Ingredients: I like to change my chili ingredients each time I make chli so that no two are exactly the same [stops you from having the same old meals] however I can duplicate them easily if I wish to as the recipe ingredients are simple. You can vary the ingredients to match what you like or are in the mood for and I have even made chili with all the ingredients listed when I had a lot of company for supper - then I use a huge stewing pot.
1 large dutch oven or stewing pot - better to use a big pot than a smaller one and find out you need to switch pots half way through. With practice you will know which pot to use.
Meat Choices:
ground beef [hamburger]
ground pork
bacon - cooked and broken up into smaller bits after drained
left over roast beef
Vegetable Choices:
fresh, canned, dried or frozen:
kidney beans [red, white or both]
romano beans
black beans
pork & beans
chick peas
lentils
corn niblets
tomato paste
tomatoes chopped
onions chopped
green peppers chopped
mushrooms chopped
Seasoning Choices:
chili spice
cayenne powder
hot peppers [fresh or from jar]
brown sugar
garlic [fresh or dried but NOT garlic salt]
onions minced [from container if no fresh ones]
parsley
You don't have to use all of the ingredients at one time, but if you do make up a huge batch with all the ingredients you can freeze any leftovers easily in meal size batches to suit your family's needs and they will keep for a couple of months.
You can serve chili by itself or with either mashed potatoes, or garlic bread, or french fries, or bread & butter. Serving it in different ways each time tends to add to the many various combinations of meals and stops you and your family from getting bored 'with the same old meals'.
Yield: 10 to 12 servings. Freeze what is left over or keep some for another meal ~ or do both. When reheating frozen chili you can put it in a pot and add about 1/2" of water to cover the bottom of the pot to prevent burning. Place a lid on the pot and reheat the chili on a very low setting, stirring occassionally. A lid promotes quicker reheating.
COMMENTS: I have often had compliments on my chili dinners no matter which way I have chosen to make them and I am often asked for the recipe. I have taught several people how to make chili over the years and they have all learned to do what I do. Basically have certain ingredients for chili that they like and switch them around from meal to meal to keep interested.
Chili con carne is a very healthy food choice and even if you are a vegetarian you can still make it but without the meat. You can substitute tofu or use textured vegetable protein [TVP] in place of the meat. I have actually added in some TVP with my meats while I cooked them in order to stretch the meat and no one has been the wiser as the TVP takes on the flavour of whatever it is added to and it has the same consistency as hamburger. I have bought my TVP in bulk food stores and health food stores at very cheap prices. Tofu is actually high in cholestrol so I tend not to purchase it very often and it also costs a lot more than TVP. TVP looks like a dry brown cereal grain and all you do is add hot water to it before cooking. It really has no smell or flavour of its own.
Enjoy.
