The Chili Recipe
I don’t have a story on chili. And I don’t think you need a cute story on chili. I do however, have on multiple occasions fed parties of 10 or more with my chili recipe and have gotten nothing but praise. The way I cook mine is low and slow, and I make sure to season everything in there with dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients to make sure everything is, well, seasoned. It’s a game changer to make it in a crockpot, and I fry the meat in bacon fat. I choose ground pork for a good flavor, and ground beef for the texture.
Celery and green bell peppers add depth and you can even add corn if you wanted a Santa Fe style chili as well.
I personally find using the Prego italian sauce easier than adding sugar and unflavored tomato sauce. It has all of the seasonings you’d want in a chili: tomatoes, onions, garlic, beef fat, ect.
I also refuse to make chili without at least two types of beans: kidney and pinto. The beans add starchiness to the chili when cooked down that I wouldn’t want to go without. McCormick Chili seasoning is essential to adding the flavor on top of your own seasonings to make sure the chili is not bland. A lot of recipes also call for beef broth, I like to add beef bouillon cubes for a concentrated taste and leaving the drippings of fat when cooking the meat down and searing it to the actual chili itself and not discarding it. Chili is basically a stew made up of meat and vegetables, and should be treated as such and seasoned with a heavy hand. If you also have a favorite canned chili, feel free to add it to your chili as a “flavor booster”. Also, if you feel overwhelmed with ingredients needed to make amazing chili, don’t make it, nobody wants your flavorless meat water.
Refrigerated:
1 lbs of ground beef
1 lbs of ground pork
5 strips of bacon
1 green bell pepper
1 jalapeno
1 yellow onion
2 celery stocks
4 cloves of garlic
Other produce:
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of Hunt’s diced tomatoes or the Rotel brand of Diced tomatoes and green chiles
Baking & Spices:
2 tbsp of Hunt’s tomato paste
2 tbsp of beef bouillon
1 tbsp of onion powder
1 tbsp of garlic powder
1 tbsp of cumin
1 tbsp of chili powder
1 packet of McCormick Chili Seasoning (mild or original)
Liquids:
12 oz (half a jar) of Prego Italian Sauce (flavored with meat)
1 cup of water
Salt and pepper to taste
For toppings:
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Jalapenos
Red onion
If you want to gift someone with an amazing cooking gadget:
I got mine from here!
Directions:
Heat up a large pan and fry 5 slices of bacon on it
Once the bacon is cooked thoroughly set aside and add your 1 lbs of ground beef and 1 lbs of ground pork and cook thoroughly
Once cooked dump into a turned on slow cooker
Cube 1 green bell pepper and 1 yellow onion, cut 2 celery stalks and 1 jalapeno into small pieces, and dump into the slow cooker as well.
Add 1 packet of McCormick Chili seasoning and stir thoroughly
Add 4 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 drained can of pinto beans, 1 drained can of kidney beans and top with 2 tbsp of beef bouillon and stir.
Afterward, add 1 tbsp of garlic powder, 1 tbsp of onion powder, 1 tbsp of cumin, 1 tbsp of chili powder, 1 tbsp of black pepper and 1 TEASPOON of salt. Stir again.
Add half a jar of Prego Italian sauce and your 5 pieces of CUT up bacon and stir until fully incorporated
Set to low for at least 6 hours, checking every hour and stirring. If it becomes dry add water and salt and pepper to taste. The texture of the meat should go from grainy to a full and hearty chili!
Top off with sour cream, cheddar cheese, jalapenos and or red onions! You can also use it as a topping for hotdogs, and pair it with a yummy corn bread!
