All Things in Moderation

I don’t care if you get yours pre-packaged from Costco, lets hear about your best chili recipes.  Stick a recipe in and I’ll worry about getting us all formatted by next Sunday (the 11th).  Stick a recipe in any way–I may edit for formatting as the day goes on, but I’m busy shoveling snow.  🙂  And how timely!  It went from 72 and sunny on Thursday to four inches about a foot of snow outside as I type.  Definitely chili weather. . .

Michigoose’s White Bean and Chicken Chili

This is really a trip down memory lane, as I haven’t made this in several years.  I think the amount of chili powder is underestimated, so go with what you think is best.

Ingredients

• 4 cups white beans
• 3 chicken breasts
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 6 Tbl garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 cans chicken stock
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 cups nonfat plain yogurt

Method

Soak bean overnight, rinsing several times.  Cook beans in water seasoned with salt and pepper, half of the garlic, and Emeril Lagasse’s Essence (recipe follows).

Brown onion in olive oil.  Add the remaining garlic and brown.

Dice chicken and place in a ziplock bag with salt, pepper and Essence; shake to coat.   Add to onions/garlic and brown.

Drain beans and add to the pot along with the remaining ingredients.  Simmer 2 – 3 hours covered, then uncover and simmer another 1 – 2 hours to thicken.  Serve with grated cheese.

Emeril Lagasse’s Essence

My Dad claims he’d eat this on ice cream if he ate ice cream, but I think that’s going a bit far.  It is my spice blend of choice, though, and I use it on about everything and anything.

• 2 1/2 tbl paprika
• 2 tbl garlic powder
• 1 tbl black pepper
• 1 tbl onion powder
• 1 tbl cayenne pepper
• 1 tbl dried oregano
• 1 tbl dried thyme
• 2 tbl salt (optional)

I make mine without the salt so that I can salt the food separately.  Yields about 1/2 cup of spice mixture.

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Michigoose’s Sometimes It Doesn’t Matter How Bad You Cook Chili (You still get the guy)

Back in the day, my Mom was given Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book (Revised and Enlarged) at a “kitchen” wedding shower; when I graduated from college and moved out on my own I persuaded her into giving it to me (and it was a tough sell, as it was her “go to” cookbook–I think I had to get her an updated copy if I remember right).  This recipe is on page 277 of that edition of the cookbook and is one of the first things I ever fixed for Brian; our tastebuds got a lot better over the years, but we still had this right around our wedding anniversary every year.  I can think of several things I’d change in this recipe, but sometimes it’s fun to see a classic in all its glory!

“Zesty ‘south of the border’ specialty”!

Brown in 3 tbsp hot fat. . .

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 1/4 cups minced onion

Add and cook 10 min. . .

• 2 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans (no. 2 can)
• 1 1/2 cups condensed tomato soup

Make into a paste and blend in. . .

• 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tsp salt

Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, 45 min.  Serve hot. . . with crackers or hot Fried Corn Meal Mush (p 293).

(“Zesty” it said–wow, how times have changed!)

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Okie’s Vegetarian Sweet Potato-Black Bean Chili [Source:  www.eatingwell.com]

Ingredients [Makes about 4 cups]

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile
• 1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and potato and cook, stirring often, until the onion is slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water, bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in cilantro.

Nutrition — And remember that both sweet potatoes and black beans are considered “superfoods”

Per 2 cup serving : 374 Calories; 6 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 4 g Mono; 0 mg Cholesterol; 67 g Carbohydrates; 14 g Protein; 15 g Fiber; 699 mg Sodium; 603 mg Potassium

Exchanges: 4 starch, 1 1/2 vegetable, 1 fat

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Mark’s Chili (No Beans)

For me, there is chili or chili and beans.

This is chili:
Step 1
2 lbs – “chili grind” beef chuck (you should have the butcher trim extra fat from chuck, or substitute round)
2 tsp – cooking oil/olive oil + “pam”
1 tbsp – Wick Fowler 2 Alarm chili powder
2 tsp – chopped garlic

After browning meat in big skillet [use a little oil and pam], (skim or drain excess fat and then) put the browned meat into a three quart heavy saucepan, add the remaining ingredients and simmer [10 min.] . Simmering is done on low-medium heat on most stove tops.
Prepare Step 2 during the 10 minute simmer.

