“I never thought I could fight for anything until there was something I really wanted. Once I found something I wanted badly enough, I never gave up.“

This is clearly one of those times where my husband wanted something badly enough. You see, I’m not a chili fan. I have made many bean soups and much white bean chicken chili, but not the kind he likes. He is like most people in the world, at least in America, as he  can’t go through a winter without having a huge pot of it on the stove at least once. He wanted it.

He learned to make it so well that his five minute, five hour five bean chili has totally won me over.

Yesterday I decided to pay attention to what he did. Right in the beginning I was in disagreement. Why so many different beans? Why not cook the onion first. Why an orange bell pepper? (Of course, being a smart wife, I kept my why’s to myself). He had well thought out answers for my questions. The onion needs to melt into the chili on its own. The orange bell pepper lends sweetness. He spoke like an expert, and I was satisfied.

Why, why, why ended at the dinner table with more, more, more. I sent a bowl home with a friend who can be a picky eater and honest about it. She texted me “this is so good, I can’t stop eating.”

This chili is creamy due to the masa he sprinkled in and the long long cooking time. He cooked it for 7 hours, but says five hours is enough to get that creamy consistency. The meat mixture was interesting, The pork and beef added flavor, and the turkey helped to cut the fat. The orange bell pepper was sweet and the dash of cinnamon was genius. The prep time is really five minutes, if you can chop fast. There is almost no hard work outside of opening several cans.

Usually, Spinach Tiger doesn’t cook from too many cans, and one could make this with dried beans, but that would take a long time and is not necessary. It’s a matter of weighing out the decision to use dry beans as a purist, or the interest of five different kinds. I choose the five.

You can put it all in a crock pot or in a cast iron dutch oven. He made two batches and did both. If you do use a cast iron dutch oven, I recommend a heat of 300 or even less in the oven, so the heat is hitting evenly. If you keep the dutch oven on the stove, turn the heat to as low as you can get it.

I did a little bit of googling and was intrigued with chili history. An entire book or two could be written about the history of chili, the legends, the myths and the abundant number of recipes. I can’t think of a food in America that has drummed up more passion for it’s history or its varying recipes as a bowl of chili.  I imagine there have been many fights, even a few knock outs over recipes and ownership.

Where Did Chili Originate?

• The most debated fact about chile is where and how it exactly originated. It is thought to most likely have started in Texas amongst poor people who had tough pieces of meat that needed flavor and long cooking times. There was no beans at first, and in some circles, beans are still not used. The cowboys heading west gave speed and romance to its popularity.
• Chili was often made and perfected in prison. As prisoners got out, they missed the chili and would write for the recipe. Some even rated prisons according to their chili.
• There were chili queens in San Antonio, who broke the barriers of class. They would set up chili stands and cook meat  and chili peppers into a stew. People of all walks of life would sit next to each other eating a bowl of chili.

Doug’s Process and Recipe for Five Minute, Five Hour, Five Bean Chili

As far as the recipe, Doug makes it differently every time. He says that every new pot of chili  is an experiment. That’s how chili making goes. He has used all ground beef in the past, but decided on three meats this time. He has used only two or three different beans in the past, but has settled upon five kinds.

There are as many chili recipes as the cooks making them, actually more, because every chili cook has several recipes they use. That’s the beauty of chili making. He suggests always using the masa, plenty of onion, and cooking a long long time.

There are two other important topics when it comes to chili. How hot (spicy) and what bread or cracker do you have to have.

Heat is another topic altogether. He always makes two pots, a mild and a super spicy. You have to find your own level of heat. I don’t like to cry when I eat chili so I go for the mild, and he goes for the hot. Many folks like cornbread with their chili. He goes for crackers, and I like soft buttered bread. Again, chili sparks arguments, but that’s part of the fun

Two New Variations on Chili

We have two new chili recipes for you, one is a 30-minute black eyed peas and sausage chili and one is a paloe, keto friendy bean free chili!

