It's chilly...make chili.

Nothing is better, I think everyone will agree, on a cold blustery day than a soothing bowl of piping hot soup....with a tasty warm biscuit or roll sitting next to it.   Plus, it is Halloween next week, and if you're anything like my family chili is what's on the menu that night....plus buckets and buckets of candy...so here's an easy recipe for you to try out...

This is my easy, no fail recipe for chili.  It is good.  It is warm.  And even my Youngest who doesn't like spicy anything will eat it....as long as I put the eating of the biscuit on the line.  Either you eat 5 bites of chili or NO BISCUIT!  That's pretty much how it goes in our house.

The best part about this chili, is you basically just have to assemble the ingredients from the grocery store.  I am not so fancy that I am soaking my own beans and mixing my own chili mix. 

Let's get started...

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef, browned with 1 onion until cooked through
1 large bottle tomato juice
28 oz. crushed tomatoes (or diced, you don't have to be too fussy about it)
2 packets chili seasoning
3 to 4 14 oz cans of beans (whatever you like, I used 2 red kidney beans and 2 black beans)

I always cook my ground beef in the same stock pot that I'm going to simmer my chili in.  One pot=happiness for me. So you just put all of the above ingredients in a large stock pot, bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer and let it cook, lid on, for 30 minutes or however long you have before supper time.

Serve with shredded cheese (whatever you like, I used some unpasteurized cheddar...it was tasty), maybe some avocado, some diced red onion...and these...

Cheddar Jalapeno Biscuits that I've adapted from Smitten Kitchen.  A must.  So good.  They use sour cream instead of the normal amount of butter!!!  Here's the details...

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (I use Kosher)
2 Tbls. cold butter, cut into small cubes
A nice sized pile of shredded cheddar....I would guess a little over 1 cup....but this isn't vital to measure, just shred some and if it looks like enough, toss it in.
Several pickled jalapenos, chopped into small pieces...again, just go with the amount you think looks tasty.  I probably used 8.
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add the butter.  I just used my fingers and mushed the butter until it was well-combined throughout the flour mixture. Add the cheddar, stir so all the cheese is covered by the flour mix.  Add the jalapenos and stir them as well.  Add the sour cream and mix until it forms a wet  dough (my sour cream must have been seriously cold, because it had a hard time incorporating, I just put down the spoon and used my hand to combine and it worked great.  Try not to over work it).

Dump the dough onto a floured counter top and using your hands, just pat it down so it's about 1 1/2 inches thick.  Using a cup that looks like the size you want, cut out as many biscuits as you can get...plus, use the scraps...even if they're oddly shaped they will bake up just as tasty.

Bake for about 15 minutes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, until the tops are golden brown and delicious looking.

Devour.  So good!

Thanks for reading!

Heather