Grilled Pineapple Chili

***This is a sponsored post***

I'm pretty brave about trying new projects...except when it comes to food. If a crafty project doesn't look good, you can just keep tweaking it until it does. If you mess up dinner, it might just be ruined, and you might be hungry. So when the folks at Hunt's asked me to come up with a recipe using one of their tomato products, I immediately consulted the most fearless chef I know...Boy Scout Barry (That's what BSB stands for, btw--not the Backstreet Boys, as some of you have mentioned. Although, cooking with them could be adventure!)

Before I share the recipe he came up with (which is so very yummy), I want to tell you a little about Hunt's tomato products. You've probably heard by now that tomatoes are a super-food with all of that great lycopene.  Apparently the people at Hunt's are not the only ones who think so. The new government dietary guidelines for Americans say that people should try to eat one more serving of tomatoes each day. There is a great article at The American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine that outlines the lycopene and potassium content in various tomato products and explains the emerging health benefits of eating canned tomato products. Isn't it crazy that you get more lycopene from canned tomatoes than you do fresh ones? According to Hunt's all of their tomatoes are grown in California and are 100% natural--which is really important to me. Not so much the California part (no offense CA, but I imagine other states could grow tomatoes, too), but the natural part! :-) Tomatoes are great and don't need to be messed with! 

I'm telling you all of this so you can feel great about eating this recipe and not worry so much about the large quantities of sausage and other meats we are adding to our very healthy tomato base. :-)

Why Pineapple Chili? Have you ever tried pineapple in your chili? A few years ago, BSB and I were fortunate enough to go visit his brother and sister-in-law in Hawaii. One of our stops was at the Dole Pineapple Plantation, where everything pineapple is celebrated. One of the menu items was pineapple chili, so we had to try it. It was quite good, but BSB was sure it would be even better if he used the chili recipe his dad makes as the base and grilled the pineapple.

So we are dedicating this recipe to BSB's brother, Jared, who shortly after our visit moved to Missouri and sorely missed everything about Hawaii. And BSB's dad, Bill, for all of the work he did over the years, perfecting his chili recipe that we have adapted for our purposes here...

 
The ingredients (Note: This is a big recipe! Make some and freeze for later, or cut the recipe down)

BSB preparing the pineapple for grilling. You'll get the best results if you are as insanely picky as he is when picking out your pineapple in the grocery store. Don't mind all of the people wondering why it take 10 mins to grab a pineapple. :-)

Everything simmering together...

Voila!

Dad’s Grilled Pineapple Chili

This recipe is smoky, sweet, and spicy – not your typical Tex-Mex fare.  This recipe will make about 2.5 gallons of chili.

1-2 lbs ground pork

1-2 lbs ground turkey

1-2 lbs polish sausage

1-2 lbs hamburger

2  6-oz cans Hunt’s tomato paste

2  29-oz cans Hunt’s tomato sauce

2  28-oz cans Hunt’s Original crushed or diced tomatoes

1 large onion

5 cloves garlic

4  4-oz cans diced green chilies

1-2 cans diced jalapeños (to taste – 1 can is spicy, 2 is hot)

Vegetable or olive oil (or grease drained from cooked meats)

2-4 tsp smoke flavoring (to taste)

2-4 tsp chili powder (to taste – 2 tsp is spicy, 4 is hot)

2 beef bouillon cubes

1/8-1/4 tsp ground cloves

Dash ground cinnamon

2 Tbsp dark molasses

2 bay leaves

2-4 Tbsp Grease drained from cooked meat (optional)

1 large fresh pineapple

2 cans kidney beans

2 cans black beans

2 cans pinto beans

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown and drain the pork, turkey, and hamburger, reserving some of the drained grease for flavoring if desired.  Dice and brown the polish sausage.  Put the cooked meats into a large 2+ gallon pot with all of the tomatoes in their various forms.  Put the pot over low to medium-low heat and bring to a low simmer.

While the meat and tomato mixture is heating, peel and dice the onion, and peel and mince the garlic and sauteé in oil or grease until soft.  Add the onion, garlic, green chilies, and jalapeños to the pot.

Add the smoke flavoring, chili powder, bouillon cubes (dissolve in ½ C. warm water), cloves, cinnamon, molasses, bay leaves, and grease to the pot.

While the pot is gently simmering, heat up the grill to medium heat and peel and core the pineapple and slice into wedges.  Lightly spray the grill rack with non-stick spray and grill the pineapple wedges for 5-7 minutes, turning once.  Allow to cool slightly and then cut into small chunks and add to the pot.

Drain and rinse the beans and add to the pot.  You can also use fresh beans if you have the patience to soak and cook them properly.

Simmer for 15-30 minutes.  Be sure to remember to remove the bay leaves prior to, or when serving.

*****

Big thanks to Barry for the recipe and feeding us yummy chili yesterday! Is there someone you'd like to dedicate a Hunt's tomatoes heart-healthy recipe to? (Does my recipe count as a heart-healthy one or does the sausage cancel out some of the good the tomatoes do?) Let me know if you have a recipe we should try so we can get more tomatoes into our diets!

This is a sponsored post. I am receiving a stipend from Hunts and The Motherhood for participating in this campaign. As always, the words and opinions expressed herein are my own.