~**Getting My Groove Back**~

Getting My Groove Back?

What groove am i talking about you ask?? COOKING! Since moving back to Australia and being preggers i really have lost my groove for cooking.. 

I have not had the desire persay but i would cook once in a while! Seeing its getting cooler here i thought it would be the perfect time to make a big ole pot of Chili! Now its not the same as i usually make it as i dont have all the same ingredients i had back in the states but i must say this turned out pretty dang good :) Now for those of you who have NOT experienced a REALLL good slow cooked chili you have no idea what your missing :) You can NOT even compare a can of chili to a homemade from scratch batch! It slow cooks and all the flavours meld together, if you cant get your kids to eat beans this IS the perfect way to get them to eat em :) MMM MMMMMM! 

I did not used dried beans this time as i had no energy to tell you the truth to soak and what not so i used caned beans which surprisingly enough here in Australia theres nothing in them other then water...and some salt... :) good to know! The beans i used this time around were Butter beans which turned out pretty dang good they are alot larger then im use to when it comes to beans but boy did they soak up the flava! I also used cannellini beans which im pretty sure are called something totally different in the states :) I found i had to tweak my recipe alot when it came to the spices as i was unable to find real chipotle powder and i also havent gotten around to making up my own taco seasoning but they are on the list of things to do! But i did find smoked paprika powder which smells similar but doesnt taste the same still gives the chili a nice smokey flavour though! This time around i also had green pepper which i added to the pot as well not alot though as it can be very over powering! (green pepper is green capsicum to u fellow aussies!) I also used ground beef and chunks of chuck steak! Oh and i also didnt use my own stock either..lol i have made stock a few times since arriving here but i always turn that straight into soup YUM!

This makes alot and when i say ALOT i mean alot of chili which is never a bad thing like i mention in this post here we ate off this pot full for 2 main meals and we also gave some away for family to try! Big hit all around ofcourse. When it was all done slow simmering and it was time to eat we served it with some delish artisan breads we got from the bakery a sun dried tomato and olive twist loaf and a spinach and feta loaf YUM OOOO!

I am not posting the recipe as you can find it HERE and if you have read the post you will know the changes i made :)