Weeknight Steak Chili

The wind is cold and it’s finally time to pull the jeans and sweaters out of the back of the closet.  It’s also time to let a pot of chili welcome the boys home after a long day.  This time it won’t have to cook all day, I have my handy dandy pressure cooker, which doubles as a enhanced slow cooker, to cut the usual cooking time in half!  If you don’t have a pressure cooker I’ve put the alternate instructions in red where they differ.

Pressure Cooker Steak Chili

• 1 pound trimmed Chuck roast ( I buy mine Organic from Sprouts) chopped into 1/4″ chunks – it’s easiest to chop raw meat if you freeze it for 30 minutes or so
• 1/2 of a medium onion chopped
• 1 block XLNT chili con carne
• 1 small can S&W low-sodium red beans drained of most of the liquid
• 1 small can Hunt’s petite diced tomatoes
• 1 large can store brand dark red kidney beans drained of most of the liquid (my store didn’t carry a large can of S&W)

1. Turn your pressure cooker on to the brown setting and toss in the onions.
2. For non-pressure cookers: heat a Stock Pot to medium-high heat with a splash of olive oil and add the onions, then follow the instructions below through #8.
3. Allow to cook for about 2 minutes then give them a quick stir.
4. Add chopped meat to the pressure cooker.
5. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes.
6. Add the block of chili.  If thawed, stir into the meat and onion. If frozen, skip this step.
7. Add both cans of beans and the can of tomatoes.
8. Stir the mixture, getting chili block to the bottom if it’s frozen.
9. Close the pressure cooker.
10. Set to slow cooker setting (mine has one) – mine defaults to 2 hours of cooking time.  At the end of 2 hours my kidney beans needed a little bit more time, so I added an additional 30 minutes and they were perfect.
11. If you don’t have a pressure cooker you can finish cooking 1 of 2 ways: Put everything into the crock pot and cook on low for about 4 hours (or 1 hour on high and 2 on low); or you can finish this chili on the stove top in your stock pot.  You will need to add some more liquid, in which case I would go with a beer and make sure that you are cooking it low and slow – you’ll need to simmer and stir occasionally for about 4 hours.

I grated some white cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top and grabbed a package of Trader Joe’s Cheesy Bread Sticks that toasted up perfectly in the oven in 6 minutes. No one was in the mood for a salad, but if you wanted a perfectly rounded meal a salad would do the trick!

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