Nothing says winter in the PNW like a good bowl of chili. It’s hearty, easy to make, easy to reheat, and depending on your ingredients it can be healthy.
For the past several years the gym has gotten together at long time NXNW members Drew and Rachel’s house for the annual chili cook-off. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a cook-off this year due to covid.
In honor of the annual cook-off, we’ll give you the 2019 CrossFit NXNW award winning Chili recipe (kind of).
Today’s version of the recipe is slightly more healthy. Plus, if I gave you all the secret ingredients, I would have to… well, you know.
This is how I cook it but feel free to ad or remove any ingredients and cook it how you like.
What you’ll need:
2 lbs grass fed ground beef
2 sweet onions
2 jalapenos
1 Anaheim pepper
1 zucchini
4 tomatoes
1 yellow bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
6 cloves of garlic
1 can tomato sauce
2 cans of kidney beans
chili powder
cumin
seasonings/spices of you choice
water or beer
I like to add some smoke flavor by using a smoker for both the meat and the produce. If you don’t have a smoker, skip these steps by scrolling down. Feel free to cook this portion on a regular grill, stove top, or in the oven, then mix it all in a large pot.
Start by mixing the ground beef with your favorite meat seasonings. I decided to use a mix of Holy Cow and Holy Voodoo by Meat Church.
Then, make hamburger patties. Only do this if you’re using a smoker, it allows for good smoke absorption.
Chop up the produce. I like to cut into larger chunks before grilling so it doesn’t fall through. I’ll cut this into finer chunks later.
I smoke this for about one hour at 125-180 degrees.
After an hour, I set the grill at 350-400, cook the burgers for 5 minutes each side, and the produce for about 20 minutes.
The patties should have a nice red glow, and the veggies should be starting to char.
When everything’s off the grill, chop it up, throw it in a pot with the tomato sauce, beans, and 1 cup of water or beer (more or less, depending on desired consistency).
Season with chili powder cumin and sea salt. Bring to a a boil, then let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Season to taste.
Just like our workouts, this recipe can be scaled to your liking. Ditch the beef if you don’t eat meat, use the ingredients you have available to you, and remember… it’s chili, it doesn’t have to be precise!
We look forward to seeing all of you at a chili cook-off in the future!