Dad's chili is the best chili

Ok, so I haven't written in over a year.  Grad school kind of got in the way.  I also quit experimenting with various chili recipes because I finally got my dad's recipe, and there just wasn't any reason to look for another recipe.  It's that good...at least, in my opinion.  My dad spent a lot of time perfecting this recipe, and honestly, I have never found one I like better.

2 1/2 lbs groundchuck
1 large yellow onion
salt, to taste
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can (10 1/4 oz) beef broth, do not mix with water
1 can Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Chile Peppers
2 (8 oz) cans Hunts Tomato Sauce
3 T chili powder
1 T ground cumin
2 (14 1/2 oz) cans Bush's mild chili beans - drained. 
1 T red pepper flakes
1/4 C mesa flour or corn meal

Brown the lightly salted ground chuck over medium heat.  After about 5 minutes, add the chopped onions and continue to cook until the onions are opaque.  Add the chopped garlic and cook for another two minutes.  Drain in a colander to remove grease and place meat and onions in a crock pot.  Add all ingredients and cook on low for 6 hours. 

Since I live in Colorado, I make this dish a lot to get me through those super cold and windy days.  What's really great is that I can freeze the chili in individual servings and take it out when I need it.  The condiments I always have on hand when I serve this chili are sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.  The cheese melts right into the hot chili and the sour cream makes it extra creamy.  It's also great with cornbread waffles (cornbread cooked in a waffle iron).
If you want a hotter chili, you can substitute a can of Hot Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Chili Peppers or just add more red pepper flakes or your favorite hot sauce.  Neither my dad nor I have ever needed to add any salt other than the little used during browning the meat, onions and garlic.

Hope you enjoy!

Chili Attempts 1 and 2

Sidenote before I get to the recipes: I've decided not to go through my collection book-by-book.  Instead, I'll decide what I'm in the mood to eat and then look through my cookbooks to pick out a recipe to try.

Also, please keep in mind that I am not a cook or chef by profession.  There are a million things, if not more, about cooking that I do not know yet.  I am doing this project for my own learning experience and enjoyment. 

On Sunday I decided that my first recipe to try out would be a chili recipe to go along with the incredibly chilly weather we're having in Colorado.  I found a very simple recipe out of a cookbook that is specifically crock pot cooking.  I love the convenience of a crock pot.  Put all the ingredients into the pot in the morning, come home in the evening and dinner's ready.  Doesn't get much easier than that.  However, I don't use the crock pot often because I enjoy spending more time with the food that I'm cooking.  I feel more accomplished when I don't use the crock pot.  But I feel like chili should simmer in a crock pot for a long time, so that's what I did.

Here's the first one:
Chili 1

1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 T chili powder
1 t ground cumin
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
15 oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 onion, chopped
4 oz. can diced chilies, drained
2 T tomato paste

In a large non-stick skillet, brown beef and garlic over medium heat.  Stir to break up meat.  Add chili powder and cumin.  Stir to combine.

Mix together tomatoes, beans, onion, chilies and tomato paste in slow cooker.  Add beef mixture and mix thoroughly.

Cook on high 4-5 hours, or until flavors are well blended.

Classic Beef Chili from Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly.  Serves: 6 (Ideal slow-cooker size: 4 quart)

This recipe wasn't bad, but after a few bites, I realized I absolutely DO NOT LIKE GREEN CHILIES!  They seemed to give the chili a sweetness that I don't like for ground beef to have.  Needless to say, it was not the flavor I was looking for, and I will not be making it again.  Luckily, I cut the recipe in half, so I didn't have to eat 6 servings of it!


The next recipe I tried was similar to the first one with just some minor changes in measurements and a change from crushed tomotoes to tomato juice, but I stuck with what I had.

Chili 2

1/2 lb. extra-lean ground beef
3/4 C kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 T onion, chopped
1 t chili powder
1/4 t ground cumin
1/4 t minced garlic
2-3 drops of hot sauce
1 1/2 C crushed tomatoes

I cooked this one the same way as Chili 1, but I threw some of the chopped onion into the pan with the garlic and ground beef.

Adapted from Chili Con Carne from www.TasteOfHome.com.  Serves 2-3

Chili 2 had more of the flavor I was looking for, and it is a very good recipe but I like my chili to be a bit more liquid-y.  Therefore, I will continue to experiment with chili recipes until I find one that I consider to be the perfect chili recipe.

Feel free to post your own chili recipes.  I'll be glad to try them...as long as they don't contain green chilies!

January 8th. My best friend's birthday. Day 1 of this blog.

I collect cookbooks. I have over 50 and the collection is growing. When I travel, I have to get a cookbook that characterizes the town, city, region or country I'm visiting. Several are from my late grandmother and some have been gifts. Most of the cookbooks have been read cover-to-cover, (yes, I read cookbooks like they're the new James Patterson novel) but I've only made a handfull of the recipes. So I've decided to cook my way through each book and try this whole blog thing. Like Julie Powell, I'm going to cook new recipes and write about my experiences. No, I am not looking to have a book published or have a movie produced about myself or the blog, but I love her idea and I love cooking, but it's pretty boring to take on a project like this and not tell people about your adventure.

I haven't decided which book or recipe I'm going to start with, and I don't know if I'm going to go book-by-book or just pick the recipes and books randomly. Stay tuned...