Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Easy Paleo Chili "Cheese" Fries Recipe with Chocolate Chili and Dairy Free Cheese Sauce


A few months back I went out with friends to eat, and I ordered chili "cheese" fries (with non dairy cheese sauce), and it was so delicious. Since then, I've made it so many times at home; it's become a bit of an obsession here. The reason for that is it is super easy to make, relatively frugal, my kids all enjoy it, and it tastes amazing.

I was in a rush yesterday and I made the chili portion of this recipe in under 20 minutes start to finish (yes, including cooking time). Making the french fries and the fake cheese sauce takes longer, but I like to have the fake cheese sauce on hand in my fridge to pull out as needed, and if you don't have time to make fries for this, the chili and cheese sauce also is amazing as chili "cheese" toast.

The chili can be eaten however you like; yesterday my kids had it over pasta. It's great with cornbread, rice, or even plain. Just one thing to note; because I eat this on other foods, it's got a bit of a strong flavor. If you want to eat it plain out of a bowl, I suggest adding approximately half to one cup of water, or to taste, to thin out the strong flavors.

I know, the concept of cocoa powder in chili probably sounds weird, but chocolate chili is a thing, and you don't taste the cocoa per se, it just makes it a much richer and even more delicious flavor.

Feel free to play around with this recipe. I usually don't even measure things and just throw it all together. I use grated zucchini in mine to add veggies that are more hidden, and because my kids won't eat cooked peppers, but feel free to add any vegetables you like to this, and just chop them instead of grating if that's how you prefer this. If you prefer fresh onion and garlic, use the equivalent of that instead of dried.

I haven't tried this yet with ground turkey or ground chicken, but I'm sure it would also be great with that.

If you didn't get around to defrosting your ground beef before you started, you can even do this with meat that is frozen solid. It will just take longer. Stick the beef in the pan with the zucchini and a drop of oil, and put it on low, and as it cooks and defrosts, break it up into smaller pieces.

Easy Paleo Chili "Cheese" Fries Recipe with Chocolate Chili and Dairy Free Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

French Fries
Vegan Cheese Sauce (either this recipe or any other you like)

Chocolate Chili Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil (optional)
2 lbs or 1 kg ground beef
3 cups grated zucchini - approximately one giant zucchini or two to three medium to small zucchinis
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2-3 teaspoons salt or to taste
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1/4 cup dried onion flakes
1 can tomato paste (approximately 2 cups)
1/2-1 cup water (optional)

Toppings (optional):
Hot pepper flakes or slices
Diced avocado
Diced tomatoes
Scallions

Chili Instructions:

1. If you're starting with frozen beef put it in a skillet now with a little oil, on a low heat. Otherwise move on to the next step.

2. Grate your zucchini and mix it with your ground beef until it is relatively uniform. If using frozen beet just add the zucchini to the pan next to the meat.

3. Put your zucchini and beef mixture into a skillet, with or without oil, on a medium or high flame (depending on how close you can watch the pan). Cook until the beef has fully changed color and is cooked. Break it apart regularly into crumbles with your spatula. Depending on how high your fire is, this can take ten minutes or so.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients other than salt and water. Mix well. Add salt to taste, and then if needed, add water to taste.

Chili Cheese Fries Instructions:

1. Prepare your fries. I sometimes make fries from potatoes cut into fries and baked with a little oil until crispy. Other times I use frozen french fries which I bake until crispy.

2. Put fries in a bowl or plate.

3. Cover your fries with chili.

4. Top with dairy free cheese sauce.

5. Sprinkle with toppings as desired. I don't always bother, but when I do its an extra special meal.

Enjoy!

Have you ever had chili cheese fries? Do you make it? If you make chili, how do you prepare it? What is your favorite way to eat chili? Ever had chili with chocolate in it? Does this look like a recipe you'd try?
What is your favorite meal to make in a very short amount of time?

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