No Beans, Made with Ground Beef, Sausage, Paleo, Low Carb, Keto, Grain Free

30-Minute Country Sausage, Black Eyed Peas Chili 

So tell me, do you have a special chili recipe, and do you like it mild, medium or super hot?

More Beans Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Chicken and White Bean Soup
• Lentil Sausage Soup
• Cowboy Caviar Bean Appetizer
• Duck Confit wth Lentils
• Pork and White Beans

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Doug’s Cold Weather Crock Pot Chili

5 Bean, 3 meat chili with a few special ingredients, resulting in perfect creamy blend of meat, heat and beans.

Course Main

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Total Time 6 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Author Doug Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 can black Beans see note on beans
• 1 can kidney Beans
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1 can red Beans
• 1 can pinto peans
• 1 ground chuck need a fatty beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 extra large orange pepper can use green, or red
• 1 large can diced tomatoes petite dice is best
• 2 large onions diced
• 1 red chili pepper seeded and diced (or any pepper of your choice)
• 1 chili starter mix option or the following seasonings:
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne powder more or less to your taste
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• dash cinnamon this is not in chili starter mix
• sea salt
• ground pepper
• 1 to 2 tablespoons masa use for thickness, if needed

Instructions

• Season meat with salt and pepper. Brown the meat. in small pieces in frying pan. Maintain the fat of the meat. This will add flavor!
• Rinse the beans with water to reduce the sodium; however you can put the cans in as is with the juice.
• Put in crock pot. Add tomatoes, peppers, onion and seasonings, except the masa.
• If you don’t use a chili starter kit, use the spice ingredients that followed. Taste and adjust to your own liking.
• Sprinkle the masa after the chili has cooked for 2 hours.
• Continue to cook in low setting of crock pot for 5 more hours.
• Note: It’s not necessary to cook the chili this long, but cook the chili at least four hours.
• Serve with grated cheddar cheese and sour cream, if desired. I find this chili so rich due to the masa, that sour cream isn’t necessary.
• Note on beans: You need the to use kidney beans and black beans, but feel free to mix your beans as you please.

The post Doug’s Five Minute, Five Hour, Five Bean Chili appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I have a thing for strong fruit-centric drinks (but not sweet drinks) and there’s a difference. The blueberry old fashioned packs its own punch as does the strawberry martini.

 Now you might not realize that the avocado is a fruit.

According to this article, they fit the botanical criteria for a berry, which surprised me.

As is true in many of the recipes here at Spinach Tiger, the avocado margarita was not on my white board or in any of my plans until just a few days ago.

My fitness instructor asked me on Monday if I was going to make a margarita for National Margarita Day. Since the whole class was watching, I said sure, and then in my head, thought, probably not. That is  until my friend who works out with me started raving about an avocado margarita  she recently had at this new restaurant aptly named Avo. She even gave me some black sea salt for the drink.

I left inspired to create an avocado margarita and somehow put my own spin to it.

After a quick trip to buy some limes, I went home got out the tequila, avocados, cilantro and celery leaves. Instead of  typical triple sec, I used Gran Gala, a brandy based orange liquor from Trieste, Italy, and quickly I had my margarita up in time for instagram on the national margarita day amongst the other 84,000 posts.

Did you know that when you go to instagram, if you search with a hashtag, you can find all the ways people spend their day eating and drinking.

The Avocado Margarita Showcases My Love for Healthy Food

The avocado margarita combines my love for healthy green food, but don’t be fooled. There’s a good amount of tequila in each drink.  It’s creamy, yet tart, and maybe even a little too easy to drink. It’s not too sweet, but it needs the salt to balance it, so please don’t leave that out.

The Avocado Margarita Process and Gran Gala

I found the recipe at Bon Appetit, which was inspired by an avocado margarita made famous at Curra’s Grill in Austin. I added in the celery salt and instead of triple sec, I used Gran Gala, a VSOP Italian brandy based orange liquor.

Gran Gala has a velvety feel, and an intense flavor and can be used in any cocktail that uses triple sec or Gran Marnier.

