My No Salt Chili Powder and Slow Cooker Chili Con Carne
Many people have to avoid added salt. I'm one of them.
Also, many (most?) prepared food products contain salt.
Those of us who must keep salt to a minimum have to carefully read labels.
Most store-bought seasoning mixes, too, contain salt.
Thankfully, there are products and seasoning mixes that don't contain salt--including chili powder without salt.
However, an easy and fun solution is to make one's own seasoning mixes.
My birthday is June 30. I'm a fan of Chili Con Carne. So to treat myself, I've developed my no-salt recipes for Chili Powder and Chili Con Carne.
Plus, my creating the recipes and dining upon them are positive rewards to myself for a goal I recently accomplished. Years ago, a friend (now deceased) used to tell me, 'Cherie, when you accomplish a goal, reward yourself."
CHERIE'S NO-SALT CHILI POWDER
3 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons dried dried cilantro, crumbled. (This is sold in jars as “Mexican Oregano.”)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon tumeric
(I bought mine in a deliciously fragrant spice store in Kiryatgat, Israel.)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
one-quarter teaspoon cayenne
Gently and thoroughly mix the above ingredients.
Quantity: one-quarter cup.
The following recipe makes a deeply rich and flavorful chili. It is not at all “hot” and spicy. Diners who want their chili “hot” and spicy can add “heat” at the table through bottled hot sauce. (Those of us who must avoid salt need to carefully examine the bottled sauce's label before using.)
Instead of “heat,” I was aiming for a chili with full and satisfying character and depth of flavor.
CHERIE'S NO-SALT SLOW-COOKED CHILI CON CARNE
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 medium “sweet” onions, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
5 thin slices jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced. (More if desired.)
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef.
3 tablespoons salt-free chili powder.
(Either store-bought, or home-made such as Cherie's No-Salt Chili Powder.)
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 cups chopped fresh or salt-free canned tomatoes
1 bay leaf
Two 15-ounce cans no-salt-added red kidney beans or 4 cups fresh cooked red kidney
beans.
(If using canned beans, drain them and while they are still in the drainer run cold water over them and let this drain.)
1-1/2 cups water
one-half cup black coffee
(At home I always make espresso coffee, and use my stove-top “Vesuvius” type coffee maker. I learned to make this type of coffee many years ago from a neighbor from Rotterdam, and it became my favorite type to make at home. So the one-half cup of black coffee I use in this recipe is espresso. But any other style of black coffee will work fine.)
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions, peppers and jalapeno slices. Cook for several minutes until the onions turn translucent.
Add the meat, breaking it apart. Cook, stirring, until the meat evenly browned and thoroughly mixed with the other ingredients.
In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Put the cooked meat mixture into the slow cooker.
Add the ingredients from the separate bowl.
Mix these together gently and thoroughly.
Cook on Low temperature for seven hours.
Last week when I made this I went out and didn't return for 8-1/2 hours.
The chili was perfect.
Also, many (most?) prepared food products contain salt.
Those of us who must keep salt to a minimum have to carefully read labels.
Most store-bought seasoning mixes, too, contain salt.
Thankfully, there are products and seasoning mixes that don't contain salt--including chili powder without salt.
However, an easy and fun solution is to make one's own seasoning mixes.
My birthday is June 30. I'm a fan of Chili Con Carne. So to treat myself, I've developed my no-salt recipes for Chili Powder and Chili Con Carne.
Plus, my creating the recipes and dining upon them are positive rewards to myself for a goal I recently accomplished. Years ago, a friend (now deceased) used to tell me, 'Cherie, when you accomplish a goal, reward yourself."
CHERIE'S NO-SALT CHILI POWDER
3 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons dried dried cilantro, crumbled. (This is sold in jars as “Mexican Oregano.”)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon tumeric
(I bought mine in a deliciously fragrant spice store in Kiryatgat, Israel.)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
one-quarter teaspoon cayenne
Gently and thoroughly mix the above ingredients.
Quantity: one-quarter cup.
The following recipe makes a deeply rich and flavorful chili. It is not at all “hot” and spicy. Diners who want their chili “hot” and spicy can add “heat” at the table through bottled hot sauce. (Those of us who must avoid salt need to carefully examine the bottled sauce's label before using.)
Instead of “heat,” I was aiming for a chili with full and satisfying character and depth of flavor.
CHERIE'S NO-SALT SLOW-COOKED CHILI CON CARNE
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 medium “sweet” onions, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
5 thin slices jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced. (More if desired.)
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef.
3 tablespoons salt-free chili powder.
(Either store-bought, or home-made such as Cherie's No-Salt Chili Powder.)
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 cups chopped fresh or salt-free canned tomatoes
1 bay leaf
Two 15-ounce cans no-salt-added red kidney beans or 4 cups fresh cooked red kidney
beans.
(If using canned beans, drain them and while they are still in the drainer run cold water over them and let this drain.)
1-1/2 cups water
one-half cup black coffee
(At home I always make espresso coffee, and use my stove-top “Vesuvius” type coffee maker. I learned to make this type of coffee many years ago from a neighbor from Rotterdam, and it became my favorite type to make at home. So the one-half cup of black coffee I use in this recipe is espresso. But any other style of black coffee will work fine.)
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions, peppers and jalapeno slices. Cook for several minutes until the onions turn translucent.
Add the meat, breaking it apart. Cook, stirring, until the meat evenly browned and thoroughly mixed with the other ingredients.
In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Put the cooked meat mixture into the slow cooker.
Add the ingredients from the separate bowl.
Mix these together gently and thoroughly.
Cook on Low temperature for seven hours.
Last week when I made this I went out and didn't return for 8-1/2 hours.
The chili was perfect.