Hearty Black Bean Chili

I was mistakenly excited for Day Lights Savings for about a month, without thinking through the situation in its entirety. In my mind, once it's March, it should be spring. The snow should magically melt .while we sleep on the night of Febuary 28th, and scores of tulips should blossom in every yard immediately. Every year this is how I picture it, and so far it's not been the case. I am excited for it to be light out later, but the fact that I have to adjust to getting up at 4 am instead of 5 am tomorrow is not going to be a good time for a few weeks, let me tell you.

I remember fondly once not too long ago when I cajoled a friend about her strict early  bedtime routine. I may have used the word "Grandmammy", if memory serves. But the older I get, the harder time I have going without 8 hours of sleep. Nonetheless, I think my plan of attack is going to be trying to keep my schedule the same, but live with 7 hours of sleep all week and catch up on the weekend... We shall see...

 Spring was what I had in mind this weekend while hanging out with my family up North, and instead of the spontaneous snow melt, we woke up yesterday to it snowing like crazy. We played outside a bit, but apparently babies aren't really that fond of getting snowed on profusely we found out, and the games had to be moved indoors after a while. It was a good day to cook and relax with my favorite people. Since it was still so wintry, we made a delicious chili to un-thaw  us after out outdoor romp.

• Hearty Black Bean Chili
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• -1/4 cup olive oil
• -2 cups chopped onions
• -1 2/3 cups coarsely chopped red bell peppers (about 2 medium)
• -1 cup corn
• -1 lb. ground beef or bison
• -6 garlic cloves, chopped
• -2 tablespoons chili powder
• -2 teaspoons dried oregano
• -1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• -1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• -3 15- to 16-ounce cans black beans, drained, 1/2 cup liquid reserved
• -1 16-ounce can tomato sauce

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Directions: Heat oil in a pot over medium heat.  Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic, and sauté until onions soften, about 10 minutes. Mix in chili powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne; stir 2 minutes. Mix in beans, 1/2 cup reserved bean liquid, corn  and tomato sauce. Bring chili to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend and chili thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

 Garnish with shredded Monterey Jack cheese or sour cream.

* 8 servings

 This is a delicious chili recipe. It's pretty close to a classic with some minor tweaks that make it a little more interesting. A sprinkle of cheese on top  makes everything better too, right?

It's always an easy meal to make a pot of for a big group of people on a cold winter/almost (should be) spring day.

This can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the beef, which I usually do when I make it for just us. Let's get the hearty soup making over with to move onto light spring fare already, OK mother nature? Jeesh.