I used half avocado for two drinks, and it was the right amount to get that lovely creaminess. I used a touch of cilantro and celery leaves (because I had them and I like that celery flavor). I could even see a dash of celery salt and a dash of cayenne if you want to take the drink to a zestier level.

You Can Freeze this Batch of Avocado Margaritas Ahead of  Your Party

I made these on Monday, but not ready to drink, so I froze the batch in a plastic ziplock. This is truly the secret to a nice iced cold cocktail that you can make in big batches and have ready for your party.

Simply take out until the freeze wears off and the liquid is still cold, or run again in your Vitamix frozen.

The avocado margarita is a good start to my dreams of weekly cocktails. Come back next time for a classic manhattan, as I love retro drinks. If you have a good recipe for something, please send it my way.

A Few of the  Cocktails featured here at Spinach Tiger

Best  Margarita with Fresh Citrus

Blueberry Old Fashioned

Bloody Mary

Strawberry Martini

More Cocktails from Spinach Tiger

Mexican Food from Spinach Tiger

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Avocado Margarita

Avocado Margarita, healthy, smooth, creamy and delicious, adapted from Curra’s Grill in Austin, via Bon Appetite Magazine.

Course Cocktail

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt or gourmet salt of your choice
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime or 1 teaspoon finely minced green herb
• 1/2 avocado pitted, peeled
• 4 ounces tequila
• 3 ounces gran gala a triple orange liquor (or triple sec)
• 3 ounces fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon agave or simple syrup
• 1 tablespoon orange juice or squeeze fresh orange
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro and optional celery leaves combined
• 4 lime wheels

Instructions

• Rim 4 medium sized glasses with a lime wedge and dip into crushed salt. Salt should be moderately course. You can mix the salt with some lime zest or finely chopped parsley (or cilantro)for added color.
• Combine all ingredients into a blender.
• Pour into glasses.
• Garnish with lime wheel.
• This makes 2 to 4 margaritas.

Notes

You Can Freeze Ahead

I froze the batch in a plastic ziplock. This is truly the secret to a nice iced cold cocktail that you can make in big batches and have ready for your party. Simply take out until the freeze wears off and the liquid is still cold, or run again in your Vitamix frozen.

This recipe makes 2-4 margaritas, depending on size of glass.
To make the drink a little greener, I added in some parsley on the second batch, which you don't really taste much of and cilantro would be too overpowering. Mix up a little with the sea salt and rim the glass.

The post Avocado Margarita with Gran Gala Liquor appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

What makes a Bloody Mary best? They need to taste like food and jump a little. I got this recipe from a very sharp bartender who knew how to balance the briny,  salty, spicy elements with just enough citrus  to pull it all together.

Bloody Mary’s are most often enjoyed in the day time, maybe even the early morning.   Some years ago, Jason, the bartender at the lobby bar at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel helped  me to pass some rainy day time, while I was waiting for Mr. ST to return from his conference. We both just happen to have events that took us from Nashville to San Francisco on the exact same weekend, and I sat at the lobby bar waiting for him on a Sunday afternoon. I was intrigued that he wasn’t using a Bloody Mary mix. I watched him muddle together the tomato and jalapeno, add in real tomato juice, and horseradish, Tabasco and lemon, and I knew I had to have one. He was nice enough to make me second one, slowly showing me his step by step method. Then he wrote it all down for me.

Somehow I’ve managed to hold onto that paper for the past three years, and I’m finally sharing it today.

I don’t can food, and I rarely make anything pickled, but in recent years I’m discovering that pickling is a hot new trend and you don’t have to can the old fashioned way if you are going to eat the pickled food in the next few weeks.

I tend to like pickles a lot, especially if they are spicy, so I threw a good dash of cayenne pepper in the mix. I think this garnish is especially nice for a Bloody Mary and not everyone likes the typical celery.

The asparagus in this recipe makes a great appetizer, as well as a drink garnish. I used an interesting pickling spice that has cinnamon, mustard seed, dill seed and tumeric among other things, but any pickling spice will do.