Step 2
1 – 8 oz can of tomato sauce or home prepared sauce
1 – big can of beef broth or real beef broth
1/4 cup chopped sweet yellow onion Texas A&M1015Y or [Granex (Vidalia, Maui Maui or NoonDay)]
1 tsp – chopped garlic
8 oz – bottled or distilled or filtered water
1 tbsp – WF 2 Alarm chili powder
2 – serrano peppers
1/2 tsp – salt

Combine seasonings except the serrano peppers and add to beef mixture. Float the 2 serrano peppers on top of the mixture. Bring to a boil and hold for 3 minutes, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Then remove the floating serrano peppers.

Taste the mixture after an hour.
Correction to your personal taste stage!

Have handy:
a little bit of chopped onion, a little bit of chopped garlic, more 2 Alarm chili powder, red pepper, a little cumin, salt, and [optionally] a little bit of brown sugar. Also more bottled water, of course. I personally never use the sugar, but a little bit is ok for most people. Do not overdo sugar or you will make a hopeless, disgusting mess.
GUESS HOW MUCH OF EACH YOU NEED TO CORRECT THE SEASONING AND USE LESS THAN YOUR GUESS FOR EACH.
THIS will be your first correction simmer.
If necessary do a second “correction to your personal taste stage”.

Simmer for 10 minutes.
Let stand for 40 minutes

Addendum: if you are not using a low sodium broth you might skip any salt until the correction stage. Canned beef broth can be really salty.

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Geanie Tilley’s Chili Verde

Hello All, from OK here. Just thought perhaps a nice Chili Verde might also come in handy with the cooler weather. I have so many recipes going back decades but I find this Chili Verde recipe, from La Bola (Mexican restaurant), Denver CO (as printed in the 1978 Colorado Cache Cookbook by the Junior League of Denver) to be the “poster child” of chili verde recipes.

Makes 3 quarts
2 ½ lbs port roast (fresh shoulder preferred)
1 lb pork soup bones
44 ounces canned tomatoes (28-ounce and 16-ounce cans)
23 ounces tomato sauce (15-ounce and 16-ounce cans)
1 tbs garlic powder
28 ounces hot water (3 ½ cups)
21 ounces diced green chili strips (Ortega brand preferred, 3 7-ounce cans)
¾ – 1 ounce diced hot peppers (Ortega brand preferred, ¼ of a 3 ½ ounce can)
1 tbs sugar
1 ½ tbs salt

Cut pork into ½ inch squares and with the port bones, fry over low heat until brown and the meat is slightly dry. If pork is very fat, pour off all but 4 or 5 tablespoons of the grease.

Using a colander, strain tomatoes into an 8 qt saucepan and coarsely chop tomatoes.

Combine tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, hot water and cooked pork and bones in the same saucepan.

Bring to a rapid boil and continue boiling for 20 minutes.

Add spices, chopped hot peppers and chopped chili strips.
Continue boiling another 20 minutes.

Finish by cooking on medium heat until desired thickness, usually about another 20 minutes.

Remove bones and serve.

Note: May be kept refrigerated for a week or frozen for 3 months. Use to cover burritos, chili rellenos and most other Mexican favorites.

Also can melt an equal amount of grated sharp Cheddar cheese and the chili verde for a fantastic chili con queso dip.

ENJOY!

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I am from Ohio and we often serve our chili over spaghetti.  Almost every divey diner has Chili-Mac on the menu, which is chili over spaghetti with cheddar cheese and chopped onion on top.  There is a famous chili place in Cincinnati called Skyline Chili.  This is a take on their recipe.  The allspice and cinnamon give this a distinctly different flavor from traditional chili recipes.

Brent’s Cincinati Chili Recipe

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 2 chopped onions
• 1 qt water
• 1 16 oz can tomatoes
• 1.5 tsp vinegar
• 1 tsp worstershire
• 1 tbs chil powder
• 1 tbs cumin
• 2 tsp allspice
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 can kidney beans

Brown the meat, pour off the grease and then add all the ingredients and simmer for 3 hours or more.  Test for heat and add chili powder as necessary.

Serve over spaghetti with chopped onion and grated cheddar cheese.

Filed under: Bites and Pieces | Tagged: Chili | 31 Comments »