minced (or two teaspoons of garlic granules)
2 4-oz cans of diced green chiles
OR 1-2 jalapeño peppers seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons chili powder (chili powder commonly found in grocery stores is fine)
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)
1-2 tablespoons specialty chile powder (depending on how hot you want it—guajillo powder, Hatch chile powder, or habanero powder—see Note)
2 14-oz cans of beef broth
1 cup of water (more as needed)
Salt / pepper
Warning: ALWAYS use gloves when peeling, seeding, and dicing fresh chile peppers. The juices, membranes, and seeds can seriously burn your skin.
1. Brown meat with onion, garlic, and fresh jalapeños or canned chiles (8-10 minutes).
2. Once meat is browned, transfer the meat mixture into in a Dutch oven or slow cooker. Add beef broth and 2 cups water.
3. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and then specialty chile powders to taste. Mild chile powders give the chili a smoky flavor without adding too much heat. Hotter powders (e.g., habanero) crank up the heat.
If using the Dutch oven, simmer for two hours, covered, stirring and adding liquid as needed.
If using the slow cooker, cover and simmer for four hours at least, adding liquid as needed.
For both methods:
4. After one hour, taste and add another tablespoon of regular chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (if using), and 1 teaspoon specialty chile powder.
5. Taste after another hour and add more cayenne or specialty chile powders if needed.
6. Before serving, add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with: Cornbread and grated cheese (cheddar or Monterey Jack). A dollop of sour cream or a flour tortilla can bring down the heat for those who need it.
Milder version: Same as hot version, but use mild chile powders, and fresh or canned mild green chiles instead of jalapeños (also see Note 2).
Even hotter version: If you really want to turn up the heat, use fresh serrano or habanero peppers in place of jalapeños or green chiles.
Heat scale:
Scoville heat scale for chiles (approximate values)
Habanero = 200,000
Serrano = 7000-25,000
Guajillo = 5000
Jalapeño = 3500-4000
Anaheim (green) = 1000
Bell peppers = 0
Note: Specialty chile powders can be ordered from Mild Bill’s in Texas
( mildbills )
and Native Seed Search in Tucson, Arizona
( shop.nativeseeds.org/collections/chile-powders).
Browse their sites for varieties of chile powders. Try different powders for fun. I like the guajillo chile powder from Native Seeds, and the Hatch chile powders from Mild Bill’s.
Note 2: Grant believes his chili to be a true Texas chili, which means no beans or even tomatoes. If you love tomatoes in your chili, feel free to add a can of peeled, chopped tomatoes (or peel and chop fresh ones in season). Tomatoes will also cool down the heat.
Grace Malory’s Triple-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 30-40 cookies
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter (cut into small pieces and soft but not too squishy)
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
White chocolate chips (about 1/3 cup)
Dark chocolate chips (about 1/3 cup)
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 1/3 cup)
Grease cookie sheets or use sheets of ungreased foil
Preheat oven to 375
1. Beat butter with brown and white sugars until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes with a handheld mixer.
2. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add dry ingredients to butter / egg mixture all at once, and beat with electric mixer until just combined. (If dough is too wet, add another 1/8 – 1/4 cup of flour and stir by hand until combined.)
5. Stir in white chocolate, then dark, then semi-sweet chocolate chips. Add more of your favorite!
Drop about one tablespoon of dough for each cookie onto cookie sheets or foil, about 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart.
Bake in a 375 oven for 10 minutes
Transfer to wire cooling racks. Serve warm or cool.
Once cooled, store in an airtight container.
Books by Jennifer Ashley
Riding Hard
Adam
Grant
Carter
Tyler
Ross
Kyle
Ray
Shifters Unbound Series
Pride Mates
Primal Bonds
Bodyguard
Wild Cat
Hard Mated
Mate Claimed
Perfect Mate (novella)
Lone Wolf
Tiger Magic
Feral Heat
Wild Wolf
Bear Attraction
Mate Bond
Bad Wolf
White Tiger
Shifter Made (short story "prequel")
And more to come!
Immortals Series
The Calling (by Jennifer Ashley)
The Darkening (by Robin Popp)
The Awakening (by Joy Nash)
The Gathering (by Jennifer Ashley)
The Redeeming (by Jennifer Ashley)
The Crossing (by Joy Nash)
The Haunting (by Robin Popp)
Blood Debt (by Joy Nash)
Wolf Hunt (by Jennifer Ashley)
And more to come!
Stormwalker Series
(w/a Allyson James)
Stormwalker
Firewalker
Shadow Walker
“Double Hexed”
Nightwalker
Dreamwalker (forthcoming)
“A Little Night Magic”
in Hot for the Holidays
(short story “prequel”—Jamison and Naomi’s story)
About the Author
New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Ashley has written more than 75 published novels and novellas in romance, urban fantasy, and mystery under the names Jennifer Ashley, Allyson James, and Ashley Gardner. Her books have been nominated for and won Romance Writers of America's RITA (given for the best romance novels and novellas of the year), several RT BookReviews Reviewers Choice awards (including Best Urban Fantasy, Best Historical Mystery, and Career Achievement in Historical Romance), and Prism awards for her paranormal romances. Jennifer's books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have earned starred reviews in Booklist.
More about Jennifer’s books and series can be found at
jenniferashley
Or email Jennifer at jenniferashleycox.net
Acknowledgments
Many thanks go to my editor, Traci Hall, who went above and beyond the call of duty helping me get this book ready for release. Her input and assistance was invaluable.
Thanks also go to my husband, for patiently taste testing chili recipes until we found one that was just right. He prefers the hottest version, of course. He insisted on trying several batches of the cookies too.
Finally, thank you to all the readers who wrote to me with enthusiasm about this new series and encouraged me to continue. More to come!
Grant
Riding Hard, Book 2
2015 by Jennifer Ashley
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All Rights are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.
Excerpt of Carter (Riding Hard, Book 3), 2015 by Jennifer Ashley
Cover design by Kim Killion