The result is a very flavorful Bloody Mary. I was so excited to make this, I went and bought a muddler, which is used to muddle the  jalapenos and tomatoes.

Tell me, have you ever asked a bartender or a server for a  special recipe? Do you feel awkward doing that?

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Sir Francis Drake Hotel Bar Bloody Mary by Jason

Lucky enough to snatch the recipe for the best Bloody Mary from San Franciso's Sir Francis Drake Hotel Lobby Bar, starting with a key ingredient, olive juice.

Course Cocktails

Cuisine American

Servings 1

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 3-4 grape tomatoes
• 3-4 slices jalapeno
• 1/2 teaspoon horseradish
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 dashes of Tabasco sauce
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 oz. vodka
• 2 oz. tomato juice
• FOR GARNISH
• 1 olive
• 1 grape tomato
• squeeze lime
• celery stick
• pickled asparagus optional

Pickled Asparagus

• 10 asparagus spears or as many as fit into the jar
• 2 pint mason jar
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons pickling spice
• 1 teaspoon dill seed or fresh dill
• 2 teaspoons pepper corns
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 cloves garlic

Instructions

• Muddle the grape tomatoes and jalapeno and add ice.
• Add horseradish, pepper, salt, Tabasco sauce, lemon juice, vodka, tomato juice.
• Shake.
• Pour in pint glass, garnish as desired with garnishes

Pickled Asparagus

• Trim woody bottoms of asparagus and make sure it will fit into the height of the jar.
• Blanch asparagus in boiling water for one minute.
• Remove to ice bath
• Bring vinegar and water, pickling spice to a boil. Boil for two minutes
• Put asparagus into jar and pour pickling liquid over asparagus.Add remaining ingredients. Give a good shake.
• Cool. Put on lid tightly and refrigerate for a few days before serving.
• Pickled asparagus will keep in refrigerator for a few weeks.

The post Best Bloody Mary with Pickled Asparagus, Recipe from a Bartender appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

This holiday party bite, rosemary roasted walnuts, was first written years ago as husband was hosting a party.

At midnight, Friday night, as this Cinderella was turning into a pumpkin, my husband came into the bedroom where I was laying somewhat like a car crash victim, the casualty of catering a business party for one hundred people. Ever so sweetly he said, “I could have pulled this off. I could have gotten people there. But, I never could have made it the classy and special event it was without your touch. I love having you as my partner.”

Now, please don’t roll your eyes or think we are sickeningly gushy. We are more like Lucy and Ricky, than Romeo and Juliet.

But, while Lucy would have totally screwed up Ricky’s party because she would have insisted she perform against Ricky’s wishes and taking the spotlight with some mishap, I let the real musicians do that, and I did what I know how to do.

I showed my love for my husband and my support of his business venture with food.

It is no easy task to prepare a cocktail party for 100 people, especially when I decided to build a cupcake stand and bake 150 cupcakes. This took a lot of my time during the week, and it left me very little time to get the appetizers prepared.

Somehow I managed to get it all done, although I could think of 100 ways I could have done things differently in putting together a party for 100 guests. And, this served as a great learning experience. The nicest note I got was from Doug’s marketing person telling me there was as much positive buzz about the food as there was about the showroom.

Rosemary Roasted Walnuts Served Warm
One of my last minute additions to the party are these rosemary roasted walnuts. I made them while I was getting dressed and brought the bowl while the nuts were still warm.

The rosemary roasted walnuts were a big hit, not only delicious and a perfect nibble, but the smell of the rosemary set the right food mood. I also used white vases filled with sprigs of rosemary from my garden to decorate the bar table.

If you google other recipes for rosemary roasted walnuts, they will tell you to roast the walnuts for 15 minutes. Don’t. I tried it and it was a disaster. Five to six minutes at 400 degrees is all you need. Otherwise the nuts burn. Also, wait until you take the nuts out of the oven to add the rosemary to prevent bitterness.  You can substitute other nuts such as pecans or almonds or even mix the nuts up.

