There are foods that I ate as a child that shall remain nameless due to their weird and wonderful ingredient content and the fact that I still derive incredible comfort from them and it would blow my foodie status all to smithereens! However, beans on toast never tempted me. Nanny Ekstrom would toast a piece of Wonder bread, slather it with butter then spoon a couple of dollops of freshly heated Clark’s Beans with Molasses over the toast and call it lunch. I still gag at the thought of it…

Having shared all that, yesterday as I was fixing lunch for Ralph I realized that my sexy sloppy Joe/crumbled beef, pork and bean topped with a spicy slaw -  I know the name is rambling. Nanny was on to something and yesterday I figured it out.

I love chili. I love sloppy Joe’s. I love coleslaw. So I put all that love together and Bob’s your uncle, I give you my 21st century rendition of my grandmother Ekstrom’s ‘beans on toast’!

White bean and Sausage Chili

1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb hot Italian Sausage, sliced into 1” pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2-28 ounce cans diced plum tomatoes in puree
2 – 19 ounce cans white kidney beans, rinsed and drained well
Chili powder. to taste I used 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons dried oregano
Large bunch fresh basil, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a shallow stew pot, warm olive oil over medium high heat.
Add ground beef and sausage pieces and cook until well browned.
Add onion and garlic, sautéing until onion is opaque.
Add remaining ingredients and heat until bubbling.

THE LOVE: If you find the chili too think, use a little water to thin it out. Also, keep in mind that the sweetness in the coleslaw will balance a nice hot chili so be brave with your spices!

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Coleslaw in Vinaigrette

½ cup becel oil
¼ cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ head green cabbage, shredded
1 red bell pepper, julienned
3 green onion, green and white sliced thin
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl.
Toss vegetables in a bowl.
Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables, toss well
Cover and chill until ready to serve.

THE LOVE:   Toast a large crusty roll, top with lots of chili then some coleslaw and dig in!

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one year ago: pineapple with brown sugar and sour cream

two years ago: apple crisp

Thanks for reading.

Filed under: meat Tagged: coleslaw, family, food, Italian sausage, life, recipes, Sloppy joe, white bean chil, white kidney beans

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