Call It Dry Chili

     It's not that dry -- but it's not a stew or a soup, either.

     I hadn't done any meal-planning yesterday and I arrived at the market with an open mind.  They had 93% lean ground beef in pound and a quarter packages, which is a good start for a quick meal; but what next?

     The store wasn't our corner grocer, but different one about a mile away.  They lean a bit foodie and a bit organic, and they have good prices (and quality) on semi-prepared items.  In the produce area, they had diced mixed bell peppers,  some salsa starter consisting of an assortment of tomatoes, onions, mild peppers and seasonings, and Pico de Gallo, with tomato, onion, garlic and jalapeno peppers.  The packages were about three-quarters of a cup each.  I had a few Porcini mushrooms left at home and I picked up a small pack of fresh fancy mushrooms (Alba Clamshell).

     Almost zero prep.  Mostly brown and drain the beef -- the drainage was nearly all water, not grease, so they weren't kidding about how lean it was -- push it to the sides, add the cut-up mushrooms and brown, mix with the beef and push to the sides, then add the (rinsed) peppers, saute and stir in, and do the same (except for rinsing) with the salsa starter and Pico de Gallo in turn.  The end result is flavorful with a little heat from the jalapeno pepper.  I microwaved some Spanish-style rice and had mine over it; Tam ate hers plain.  I used some mixed "Italian" seasoning on the meat but no additional salt, since the tomato-based condiments were salted in the making, as was the rice.

     If you added tomato sauce (and some chili powder), it would be in the chili universe.  With olives, raisins and a little cloves for seasoning, it would be nearing Picadillo.  But this is its own thing, and it made a nice change.