Chili Recipe - Jason's Pick

Jason here. As a follow up to Kayleigh’s Chili recipe, I thought I would post mine. I like to take a different spin on chili’s and have adapted my own recipe from what can traditionally be called a chili. While I have included ingredient amounts below, I tend to do rough estimates and alter the amount widely depending on the mood I am in. For instance, more mushrooms, potatoes, peppers, and beans for a healthier chili, or more beef, pepperoni, and sometimes bacon or sausage for a meatier chili.

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef

½ onion diced

1 can light red kidney beans

1 can dark red kidney beans

2 portabella mushrooms, chopped

2 Large Russet Potatoes, chopped

1 tomato, diced

1 green pepper, diced

3 cups pasta sauce

½ cup sliced pepperoni

1/3 cup corn flour

1 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon red pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1.       Dice onion, green pepper, and chop mushrooms. Set aside in small bowl.

2.       Chop and blanch the potatoes. They will finish cooking in the chili later.

3.       Brown the ground beef in a large skillet.

4.       Drain ground beef and add to large pot

5.       Cook the onion, pepper, and mushrooms in the large skillet, then add to large pot

6.       Drain the cans of kidney beans, and add everything remaining to the large pot. Cook on medium heat until the potatoes have finished. Add additional corn clout to desired consistency.

Alternates and serving recommendations

Cube some cheddar cheese and add to bowl just before serving. The cubes melt nicely into the chili and provide bursts of flavor. Additionally leave a few melting cubes on the surface creates a really appetizing presentation.

For a real wow factor, serve in a bread bowl. The consistency is fairly thick so it won’t soak into the bread and make it mushy like some soups and more liquid chilies.

For a spicier chili add some chopped jalapenos, although you might want to switch to red, orange, or yellow pepper instead of green pepper. Switching up the color pepper will allow some additional color variety.

For something with a bit more flavor, add less potato, and more chili powder, red pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and ground black pepper to taste.

For something a bit meatier, cook some bacon well done and add them to bowl just before serving. You can try adding them to the chili, but I’ve found they tend get a bit chewy for my taste. Additionally chop up some sausage and cook it in the skillet. You will most likely need to cook the sausage separately as the ground beef will generate to much liquid for both at once.

Look for some flavored pasta sauces. One of my favorites was a three cheese pasta sauce a local grocer used to sell in New York.

Chili Recipe - Kayleigh's pick

Kayleigh here. When the warmth of the summer starts to leave the air, and the leaves start to turn colors and cover the ground in a crunchy blanket, I know it is time to pull out the chili recipes. From the lighter white chicken chili, to the verdes with tomatillos and tender pork, back to the tried and true red, the warm spice and hearty ingredients go a long way towards warding off the chill of a fall evening. But no matter how many variations we've made, and how many unusual combinations have tickled a taste bud or satisfied an odd craving, we can't help but come back to making a red. As for the recipe...let's say that Jason and I agree to disagree. So for this post, you'll see my go-to, and Jason will divulge his own personal favorite in his own post.

My chili recipe hails from when I used to help out at the state chili cook off every year through high school and college. I learned exactly what was considered 'chili'- heaps of different spices, a good and tender Tri tip beef seared on the stovetop before added into the pot, and a strong tomato and garlic presence. No beans for the judges’ batch! As for my own version...I took these principals, and made it a little more budget friendly. It uses some more standard spices, ground chuck instead of the tri tip (although I highly recommend shelling out for some if you are able), and plenty of beans. Because, well, I like beans too much to leave them out.

Ingredients:

For a medium spice level (halve the spices for a milder chili)
1 - 1 1/2 lbs Ground Chuck
4-5 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Yellow Onion, diced
4 cups Chicken (or Vegetable) Stock
2 15 oz cans Diced Tomatoes
2 15 oz cans Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
2 TB Chili Powder
2 TB Cumin
1 TB Cayenne Pepper
3-5 TB Corn Flour

Optional:

Tabasco or other hot sauce (add at the end if it isn't spicy enough)
Salt to taste (probably not needed if using full sodium beans or broth)

Directions:

1) Put a pan on Medium heat, then start to cook the ground chuck. Once about half of it is brown, add the onions and garlic. Cook until the beef is browned and the onions are translucent.
2) In a large pot, add the stock, tomatoes, and beans. Turn a burner onto Medium heat, then once it starts to simmer, bring it down to Low.
3) Add the beef mixture to the pot, as well as all the spices. Throw a lid on, then leave it alone for 45 minutes.
4) Check for taste, and add spices or hot sauce as needed. Add the corn flour one Tablespoon at a time, stirring and pausing in between. Once the chili has thickened to your liking, take it off the heat. Enjoy!

Tips for too- spicy chili- There is not really a way to remove spice from a dish, but there are plenty of foods that will help cool your mouth down. Milk, sour cream, and sugar packets all do the trick quite well, as well as numbing things down a bit with a handful of frozen grapes!