Quick Three-Bean Chili

This chili cheese fries combo was just a matter of happenstance. When I made this chili I just happen to have a partly used bag of frozen fries in my freezer and some cheddar cheese in my fridge.

I rarely have frozen french fries. I might by them once every few years. I bought them to make tin foil dinner. Have you ever made tin foil dinners?

There is a fire pit in the back yard of the apartment where I live. I have lived here for over two years, but I used the fire pit for the first time just a couple of weeks ago.

A friend and I burned all the sticks in my back yard and cooked some tin foil dinners in the coals. It was fun, and they turned out much better than I anticipated. I was worried that the food inside the tine foil packets would either be cold and raw or burned. Fortunately, they were perfectly cooked.

I thought about also making banana boats in the fire, but I didn't end up making those. I was impressed how quickly we started the fire. We much have had the perfect amount of dry kindling.

This quick three-bean chili recipe came from Food and Wine. It only required about 30 minutes to make. I added more bacon to the recipe.

The ingredients are 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 7 slices of bacon, 1 onion, 2 jalapeños, 2 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup chili powder, 1 15-ounce can Great Northern beans, 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, 1 15- ounce can black beans, 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, 2 cups chicken stock, salt, and ground pepper.

I added the oil to a pot over high heat. I added the diced onion, chopped bacon, diced jalapeños, and minced garlic. I sautéed these ingredients until the onion had softened. This took about five minutes.

I added the chili powder. I stirred and cooked the ingredients for a minutes.

I drained and rinsed the beans. I added them to the pot. I added the crushed tomatoes and chicken stock. I added salt and pepper, and then simmered the chili for 15 minutes.

In ate this over toasted potatoes chips and covered with cheddar cheese. I also ate the chili by itself as a hearty soup.

My favorite way to eat this chili was with fries and cheese, but the chili by itself was also delicious.

The chili was hearty and meaty. It had warm, smoky flavors from the chili and bacon.

The chili had a nice, welcome kick from the jalapeños.

The beans were creamy and filling. The onions were aromatic and flavorful. The tomatoes added some acidity and brightness.

It was a satisfying and savory dish.

I enjoyed it and would make it again.