I usually have ground beef in the freezer in one-pound bags, onions and garlic in the fridge, dried spices in the kitchen, and a variety of canned tomato products in the pantry. If I need to throw together a quick meal I often turn to a basic template for chili or pasta sauce:
Olive oil
Spices:
For Chili: 1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder (ancho or New Mexico for me),1 to 2 tablespoons comino (cumin)
For Pasta Sauce: 1 tablespoon dried basil, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, some fresh or died rosemary if you wish. You can just use Italian Seasoning, of course.
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced (About 1 teaspoon of dried garlic powder may be substituted if necessary, or use a mixture of fresh and dried.)
1 pound ground beef
Salt, to taste (about 1 to 2 teaspoons usually works for me)
Tomato Products:
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced or petite diced tomatoes (For chili, I use Ro-Tel diced tomatoes with green chilies)
1 (14.5-ounce) can beef broth**
Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until it’s hot but not smoking and bloom the spices.*
Add the onion and fresh garlic (Dried garlic should be bloomed with the other spices) and sauté briefly.
Add the ground beef. Break it up with a spoon or spatula. Add salt and mix into the ground meat and continue to cook. While there is still some pink in the meat, add the tomato paste and mix well. Allow the meat mixture to simmer in the tomato paste for a minute or two.
Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes (with their juice), and broth. Stir well. I usually make this in a skillet which won't quite hold all of the liquid. So, I add any excess broth gradually, as the mixture is simmering (next step).**
Bring the mixture to a low boil. Then, reduce the heat (low to medium-low) and gently simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
*How to bloom ground spices: First, you need to mix them with a little of the liquid from your recipe—vinegar, water, stock, wine, whatever—to make a thick paste. The moisture in the spice paste helps keep the ground spices from burning when you put the paste in the hot oil. Then you cook the paste until all the liquid evaporates. You can tell it’s time to stop cooking when the oil starts to separate from the spices. ( https://www.finecooking.com/article/...your%20recipe. )
**If you don't keep beef broth around, you can substitute two cups of water and two bouillon cubes. If space in the cooking vessel is tight, as mine is, you can just add one cup of water but still add two bouillon cubes. Add more water to the mixture as it simmers, as you see fit. If using the bouillon method, you may need to cut the salt used in seasoning the ground beef.
Olive oil
Spices:
For Chili: 1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder (ancho or New Mexico for me),1 to 2 tablespoons comino (cumin)
For Pasta Sauce: 1 tablespoon dried basil, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, some fresh or died rosemary if you wish. You can just use Italian Seasoning, of course.
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced (About 1 teaspoon of dried garlic powder may be substituted if necessary, or use a mixture of fresh and dried.)
1 pound ground beef
Salt, to taste (about 1 to 2 teaspoons usually works for me)
Tomato Products:
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced or petite diced tomatoes (For chili, I use Ro-Tel diced tomatoes with green chilies)
1 (14.5-ounce) can beef broth**
Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until it’s hot but not smoking and bloom the spices.*
Add the onion and fresh garlic (Dried garlic should be bloomed with the other spices) and sauté briefly.
Add the ground beef. Break it up with a spoon or spatula. Add salt and mix into the ground meat and continue to cook. While there is still some pink in the meat, add the tomato paste and mix well. Allow the meat mixture to simmer in the tomato paste for a minute or two.
Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes (with their juice), and broth. Stir well. I usually make this in a skillet which won't quite hold all of the liquid. So, I add any excess broth gradually, as the mixture is simmering (next step).**
Bring the mixture to a low boil. Then, reduce the heat (low to medium-low) and gently simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
*How to bloom ground spices: First, you need to mix them with a little of the liquid from your recipe—vinegar, water, stock, wine, whatever—to make a thick paste. The moisture in the spice paste helps keep the ground spices from burning when you put the paste in the hot oil. Then you cook the paste until all the liquid evaporates. You can tell it’s time to stop cooking when the oil starts to separate from the spices. ( https://www.finecooking.com/article/...your%20recipe. )
**If you don't keep beef broth around, you can substitute two cups of water and two bouillon cubes. If space in the cooking vessel is tight, as mine is, you can just add one cup of water but still add two bouillon cubes. Add more water to the mixture as it simmers, as you see fit. If using the bouillon method, you may need to cut the salt used in seasoning the ground beef.
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