Meal of the Week 5: Rachel Ray's Chili Recipe

This week’s meal of the week is brought to us by my stand out favorite quick meals chef, Rachael Ray. Now I’m not really into talk shows, but if I wanted to watch one I would probably watch hers. It’s wholesome, focuses of food, occasionally shows fuzzy animals, and otherwise makes me chuckle. Really, I just think I like that she comes out of an elevator at the beginning. All that to say, this week’s recipe comes from yet another cook book that I have never made anything out of, Guy Food, One of RR’s Top 30 30 minute Meals books. So here goes:
Manly Manny’s Chili:
For this recipe you will need:
2 T vegetable oil
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin 90% lean
Montreal Steak seasoning (or salt and pepper to taste)
1/2 bottle of beer (what are YOU going to do with the other half?)
14 oz Beef Broth
6 oz Tomato paste
1 1/2 T dark chili powder
1 T ground Cumin (yes! I have it this time!)
2 oz smoky BBQ sauce
2 oz hot sauce (about 3 T)
6 oz shredded smoked cheddar cheese
chopped raw onions optional
Start by heating the oil in a big pot over Med-Hi heat.
Sauté the onions and garlic for 3-5 min. 
Add Beef and brown it. (3-5 min)
Season with salt/pepper or Montreal steak seasoning. Add beer and let it reduce by half.
Stir in broth, paste, chili powder, cumin, BBQ sauce, and hot sauce. Reduce heat to Med-low and simmer for 10 min. Top with cheddar and onions. Serve with or over corn chips. (Although we really like corn bread and a pack of jiffy corn muffin mix is like $0.50 versus the $2 for a bag of cheap chips – pick your fave or what ever your budget can afford.)
The key to the amazing pictures is always keeping the baby busy while the food is cooking. I find I have better luck with great pictures when the whole house is about to erupt in chaos. So like right now: the baby is screaming and the dog needs to go out.. oh and my husband is calling on the phone. Time to take a quick snapshot of the boiling chili mmmmmm.

Ok, so really folks, the only Chili I’ve ever seen that has no beans in it is Wendy’s chili. (Although a pot of it did win the chili cook-off at a church picnic I was at years ago.) However, because my husband got really excited about the fact that there were no beans since he doesn’t care for beans, We had salad on the side, but if you’re more inclined to eat your veggies hot you can always chop a green pepper and put it into the chili. Which brings us to the rest of my substitutions. I didn’t feel like paying an arm and a leg for “smoked” cheddar cheese, so I bought what was on sale, sharp cheddar cheese. I know it won’t taste the same but it should be ok. I also used “honey BBq sauce” instead of “Smoky BBQ sauce” because that’s what we had. No substitutes for cumin this time because… drum roll please… I actually bought some!! Go ahead, send up a cheer. And that’s it! It was Oooooh so Yummy!
Happy Eats!