrothal and marriage ceremonies.  It was a bitter mixture of ground cocoa beans, black pepper, vanilla, and other spices.  Spaniards exploring in South America took the cocoa beans back to Spain where the cocoa beans were ground and blended with sugar to make various chocolate confections and beverages.  Spain enjoyed a monopoly on the highly prized beans for over 100 years.  Even the Latin name translation for the tree, Theobroma Cacao, means “food of the gods” which indicates the value placed on the bean-type fruit of the tree.  At one time in Spain, the small, brown, cocoa beans served as a form of currency.  A horse could be purchased for about 10 cocoa beans!   You, of course, would need a horse to transport you and your chocolate confections to present to your intended love.
Thanks to the World Cocoa Foundation for the information provided in the above paragraph @  worldcocoafoundation.org