How to Make Chili
Keywords: Chili recipe, how to make chili
Our family likes this chili recipe. At this point, I try to fill out an index card when we happen upon a recipe that we like (in this case, we were just trying to make chili and it happened to come out right). That way we can duplicate it over and over again. I have little wooden index card box that looks like a cute little house. You just lift off the roof and the cards are there. It seems that after I got that easy-to-access and display cute box, I was more inclined to put my cards up in one spot. I purchased it from a thrift store.
This chili recipe is quick, easy, and tasty. It can be served on a cold, wintery day or in the summertime as well. While everybody is outside shoveling snow, mother can prepare a pot of chili and maybe some snow cream as well (if the snow has recently fallen and there is clean snow around).
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey)
- 1-2 pounds pork sausage (e.g. Jimmy Dean--found in the breakfast meats section of the grocery store, near the bacon; get "hot" if you want a little heat for your chili)
- 1 onion (large) chopped
- 5 garlic cloves chopped
- Chili powder (start with 1 Tablespoon and then if you need more, add until it tastes like chili)
- 1 boullion (pronounced, "bull-yun") cube (chicken) dissolved in 8 ounces of hot water
- 2 cans of tomato sauce (15 ounces each)
- 4 ounces butter or "earth balance vegan buttery sticks" (optional but it enriches the broth)
- 27 ounce can Bush's Chili beans (should be located near the baked beans; I could probably make my own seasoned pinto beans in place of this or spruce up some organic canned pinto beans. If I do, I will try to come back and update this page.)
- salty seasoning (e.g. onion salt or garlic salt or basil and garlic seasoning)
- non-salty seasoning: (e.g. onion powder, garlic powder)
- Parsley a few shakes
Directions
- Put ground beef (or turkey) and the pork sausage in the skillet with chopped onion and garlic.
- Cook on medium high. If you want to have some chunks of meat, then et the meat cook a bit before stirring then break it up the chunks into the size you want. Turn heat down to medium and put a lid on the skillet for about 5-10 minutes until there is no pink in the middle when you open up a chunk of meat (making big chunks will mean you have to cook the meat longer, if you are not making chunks, then you will not have to brown the meat as long). Put the lid on the meat while it is cooking so that it cooks inside.
- After the meat is done, pour off the grease (if times are lean and the extra calories are needed you may not want to pour off the grease)
- Add chili powder, salty seasoning, seasonings (onion powder, garlic powder), and parsley. If using more than one salty seasoning, be careful not to make your chili too salty.
- Add the Bush's Chili Beans (do not drain)
- Add the 8 ounces of hot water with the dissolved boullion cube
- Put the stovetop on low-medium so that the chili is simmering.
- Stir your chili and taste it (I keep a bowl and a spoon to the side, for this). Adjust the seasonings (if it needs more salt, add more salt--but not too much at one time because it may become too salty. If it is too salty, add water a little at a time. Stir in the water and taste the chili. Repeat if necessary until the chili is not too salty). If you want extra broth, you can add another 8 ounces of hot water with a boullion cube dissolved in it.
- Add 4 ounces of butter or butter substitute (slice it up into pats so that it will melt faster)
- Cover the skillet. Simmer together on a low heat for 5 to 10 minutes. Taste the chili again. Adjust seasonings. Serve.
- You may wish to serve your chili with corn muffins. If you serve side dishes with your meals, you can get more nutrition (carbohydrates (bread, potatoes, etc.), greens, fruits, dairy, etc.) and you can stretch your food dollar further. If you add more water (even to a container of yogurt), I think it tastes good, aids digestion, and it also stretches the food further. When we like something, some of us have a tendency to eat more than we need, e.g., maybe a pot of chili should last two days, but somehow there's not enough for everybody on the second day.