Surviving the Super Bowl...Part 3: A Big Fat Pot of Gluten Free Chili

What is it with football and chili? Almost all of the Super Bowl Sunday menus I've seen involve some incarnation of chili. Maybe it's the meat. Maybe it's the beans, or the spices. Or maybe it's that chili is comfort food to soothe you when your team isn't doing so well. When I spotted the mix for Darn Good Chili by Bear Creek Mixes, I knew this was going to be my star entree for Sunday. The best thing about those Bear Creek people is that they've actually created a few good mixes that are gluten free, so way to go Bear Creek! If you haven't discovered this about me by now, I am the kind of girl that likes to take a mix for something and jazz it up a bit to make it more homemade. Kind of like Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade on Food Network. By the way, who doesn't covet her dish collection that changes in the background for every show? Am I right? It's amazing. Anyway, there are some dishes that when you find a mix that is easy and you like the taste and, good heavens, is gluten free, you tend to want to stick with the formula. This is one of those dishes.

Super Bowl Sunday's forecast is for snow here in Utah, so I'm looking forward to staying home, making a big pot of chili, and snuggling up in front of the TV with a bowlful and about nine hundred more calories from other treats, but that's beside the point. This is an easy chili recipe that just about anyone can do, so if someone's coming to your house to watch the game or if you are in charge of feeding people at your house, this could be the recipe for you.

Super Bowl Chili

1 pound ground beef

1/2 diced onion

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 can (6 oz. tomato paste)

1 package Bear Creek Darn Good Chili (gluten free, my gift to you)

salt and pepper to taste

7 cups water

In a large dutch oven, brown the meat and onion over medium heat until onion is soft and no pink remains. Add beans, tomato paste, and water and bring to a boil. Add soup mix and simmer with the lid off for 25-30 minutes or on low with the lid on for 2 hours, depending on serving time, stirring often. When liquid has boiled down and chili is thick, add salt and pepper to taste. serve over baked potatoes or in a bowl with cheese and avocado garnishes.

My family tells me this tastes a lot like Wendy's Chili, and since I love Wendy's Chili, it makes me happy that something similar can come out of my kitchen. Give this one a try and leave me a comment...do you think it tastes like Wendy's Chili, too?

Happy eating!