In Which Monday Menu Mayhem Gets Weird (In the Good Way)

At this point, it must be a little broken-record-y for me to talk about the insanity that is La Vida Jones.  However, this weekend was no exception, and thank ever-loving goodness Boy Scout looked at me on Saturday morning and said, "What are we cooking this weekend?"  There was one shot to figure out what we were cooking, get the ingredients, and cook.  Like, seriously.  Things could have gone very, very wrong.

But instead, we managed to figure out a recipe and a shopping list by (probably illegally) walking in to a Borders, finding the book we didn't have with us (no, we do not carry Nigella Kitchen around with us everywhere we go... shameful, I know), picking the recipe, and taking a picture of the ingredients.  That's not illegal... right?  Dame Lawyer Liberty, can I get a ruling?

Let me say that this is a very... European recipe.  A good recipe, but it's a recipe for Chili that no self-respecting neighbor-of-Mexico would make.  It called for oregano.  And only one can of beans.  And oh yeah... Mozzarella cheese:

Yes, that's rice under there, because to know and love Boy Scout is to know that he cannot eat chili without rice.  

Yeah, I don't know what to say, either.

I'm sure that this is a recipe (like all soups/stews/chilis) that does better with age (Boy Scout, can I get a ruling?), but the flavor and spice manage just fine at the first sitting, thanks mainly to ingredient #1, chorizo.  

No, there is no bacon in this recipe. 

I know.  I'm still in shock myself.

Chorizo, ground beef, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, cocoa, oregano (I added some wine, natch), and then when it's all cooked and bubbly, you throw in chunks of mozzarella.

It's weird.  But it's good.  I'm still on the fence about whether to make it again... and how much I'm going to alter it when I do.