The Easiest, Healthiest Chili you Need to Make

By Garrett Kelly, Staff Writer

What you’ll need:

Crockpot

Vegetable chopping knife

Cutting surface

Two forks

Ladle

Tupperware (probably)

Ingredients:

1-1 ½ containers of chicken or vegetable broth

2 chicken breasts

1 white onion

1 red pepper

1 15 oz can of tomato paste

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

1 15 oz can of beans

1 teaspoon garlic

Salt

Pepper

Chili powder

Paprika

Cayenne powder

Onion powder

Garlic powder

A dash of cinnamon

(Optional pepper; jalapeno, chili, etc.)

Start off by prepping your onions and red pepper. I prefer a fine dice on my chili vegetables personally. Once you have your veggies chopped, put them to the side for a moment while we prepare the chicken. I cook practically all of my crockpot chicken this way now, as it's incredibly consistent and results in some of the most tender chicken you’ll get to try. Place the chicken breasts at the bottom of the crockpot and add your broth on top. You want a decent amount of broth to submerge the chicken as much of the liquid will evaporate off during the cooking process.

Once your chicken is in its bath, we can begin adding all of our flavor additions. Add your chopped vegetables along with your cans of tomatoes and tomato paste. On top of that, add your seasonings and give it a nice stir until the liquid is homogenous. At this point, if you’re interested in a more distinct flavor you can add an extra pepper for flavor to the dish. I have often used fresh jalapeno for this recipe and it is tasty, but, recently, I’ve taken to using two dried chilis. The smoky aftertaste and subtle heat of a dried pepper pairs really well with the strong tomato palate. 

Set the crockpot to low for 8 hours. In my experience, the chili is fully ready to eat after 6 hours cooking, but the longer it sits the more flavors intermingle. At around 6 hours, grab two forks because it's time to shred the chicken. Don’t worry about pulling it out of the pot, just stick your forks into a breast and shred it. At this point the meat will be so tender and flakey it should just come apart at a light tug. Continue to shred the chicken and mix in until the chicken is evenly distributed into the liquid mixture.

Thirty minutes before serving, drain a can of black beans of excess liquid and add beans to the crockpot. Beans don’t really need to cook, just heat up so you can throw them in at the end for best effect. Give it one final stir before plating and you’re good to go. If you used a dried pepper, you might consider pulling it out before serving up as it doesn’t make for the most pleasant bite.

You’re almost certainly going to want to save what’s left when you’re done cooking, so sizable containers are a must too. I’ve been cooking chili for a long time but in trying to eat healthier, I’ve found it challenging to cut out my family’s criminally easy chili from my kitchen rotation. So instead, I’ve adapted this lower fat, more heart healthy version. 

For the flavor palate, with this dish you’re going to experience a noticeable amount of heat but it shouldn’t be overwhelming. The addition of the dash of cinnamon was something I discovered by accident, as with it the spice level becomes much less overwhelming. While normally I advocate spicing with reckless abandon, with this recipe less is more. Just a touch of cinnamon will be more than enough to achieve the desired, full up and down sweet and spicy ride of a good bite of chili. 

Another family classic, I hope you enjoy!

EDITORIAL: Low Tech Solutions to High Tech Problems

By Garrett Kelly, Staff Writer

For the students of Regis University, the Fall 2019 cyber attack remains a present reality. I’m sure many of us remember the delayed and disorganized classes due to complications caused by the breach. We went many weeks with our homework systems disabled entirely or in disarray. Personally, I hoped to be sympathetic and forgiving given this was an attack and Regis was the victim, but, this previous semester left a bad taste in my mouth. Regis Updates is still an active page since the cyber attack, with the most recent post at the time of this article’s publication Feb. 3, 2020. Despite this site, updates since the attack have not been timely, instructive or even relevant to student life. Nowhere on this page is it mentioned how Regis University has chosen to respond to the crisis. As one avidly interested in such a thing, I followed the page closely. You might imagine my surprise when I was directed by one of my Highlander colleagues to an article from the Denver Post detailing that the university did in fact pay out the ransom requested by those that took the school hostage. Key details, relevant to our ability to function as members of this community remain undisclosed. What we’ve seen is a consistent pattern of non-communication to this university’s most important stakeholders--faculty and students. The Denver Post’s Jan. 28 article claims correctly that it was the first to report that Regis did in fact pay out the “malicious actors”, a revelation that took place six months after the event. Other “revelations” remain waiting in the wings. 

The comments on the Denver Post article are even more interesting given the context. One user under the moniker Cloud claimed to be among the contractors hired to restore antivirus systems at the university. He wrote, “It was a mess. Everything was down.” Various others left probing questions as to how it could be possible that such an attack could disable our systems for such a length of time. In truth, even colloquially, I’m aware that the lack of backup built into the school’s servers represents another case in a series of internal security flaws that allowed us to be put in such a position. I wish I could write this in anger, but I can’t. To describe it as such would be a dishonest expression. More than anything, this experience has left me frustrated. It shocks me that the first report of Regis’ official decisions regarding this monumental event come only in the form of the Post article that I happened to be pointed towards. 

After all this, Regis postures itself to host a cyber security summit, in the name of sharing what they’ve learned with others who are potentially vulnerable. For this, I want to applaud them. This summit has the promise to shed more light onto the events that paved the way for the events experienced in the fall semester. It should also address how to respond when such attacks are successful and disabling. Frankly, the first to know should have been us; the faculty and students of Regis who have a vested interest. That we’d only be informed indirectly a week after the fact bothered me deeply. Six months later, Regis’s updates remain ambiguous. Websites remain filled with dead links to disabled systems.  But Regis Updates remains unchanged and I am doubtful that my peers know the latest news of what decisions the institution has made, and the impact those decisions will have on our path to education. 

