Ready for Fall

I love Fall and I get so excited about it every year and am just waiting for it to turn cool and crisp outside, so that I can make warm soups, chilies, and all the other yummy Fall and Winter dishes that I love! Like every year in the past I get impatient and at some point decide that while it is not as cool and crisp out as I would like that it is cool enough and I make my first soup, chili or stew of the season. The September issue of Cooking Light had a fantastic chili section that included a Venison, Sausage, and Black Bean Chili recipe. It just so happens that I still have a freezer full of venison and am still not quite sure what to do with it. So, this recipe kills two birds with one stone by fulfilling my burning desire to go ahead and declare it soup / stew / chili season and a way to use up some of the venison that has taken over our freezer.

To make the chili you heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and coat it with cooking spray. You then remove the sausage from the casing and add it along with the onion and garlic to the pan. I could not find spicy chicken sausage, so I went with spicy turkey sausage instead. Next add the venison to pan and cook until it is browned. I used ground venison instead of loin since we have lots of ground venison and both Russ and I prefer ground meat in our chili. Next stir in the tomato paste and let it cook for a couple of minutes. Then add the chicken broth, tomato (I used two cans of diced tomatoes), ancho chile powder, water, salt, and cumin to the pot. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about an hour. Then stir in the black beans and let it continue to cook for ten minutes until it is heated through. Check for seasoning and add salt if needed. Serve toped with goat cheese and jalapeño slices.

This was a very simple and easy chili to make in fact I made it on a weeknight and usually I save dishes like this for a weekend when I have longer for it to simmer. The venison gave it a nice flavor and worked really well with the black beans. I didn’t have a lot of ancho chile powder left, so I used some chipotle chile powder too. The combination worked well adding a nice level of heat and smokiness to it. I especially loved topping it with goat cheese. This was a nice way of balancing out the heat and adding some creaminess to it. This was a nice change for us from just the traditional chili I usually make. I really liked it, but both Allen and Russ thought it was excellent! Russ rates it a 9.

Venison, Sausage, and Black Bean Chili, Cooking Light September 2008
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup chili and 1 tablespoon crumbled goat cheese)

1/4 pound spicy chicken sausage
Cooking spray
2 cups chopped onion (about 2 medium)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound boneless venison loin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup chopped plum tomato (about 2 medium)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled goat cheese
Jalapeño pepper slices (optional)

Remove casings from sausage. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage, onion, and garlic to pan; sauté minutes or until onion is tender, stirring to crumble sausage. Add venison; cook 4 minutes or until venison is browned. Stir in tomato paste; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken broth and next 5 ingredients (through cumin), scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 15 minutes or until venison is tender. Stir in black beans; cook 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top each serving with crumbled goat cheese. Serve with jalapeño slices, if desired.