Gluten Free Bacon and Beef Chili

Ingredients

• 1 Onion (roughly chopped)
• 2 Tomatoes (diced)
• 2-3 Celery Stalks (sliced)
• 1/2 cup Green Pepper (diced)
• 1/2 cup Yellow Pepper (diced)
• 1/2 cup Frozen Corn
• 1 cup Carrots (diced)
• 4 Garlic Cloves (sliced)
• 1 can (540mL) Six Bean Medley (No Salt Added)
• 2 cans (796mL each) Diced Tomatoes
• 3-4 pieces Gluten Free Bacon (we used Maple Leaf Natural Selections Bacon)
• 200 grams Steak (cubed)
• 1/2 tsp Salt (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper (to taste)
• 1/4 tsp Chili Powder (to taste)
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp All Spice
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tbsp Paprika
• Green Onion
• Sour Cream

Instructions

1. 1

   Start with prepping all of your ingredients. Roughly chop your onion, dice your 2 fresh tomatoes, slice your celery stalks, dice your carrots (we used baby carrots because it's what we had in the fridge and it was easiest), slice your peppers and cut the slices in half so they are smaller bite sizes pieces, and slice your garlic.

2. 2

   Measure out your seasonings, cinnamon, all spice, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and paprika. You can also measure out your salt, black pepper and chili powder, however the amount you use will be determined based on your preferences. The more black pepper and chili powder you use the spicier it will be. If your chili is tasting on the bland side, you may need to add more salt. If you're trying to watch your sodium, some great alternatives are "Half Salt" or "Salt Free Salt."

3. 3

   Next cook your bacon. It is best to cook the bacon in the pot that you plan to cook your chili in. Once the bacon is past the point of being floppy and is a bit crispy, remove from pot, let sit to cool and chop. Put these to the side. Drain the oil from the pot, unless you are happy with a little extra bacon grease in your chili.

4. 4

   In the same pot that you cooked the bacon in, brown your steak. We used about 200g cubed steak which we previously marinated and froze cut up. Before cooking we let it thaw. Just brown the steak in the pot, it does not need to be cooked all the way through. This is just to get a sear on the meat, it will finish cooking as your chili cooks in the pot. Remove the steak from the pot and drain the oil. Instead of steak you can use ground meat or any other type of meat. If you're using ground meat, cook the meat all the way through before removing from pot.

5. 5

   Put onions, celery, carrots and seasonings into pot and mix together. Adding the spices at this stage cooks them and enhances the flavour.

6. 6

   Once the vegetables have softened. Add the beef, bacon, garlic, fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, and beans. Make sure that the beans are drained and rinsed before adding to the pot. Adding the garlic at this stage will ensure that it doesn't burn. Stir everything together.

7. 7

   Cook for about an hour. The tomatoes should breakdown and create a thicker consistency. Then add the peppers and frozen corn. Let cook for 10 more minutes.

8. 8

   Top with sour cream and green onion. Serve with Gluten Free garlic bread. We used Promise Gluten Free 3 Seeded Wholegrain Sandwich Rolls.

9. 9

   ENJOY!