Gas Station Chili

Ok, so it's not much to look at. But to be fair, neither is traditional chili. 

I'm kind of weird about my meat. I don't enjoy steaks or ground meat in any of its many forms, i.e. hamburger, spaghetti sauce, lasagna. But give me a strip of dehydrated cow and I'm in heaven. I find the salty, chewy consistency of jerky utterly irresistible. So the idea planted in my head of using jerky in place of hamburger in chili. Once I was in prepared-food mode I thought of some other short-cuts that might be fun. Salsa! Canned beans! This effectively did away with the need for the spice cabinet. While I used much higher quality ingredients than the corner 7-11 (all can be found at Trader Joe's), technically speaking one could make this from ingredients found at the gas 'n' sip... thus the name. There's something comforting in knowing an all-American meal is just a flickering neon sign away.

Gas Station Chili

Serves 4

6 ounces peppered beef jerky (or any favorite flavor)

16 ounces spicy tomatillo salsa (or any favorite flavor)

15.5 ounce can Cuban style black beans, undrained

15 ounce can kidney beans*

Put the beef jerky in the container of the Vita-Mix. Set on #6, start and stop in bursts until the jerky is a uniform "grind". You don't want it to entirely loose it's integrity and turn to powder, but you don't want large strips remaining either.

Microwave the salsa and the beans until hot, about 4 minutes. Stopping after 2 minutes to stir.

Add the salsa and beans to the Vita-Mix. Pulse on #3 until combined, but still chunky.

Microwave in serving bowls if not hot enough.

Serve with extra-sharp cheddar cheese and ciabatta bread.

*I didn't try it with the final can of kidney beans, but think the intensity of flavor would have stretched over another can if desired.