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Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Obama Family Chili

So the inauguration is just around the river bend. I am excited. Even optimistic. Maybe it is my naive tendencies to assume "the next guy can do it better". Boy, I sure hope that is the case. Then again, I read an article recently about how President-elect Obama is walking straight into a mess, but the mess can't get much worse. So when the mess unmesses, Obama will look like the hero and we will all love him because "he fixed the economy". Sure, I'll buy it. We all want to put a face on the mess and too many people don't know who Ben Bernanke is so they look to Bush. When it gets good, we will look to Obama. As long as it gets good, who cares.

There is this blog out there called Obama Foodorama. It is awesome. If you have a spare hour, check it out. It is all about Obama and food. Go figure. This recipe was snatched from that blog. It is the Obama family's favorite chili recipe. President-elect Obama used to make it in college. If you are looking for a food to make on Inauguration Day, this is it. What a way to connect with our next Commander-in-Chief! So much better than smoking a cigarette, which he finally quit doing. That'a boy.

This chili is different than the chili I am used to, but oh-so good. It is a spicy SOB, so I would take it easy with the chili powder. And remember, when you use chili powder, it only gets spicier. It might be mild today, but tomorrow it will pack some heat. I have a significant other (Ethan) who is sort of sensitive (wimpy) to spicy foods. Apparently, I added too much (didn't) chili powder.

I love you honey. Really, I truly do.



1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
Several garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp basil
1 Tbsp chili powder (less for a more mild taste)
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Several tomatoes, chopped
1 15 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Steamed rice, for serving

In a small bowl, combine cumin, oregano, turmeric and basil. Mix well and set aside.

In a large pot over medium high heat, saute onion, green bell pepper and garlic. Add ground beef and cook until browned through. Sprinkle spice mix over the meat and stir well to combine. Pour in red wine vinegar.

Add tomatoes and simmer until they are cooked down. Add beans and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

Yields 6 servings.

Rookie's Notes
: Serve rice with chili? Must be from his Hawaiian roots. But it is goody good good.

For some more presidential food, click here. Cakespy put together an awesome post about president's favorite desserts, as far back as George Washington. Nice work Cakespy. Someday, sooner then later, I am going to have you do a print of my family as cupcakes. I just love the stuff you do.

6 comments:

[Morgan] said...

i agree. nothing wrong with hope.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

MMM, we haven't had chili in a while. Yours looks good! As soon as it cools off here I'll have to give it a try! Thanks for sharing the website & the recipe.
~ingrid

rabidrunner said...

We're having an inaug-or-ation party tomorrow and I'm going to cook this. Thanks for being so great!

Rabid said...

I totally made this again today, and I make it all the time. From now on I'm going to tell you that I totally made it for dinner each and every time I totally made it for dinner.

Rabid said...

Hey Whitney! I made this for dinner and just now finished eating it!

Rabid said...

Whitney, beloved Whitney. It's February 16th and I'm making this for dinner. Totally.