The silence present here is deafening in a way that breeds the worst kind of anxiety for college students. With the obvious financial and administrative turmoil at Regis, silence only inspires more doubt and fear of instability. I fear the further limitation of already slim programs. I fear for the professors, already overworked amongst a hiring freeze that could face an even greater workload in the near future. My priority is that of the quality of my education, something that the passionate teaching staff of Regis University has provided time and time again. But I’m not blind to what they’re facing here, all that challenges us with the recent technical challenges affect them twofold. I certainly don’t want my professors to be forced to take on greater responsibility while they’re already amongst the busiest in the country.

 Much of the strength of Regis, in my observation, is that of the small class sizes and passionate teaching. As this crisis continues with little information and minimal communication, it is clear to see the strain it places on those who work so hard to provide a quality educational experience. This lack of communication undercuts the spirit of community, collaboration and our fundamental Jesuit values. The standard of communication during this crisis has fallen short of any reasonable expectation. It’s easy to assume that the communication received by the professors here is the same as that we have received--vague and unhelpful. As Regis continues to return to old refrains, discussing the building of community the lesson becomes solidified,  all of us, the student population, will remain the last to know anything. We remain in the dark, unsure and unclear as to the path ahead, and our place on the road.

The answer to high tech problems is a low tech one. Trust. Communication. Community in more than name. This could have been a learning experience for all of us, but instead it’s been a fracture of trust.

Saucey Mac and Cheese to Relieve Mid-Semester Blues

By Garrett Kelly, Staff Writer

Photo Source // Garrett Kelly

Looking to up your comfort food game? Kraft just not fulfilling your deep-seated craving for quality mac and cheese? You might be looking for this very recipe. Importantly, this is simple enough that you can make it with just a few kitchen essentials; hopefully perfect for those dorm kitchens. 

Serves 4 (Or you and three small tupperware).

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Equipment needed:

Large pot

Pan

Medium saucepan

Whisk or stirring spoon

Measuring cup

Paring knife

Vegetable knife

Cutting surface

Strainer

Ingredients: 

6 cups water

8 ounce macaroni

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of flour

1 cup heavy whipping cream

¾ cup milk

1 & ½ to 2 cups shredded cheddar

1-2 fresh jalapenos

⅔ cup green onions

4-7 strips of bacon (to preference)

Salt

Pepper

Mustard Powder

(Season salt, available at most grocers, is not required but is highly recommended.)

First up is food prep. Remove the seeds from your fresh jalapenos. The easiest way to do this is to remove the stem, slice it down the middle length-wise, and scrape out the seeds with your paring knife. Removing the seeds is optional, but seeds in will make for a seriously spicier final product. Finely chop the green onion and jalapeno until you’re satisfied with the size of your chunks and you have sufficiently relieved your second-quarter stress. 

Place a pan on medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, feel free to start throwing bacon on. You’re going to be keeping an eye on the bacon as you work on what’s next. Let it cook for 8-12 minutes until appropriately crispy. 

Alternatively, if you find it easier, you can preheat your oven to 400 degrees, place the bacon on a well oiled baking sheet (or baking sheet with a wire rack. Without a wire rack, oven bacon will be a bit chewier). You’ll want to use a neutral flavored oil, like canola if you go this route. Let cook for up to 20 minutes, but be careful, you won’t want this to burn so start checking after around 15 minutes. I would actually recommend going this route if you can, but it is slightly more supply intensive. Oven cooked bacon on a wire rack will leave you with some nice, crispy bits that’ll crumble perfectly into your sauce later on. 

Next up, we’re gonna get to work on the mac part of this mac and cheese. Add six cups of water to a large pot and bring it to a boil. Optionally, feel free to add onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper to the water as it boils. When the pot is boiling, add your eight ounces of macaroni. Let the pasta cook for up to 10 minutes but keep an eye on it, you want the noodles to be al dente. This is pretty simple but its important to watch it as you work on the rest of the meal.

Next we’re gonna start working on a roux. Melt your two tablespoons of butter, then add it and your two tablespoons of flour to a medium saucepan on medium heat. Whisk or stir the roux gently until you’re left with a cohesive mixture. Avoid stirring too fast or too little or the flour might coagulate, leaving you with clumps that won’t mix well.

As soon as your roux is nice and smooth, add one cup heavy whipping cream and ¾ cup of milk. Reduce heat to medium-low, add pepper, salt and mustard powder, then whisk. Once the mixture has cooled off a little, add 1½ to 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, your chopped vegetables, and crumble the bacon into small chunks as you add it to the sauce. Once all the ingredients are added, you’ll want to reduce the heat to low, and bring the sauce to a simmer. If you have it, add season salt to taste at this point. Mix thoroughly until evenly melted and distributed, then combine with pasta, mix thoroughly and serve!

This is a pretty straightforward recipe but there are plenty of areas for experimentation. Try a different mixture of cheeses, but keep in mind that aged cheeses don’t melt the same way as the highly processed stuff, so you’d want a combination of young and old cheese. Substitute bacon or the vegetables as you see fit. I recommend sharing this dish with friends, or even making them help you cook as it’s a lot easier with two sets of hands. If you get tired of heading over to the caf, I hope you give this recipe a shot. Food made with your own hands almost always tastes better, and cooking can be a great way to relax if you find yourself enjoying it!