Chocolate Ginger Orange Chili

Have you ever gone down an internet rabbit hole? That’s where you stumble across something on the internet and it unexpectedly captures ALL of your time and attention.

When I was in college, I used to post on a website called Fametracker. It was a place to go and discuss/skewer various celebrities and movies and things of that sort. The moderators were known to be very, very strict.

I came home from class one day, logged on, and saw all of these outlandish thread titles in the celebrity section. I quickly learned the website was shutting down and the boards were going to be un-moderated until the site closed. Thread title after thread title ripping into the mods, religion, society, you-name-it!

My eyes got as big as dinner plates and a huge smile spread across my face. DIS GON B GUUUD!!! I grabbed my jacket and ran out to get the ingredients to make chili – tomato sauce, ground beef, bell pepper, onion, and spice packet. I dashed back home and I spent the rest of the night eating bowl after bowl of chili and reading each delicious little thread.

It is the perfect food for curling up in front of your computer and getting lost in something!

This one, inspired by Ed’s Chicago Cocoa Chili, has a sweet and tangy twist thanks to the flavor combination of chocolate, ginger, and orange. I came up with it after consulting my Flavor Bible.

You’ll need:

• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 2 28-oz cans of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 stalks of celery, sliced
• 1 jalapeno, de-seeded and sliced
• 1 orange, juiced
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp ground allspice
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground thyme
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• Salt and Pepper

Chop your bell pepper, onion, celery, and jalapeno.

Juice your orange.

Get your cocoa powder, chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, ground allspice, ground ginger, ground thyme, dried basil, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl.

In a large pot on high heat, brown your ground beef.

Drop the heat down to medium.

Toss your chopped vegetables into the pan…

… and cook until onions are partially translucent (approximately 10 minutes), stirring occasionally.

Add in your bowl of spices, cocoa, and sugar.

Stir the pot to make sure the spices are coating the meat and vegetables.

Add the 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and the orange juice.

Partially cover your pot with a lid and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

A big bowl would go wonderfully with any of the following really interesting, long articles: The Welfare Queen; The Long, Fake Life of J.S. Dirr: A Decade-Long Internet Cancer Hoax Unravels, and The Child Exchange: Inside America’s Underground Market for Adopted Children.

Chocolate Ginger Orange Chili

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Hearty chili infused with the flavors of chocolate, ginger, and orange. It's sweet, spicy, savory and incredibly comforting.

Author: Tekesha @ EatMoreFoodProject

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 2 28-oz cans of crushed tomatoes
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 stalks of celery, sliced
• 1 jalapeno, de-seeded and sliced
• 1 orange, juiced
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp ground allspice
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground thyme
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1. Chop your bell pepper, onion, celery, and jalapeno.
2. Juice your orange.
3. Get your cocoa powder, chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, ground allspice, ground ginger, ground thyme, dried basil, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl.
4. In a large pot on high heat, brown your ground beef.
5. Drop the heat down to medium.
6. Toss your chopped vegetables into the pan and cook until onions are partially translucent (approximately 10 minutes), stirring occasionally.
7. Add in your bowl of spices, cocoa, and sugar.
8. Stir the pot to make sure the spices are coating the meat and vegetables.
9. Add the 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and the orange juice.
10. Partially cover your pot with a lid and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
11. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
12. Serve.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 317 Fat: 12 Carbohydrates: 24 Sugar: 13 Sodium: 596 Protein: 27

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