I know it's a bit late for a Christmas-type post but I made "Taco Bean Chili" as a gift-in-a-jar for family members and here's my big no-no, I hadn't made the recipe yet. Tsk tsk, I know but I finally made it last night with left-over ingredients I had on hand. I figured this was a good thing since a "winter weather advisory" was delivered just yesterday afternoon. I also like to make big batches of soup/stew kind of stuff and freeze it. I'm getting low on my stocked up soup and stew. My stand-up freezer is right by the back door so I just grab a package of whatever is on top for lunch at work - it's a good system. :)

So here is what went down with the Taco Bean Chili:

Here are my ingredients including adjustments.
I like to keep it real...notice the dirty stove & side board.

 Taco Bean Chili Mix
1/2 cup dried kidney beans

1/2 cup dried pinto beans
1/2 cup dried red beans
1 (1 1/4oz) package taco seasoning mix

1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon chili powder or chipotle chili pepper seasoning

Taco Bean Chili

Makes 6 to 8 servings.
1 jar Taco Bean Chili Mix

4 cups water

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles (Ro*Tel), undrained

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey, browned and drained
Shredded cheese, chopped lettuce, sliced black olives (optional)

The liquid cooks down quite a bit so if you like juicy
chili you may want to keep an eye on the liquid
level and add water accordingly.

Place soaked beans, water, tomatoes, tomato sauce, ground beef and contents of seasoning packet in Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until beans are tender.

Serve with cheese, lettuce and olives, if desired.

Use leftover chili to make a taco salad.

I used the speed soak method (below) on the beans, which worked OK but I had to cook the chili much longer.This is kind of a bland recipe so you might want to spice it up a bit. I adjusted the recipe for ingredients on hand and it turned out fairly well. I added dried minced garlic and I didn't have the Ro*Tel on hand so I put in some dried green bell peppers. This may have been my issues with the blandness. I also left the chili in the Dutch oven overnight and reheated it this morning - much better texture on the beans.

Sorry for the poopy picture! ;)

 Try it out and enjoy! :)

Speed Soak Method:

To quick-soak beans, place beans in large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat; let soak, covered, 1 hour. Drain beans, discard water.