Tequila Lime Chili

Heya!

I know, I know! It's been way too long. Every time I tell myself I need to post more often is a time where a gazillion things happen all at once! But no more excuses!

'Tis a new year, a new leaf. Let's get the show on the road!

While I haven't had an official "tasting" in a while (working on it) I still kept busy with quite a few recipes.
The first one of the "series" is a deeeelicious Tequila Lime Chili. Hell. Yes.

I'm big into cooking with alcohol lately. Especially chili. So stay tuned for another one soon, Tipsy Chili. Hint, it'll have beer and maple in it. 

But for now, let's all focus on this one. It takes about 10 minutes to prep and 1 hour to cook/simmer.

Here are your ingredients :

• 3 oz of  Tequila
• the juice of 2 limes
• 1/3 cup of fresh, chopped cilantro 
• 1 large can of Diced tomatoes
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 tbsp of Chili powder
• 1-2 tbsp of red Tabasco (adjust to your liking)
• 1/2 tsp of ground jalapeño
• 1 1/2 tsp of cumin 
• 1 1/2 cup of dried soy protein (note: you CAN use ground meats for this, if you want to. About 1 pound)
• 1 large can of red kidney beans, rinsed  
• 1 tbsp of Cajun seasoning
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• dash of salt and pepper  
• margarine

And the extremely easy steps:

1. In a large sauce pot, over medium high, melt margarine and drop in the onion. peppers and garlic. Saute for about 2 minutes. 
2. In a separate bowl, mix the soy protein with the tequila and lime. Let soak for about 3-4 minutes. 
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the rest of the ingredients, except the soy, and stir well. (add the Tabasco little by little, and taste as you go, that way you can "spicify" it to your liking. Yes, I made up a word)
4. Now add the soaked soy protein and the remaining of liquids into the pot. 

5. Stir well and let it simmer, on low, for about an hour. The colour will darken and the sauce will thicken. 
6. Remove from heat, let rest for 2-5 minutes, depending on how hot you want, and serve! Garnish with a little fresh cilantro and BAM! 

The reason why I made this with the soy protein is because it's dehydrated. Soaking it in the Tequila and lime, lets it absorb all the delicious flavours.  That way, when it's mixed with the rest of the ingredients, you get that kick every time you take a bite!

The texture and the look is pretty similar to ground meat; Meat eaters won't know the difference ;)