Chili con Cocoa Recipe + Five Must-Have Kitchen Tools

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I love to cook, and cooking becomes even more fun when, as a Good Cook Kitchen Expert Blogger, I get to use the products Good Cook sent for me to try. Most recently, the Kitchen Experts and I were challenged to create a one pot meal – nothing fancy, just a meal along the lines of comfort food – using at least two of five fantastic Good Cook tools I was sent. When I read that term ‘comfort food”, one dish immediately came to mind – Chili con Cocoa! I know what you are thinking: chili with cocoa?! Give it a try – you may be surprised!

Chili con Cocoa – Recipe

Ingredients:

1 to 1.5 lbs of ground chuck
1 white onion
1 green bell pepper
2 cans of light red kidney beans
2 cans of stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 to 3 tbsp Chili powder
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/4 tsp Creole Seasoning ( I prefer Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning)
1 tsp cumin
1/8 to 1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black ground pepper

Instructions:

1. Begin by dicing the garlic cloves, green pepper and onion.

2. Next, in a large skillet, add the minced garlic and the ground chuck, stirring over medium high heat until the beef is almost completely browned.

3. Add in the diced bell pepper and onion, stirring for another few minutes until the beef is cooked all the way through. At this point I like to add a dash of salt, pepper, chili powder and Creole seasoning for some extra flavor.

4. Drain the grease and set the meat and veggies aside.

5. In a large pot, add both cans of beans and stewed tomatoes, making sure to mix them together well. 

6. Add the meat and vegetable mixture into the pot, stirring until all ingredients are completely combined.

7. Next you add the chili powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, cumin, paprika, creole seasoning and other spices, tasting occasionally until you get the exact flavor you want.

8. Cook over medium heat until it reaches a gentle boil, stirring occasionally.

9. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and allow to simmer for at least two hours. Make sure to stir the chili every so often.

 Serve with crackers, shredded cheese and even a dollop of sour cream if you prefer.

Five Essential Good Cook Kitchen Drawer Tools and Gadgets

So which kitchen tools did I wind up using for this challenge? Well, to open the cans I used the Good Cook SafeCut 4-in-1 Can Opener, which I love because it opens the can under the rim of the lid, leaving a safe and smooth edge on both the lid and the can. The Good Cook Double Sided Flip Measuring Spoon was ideal for measuring and adding the spices, especially since this one spoon measures 1 tbsp., 1 tsp., 1/2 tsp. and 1/4 tsp. simply by inverting the bowls! Having the Good Cook Utensil Pot Clip really came in handy with all of the stirring I had to do – it allowed me to attach the spoon to the side of the pot, keeping it within easy reach and keeping my stove mess-free. Although I didn’t use these other two items for this particular recipe, I have used them several times since. The Good Cook Egg Separator is a fast and simple way to separate the yolk from the egg white, and the Good Cook Smart Scoop Ice Cream Scoop is unlike any ice cream scoop I have ever used before in that the scoop part splits in half to release perfect balls of ice cream!

Do you have a favorite One Pot Meal?