Originally posted by Jess – March 3, 2015
This recipe adaptation has been in my arsenal for many years. I think the original recipe came from the winner of a Better Homes and Gardens contest, and since then I’ve played with the ingredients quite a bit. The only thing consistent is the use of coffee and apple cider in the simmer, but the meat, veggie, tomato base and spice are all quite flexible. I find it to be a great way to use a variety of Springdell summer peppers. It seemed like a good idea to bring this recipe to the blog/table as it uses many Springdell ingredients, including three from this share box alone!
I think I set a dangerous precedent with my two year-old. At night, he usually won’t sleep unless I fall asleep with him. I previously went through this with my five year-old as well, and he is now a fabulous and independent sleeper. I know all will work out, but in the meantime, it makes things a little tricky cooking-wise on nights where the boys eat earlier than us. This, of course, was one of those nights.
Though it was counterintuitive to the evening, I brewed 2 strong cups of that delicious coffee from our 8th winter share box. Meanwhile, I put ground beef, onion and a variety of frozen Springdell peppers from the 2014 Summer CSA into my pan (including multicolored bells a poblano, a Hungarian wax, and a jalapeño with seeds).
After draining the very tiny amount of fat that comes with Springdell ground beef, in went the coffee, along with a cup of apple cider vinegar. This slowly boiled down for almost an hour, leaving plenty of time to put our littlest one to sleep (or so I thought… The second wind of a toddler can be a doozy.) Needless to say, I was unavailable to stir or to check on the pan over the next hour. Glen was in charge and although he was nervous, it all turned out just fine. Here is one of the photos he texted to me while I cuddled with the little restless one.
The littlest guy was still not ready for sleep by the time the simmer was ready for the tomato base, so he joined us for a second dinner.
This is the only photo I quickly snapped of the final product on its way to the table. It was delicious, and makes lots of leftovers that are even more delicious.
Oh, and my two year-old did finally fall asleep.
1 hr 20 min
- 2 pounds of ground beef
- 4-6 medium peppers, chopped (a little over 4 cups total)
- 4 medium onions
- 2 cups strong coffee
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar (preferably unfiltered)
- 1 1/2 cups ketchup (preferably homemade)
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 jalapeno or scotch bonnet pepper, finely chopped (you could use 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper if the hot peppers aren’t available)
- buns for serving
- In a large fry pan on medium heat, brown the ground beef and onion.
- Once the beef begins to brown, add the peppers. Cook until the meat is browned, then drain off any fat you may have.
- Add in the coffee and the cider vinegar, bringing it to a gentle boil over medium heat with the occasional stir, until the liquid is almost all boiled off, about 40-45 minutes.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients and continue to stir and cook about 15 minutes more. Serve on buns.