Brown Sugar and Cayenne Pepper Perk up Rosemary Roasted Walnuts

You can add a little bit of brown sugar and cayenne for that sweet and spicy bite. I use Swerve’s Brown Sugar (for a low carb option), a brand new product from Swerve.

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Rosemary Roasted Walnuts the Easy Party Starter

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Prep Time 3 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 8 minutes minutes

Servings 20

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 pound of raw walnuts
• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sea salt Order Here
• 1 tablespoon Swerve Brown Sugar Order Here
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
• Extra rosemary for garnish

Instructions

• Mix olive oil and salt with walnuts.
• Add brown sugar if using.
• Bake for 5 to 6 minutes at 400 degrees F.
• Toss with chopped rosemary when you take out of the oven
• Serve warm if you can.
• Garnish with rosemary sprigs.

The post Rosemary Roasted Walnuts the Easy Party Starter appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

But there can be no match for swaying into fall than apples, pushed up with cayenne peppers, sweetened with maple syrup and built up with some butter nut squash.

The inspiration comes from the Royal Foodie Joust, a food contest hosted by the Left-Over Queen, a food competition that I won back in February. The way it works is that last month’s winner of the overall competition selects three ingredients for the following month.

August’s winner, Natasha of Five Star Foodie chose, apples, maple syrup and cayenne pepper.
Natasha, I want to say thank you for the best ingredients for September. I couldn’t wait to run out and buy apples and start thinking about recipes.

I landed at soup, because last year I made a delicious pear soup but never blogged about it. I thought It will work with apples, and if you take notice, I like heat in my soup in more ways than one, so I embraced the cayenne.

I put some thought into this to make sure when you tasted this soup, you would have a thick creamy texture, and the first taste would be apples, followed by maple, followed by some heat. I didn’t want the squash to interfere with these flavors, so I roasted the apples and used the skins. I used Jonathan apples which have a good bit of acid, after a long conversation with the apple lady at the farmer’s market. I was very pleased with the apple flavor, but you could certainly use other apples. The other good news to this soup is that it is completely vegan, using only water as the broth. I originally planned on adding in some cream and then didn’t need to. It was perfect, savory and just a touch of sweet.

I topped it off with apple chips, and herbs, but you could top it with some maple infused yogurt. I sprinkled cayenne pepper on top of each serving, gingerly. This brings a medium-to full heat, and can be optional. I also used some fresh cayenne peppers to start the soup.

The result is a savory apple-flavored soup that is satisfying and comforting, yet a bit unique.

Eight Jonathan apples cut in half, placed in cast iron pan, roasted at 375 for about 30-40 minutes.

Butter Nut Squash roasted at 375 for about 40 minutes. I only used half of the squash, and soaked it with maple syrup.

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Spicy Maple Roasted Apple Soup

Spicy apple soup flavored with maple, a great way to warm up the Fall.

Ingredients

• 8 medium apples seeded, cut in half
• 1 small butternut squash enough to yield two cups
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large shallot diced
• 1 cayenne pepper diced
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 cups water
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 2 sprigs of rosemary chopped finely
• salt pepper to taste

Instructions

• Roast apples and butternut squash for 30-40 minutes until they slip out of their skins.
• When you remove from oven, pour 2 tablespoons maple syrup into the flesh of apples and squash.
• While apples and squash are cooling, saute shallots in butter until softened,
• If using fresh cayenne pepper, add now.
• Add remaining maple syrup.
• Add 4 cups of water and herbs.
• Add flesh of butternut squash by using a large spoon to scoop out. Add flesh and skins of apples.
• Bring to a simmer. Add cayenne pepper, salt.
• Blend with stick blender.
• You may choose to add in 1/2 cup of cream or additional water,
• depending on how thin or thick you prefer your soup.
• Serve hot, topped with some apple chips, a pinch of fresh herbs. 
Optionally, add a dollop of maple infused yogurt.

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