Cheesy Hash Brown Chili

For my birthday I asked for a subscription to Rachael Ray Everyday.  I get such a kick out of that magazine, and I wanted an actual subscription.  My first issue came in the other day and I entertained myself by looking through and picking out all the stuff I wanted to cook when I could taste again.  At the top of DH’s list was the Cheesy Hash Brown Chili, which combines two of his most favorite foods.  Well he’s not quite well yet, but I can taste again and I decided to go ahead and try it (plus it calls for onion and if he can’t taste, it’s easier for me to sneak them by him).  I made a few changes and tweaks to the original recipe, which comes from the Dinners for 10 Bucks (or Less) section.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1.5 cups black beans, rinsed and drained (original recipe calls for 15 oz. of kidney beans)
• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (my addition)
• 1 1 pound bag of frozen shredded hash browns
• 1 cup shredded cheddar

Directions:

1. In one skillet start browning your ground beef over medium high heat.
2. In a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion, chili powder, and cumin, and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft.  About 5 minutes.
3. Add the tomato paste.
4. Drain and rinse the ground beef and add to the sauce pan.
5. Add salt, pepper to taste, and garlic powder.
6. Add can of tomatoes with juice and approximately 1/4 cup of water.  Bring to a boil.
7. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Transfer to an 8 x 11 inch baking dish or 2 quart casserole dish.  I preferred the casserole dish so that it didn’t bubble over.
9. Put your oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 400.
10. In a big bowl, mix the cheese and hash browns.
11. Scatter the potato mixture over the chili.
12. Put the baking dish on a baking sheet and bake until the potatoes are cooked through and the chili is bubbling, about 35 minutes.

The verdict:  This wasn’t bad, but I think I prefer my own chili recipe.  You could certainly adapt the hashbrown/cheese topping to any chili recipe for the same effect.

Printable version.