Chili is in the Forecast

Chili mac is one of those winter comfort foods, but after some recent dental work where I had to eat soft foods while I had a temporary crown on I made a small batch while my husband was away.  It was slightly different than an earlier chili mac recipe because it used Mexican Oregon and Mexican Chili Powder.

Traditional oregano is common Italian cuisine, especially pizza, with its minty undertones from its membership in the mint plant family Lamiaceae.

Mexican oregano, on the other hand, is from a different plant family altogether, Verbenaceae.  You’ll also find Lemon Verbena in this family, so Mexican Oregano has similar citrus-like undertones.  It also might taste more grassy or earthy to you. But I find it works much better in Tex Mex style cooking than traditional oregano and in dried form can be found in many grocers in their Latin section or from Amazon. It’s great in this dish as well as a pinto bean soup recipe I will share in the near future.

Mexican chili powder is more readily available in the US, and though it’s slightly “hotter” than American style chili powder, both types will work in this recipe.

But seriously, use the Mexican Oregano.

Chili Mac - serves 4-5, easily doubles just use a 13 x 9 pan if you are going to bake it

o 1 teaspoon olive oil
o 1 medium onion small diced, about 1 and a half cups
o 1 jalapeno, stemmed and minced (optional)
o 1 and ¼ teaspoons salt or salt substitute (I like Mrs. Dash and Diamond Crystal Brand) plus more for pasta cooking water
o 1 pound veggie “beef” crumbles
o 2 and ½  tablespoons Mexican chili powder
o dash of crushed red pepper
o 1 and ½ teaspoons Mexican oregano
o 1 tablespoons minced garlic
o 1 (14-16  ounce) can whole plum tomatoes, broken with your hands, with juices
o 1 can red beans, drained
o ½ pound gluten-free macaroni (I used Cadia brand brown rice macaroni)
o ¼ cup water
o 1/2 pound cheddar (optional)

Vegan sour cream substitute.

• Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a 6-quart soup pot. Add onion, jalapeno (if desired), and salt and cook until soft, 2 minutes. Add ground beef, chili powder, oregano, red pepper, and garlic and cook, breaking up any clumps of meat with a spoon, for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, and 1/4 cup of water, stir, and bring chili to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until thickened to chili consistency, about 20 minutes. Taste and add more teaspoon salt, if needed.

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

• While the chili is simmering, cook macaroni according to package directions in boiling salted water, drain in a colander,

There are two ways to serve this

• (1) add macaroni to prepared chili, heat through and serve with a spoonful of sour cream.  This is what I did today as I prepared this on my short lunch break.

• (2) Preheat oven to 400 F.  Rinse cooked pasta under cool water and set aside.  Grate ½ pound regular or vegan cheddar and set aside. Place an 8 x 8 or other one and a half quart casserole dish on a baking sheet. Once chili has finished cooking, fold in the cooked macaroni and 1/3 of the cheddar cheese. Transfer chili-mac to the baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake until heated through and cheese is melted - about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before serving.