Recipe: Italian Chili

It finally decided to be (mostly) winter in Knoxville! That means that warm meals are a great way to end a day out and about. Even better if you don't have to prepare every warm meal from the beginning each day! Here's a great soup recipe that is a complete meal in a pot - meat, veggies, pasta, and beans all together. The best part is that it makes enough to eat one night and freeze for another night (or two!).

Try it out:

Seasoned Beef

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 lb. ground beef

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. sweet basil

1 tsp. salt

(*Note - Rather than using all beef and seasonings, you can opt to use 1/2 lb of ground beef and 1/2 lb Italian sausage.)

Soup

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 lb. carrots, shredded

2 cups celery, diced

48-oz. canned, diced tomatoes

1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed

1 15-oz. can small white beans, rinsed

1 Tbsp. sweet basil

1 Tbsp. oregano

2 tsp. garlic powder

2½ tsp. black pepper

5 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

1 cup Ditalini or small ring pasta (optional)

3 quarts beef stock

48-oz. spaghetti sauce

Topping

Shredded parmesan cheese

For beef, place olive oil in 8-10 quart heavy soup pot. Mix remaining seasoned beef ingredients and brown in hot oiled pan, crumbling while cooking. Remove from pan and set aside. For soup, add olive oil to pot and sauté onion, celery and carrots until tender-crisp. Add remaining soup ingredients and seasoned beef. Bring just to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer 45 minutes. Top each bowl with 1-2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese.

Another thing I love about this recipe is that it is totally flexible. The last time I made it, I used more beans and less stock to make it a little bit thicker. I've also had friends make it with red and/or green peppers added to the veggie list. Recently I didn't have small ring pasta, so I used some regular penne noodles, and it turned out great! It's hard to go wrong with anything in this recipe. If you like to make your own spaghetti sauce, this is a great recipe too. I recently made it for dinner for our family of three one night, and put the leftovers in Italian Chili the next!

What are some of your other favorite freezer meals? What else do you do to make meal prep easier for you and your family?