Recipes for when you're on a deadline -- Cincinnati Chili

Before I get to the topic of today's blog -- I had a wonderful time at the book signing/discussion at the Barnes & Noble at The Streets of Southpoint in Durham last night. Despite some truly nasty weather, we had a really impressive turnout. Thank you to Angela, the Community Relations Manager at B&N for making all the arrangements! And it was great to see James Maxey again, and to meet Warren Rochelle, and Debra Killeen.

I'd like to start doing regular contests. So if anyone has an idea for a fun contest, email me or respond to the blog.

We now return to our regularly scheduled blog: How to stay fed while on deadline. I didn't used to mind cooking, back in the days when I had free time -- but now it's simply a major (but necessary) pain. I usually cook every other night, with enough for leftovers the next night. But I have several recipes that I'll make when I know the writing is gonna get hot & heavy, and I double the recipe so I'll have plenty to freeze. That way on those nights when I simply don't have time to cook, there's good eats waiting in the freezer. Last weekend, I made a double batch of Cincinnati Chili. I found the following recipe online, but have made quite a few changes to it. Here it is:

Cincinnati Chili
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 bay leaf
Half of a 1 oz. square of unsweetened chocolate
2 (10.5 oz.) cans beef broth
1 (12 oz.) can of tomato paste
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently until tender (about 6 minutes). Move onions to a separate bowl.
2. In the same pot, brown the ground beef. When done, drain the grease.
3. Add onions back to the pot with the beef. Then add chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, bay leaf, chocolate, beef broth, tomato paste, cider vinegar, and red pepper. Stir to mix well. Bring to a boil (Important safety tip: when this stuff starts to boil, it pops like molten lava. Have a lid ready.) Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (At this point, you can go and get some more writing done, and take breaks to stir the chili.)
4. You can serve it when it's done, but the recipe says it's best to refrigerate it overnight (I guess to let the flavors merge & mingle). I don't do this. If I've cooked something, I'm eating it. Now. Though if you're going to refrigerate overnight, leave the bay leaf in (for more flavor mingling). If you're eating it now, unless you want a crunchy surprise, remove the bay leaf before eating.
5. I serve it over Jasmine rice. The recipe suggests spaghetti. Heck, this stuff is good on a baked potato, too. The recipe says you can top it with shredded cheddar cheese. We don't. Don't get me wrong, I love cheese; but this stuff tastes so good that I don't want to cover it up with anything.

Enjoy! (Next Friday, I'll give you my recipe for vegetable beef stew.)

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for the Saturday Fun Pic.

Happy Friday, everyone!
Lisa