Chili varieties with meat and beans
 

Does anyone else use what they have to make chili at home and make it a little different every time?

Today I used onions, tomato purée, seasoning, ground turkey, a bit of shredded carrot, homemade black beans and a solo can of chili. I put some veg in because I thought why not? My husband didn’t even notice the carrot.

Yep. We usually add tvp if we have it on hand too. I like to add bell pepper when I have it and made it with celery last time which was quite good.

Of course! I think of a recipe as a starting point or guideline, unless it is baked goods, which are more specific, usually.

That last time I made chili I couldn’t decide between red kidney and white kidney beans so...I used both. My DIL likes kernel corn in her chili. I like to sneak vegetables into my spaghetti sauce as well.:)

Exactly ....... and even baked goods, you can vary things quite a bit too.

I am not a big chili fan, not so much for the assorted ingredients,
but more so because of the flavours/spice surprises that may await.
Thus, I am verrrrrrrrrry cautious on first taste, opting for seconds if I like it.

One of the best chilis that I have ever had, included baker's cocoa!!
Delicious indeed .... :)

I make chili with either lean ground beef, pork chunks or beef chunks. I add fresh plum tomatoes, chili powder, red chili flakes, canned mild chilies, white onion canned pinto beans or no beans at all, canned diced tomatoes and one can of Campbell's tomato soup (tones down the acidic taste from the tomatoes).

Our church youth group had a chili cook off contest to raise money and the winning chili (voted on by everyone in attendance) was white chili. It's made with white navy beans and chicken. Very tasty.

Our son hates celery (or so he says) and I think it adds flavor so I would blend it then add to soup or chili. He says my chili is the best. What they don’t know doesn’t hurt them. :)

There are bean haters in my house, so I puree the beans ( kidney and beans in tomato sauce) before adding them. It adds a lot of body to the chili. I use ground beef, saute onions, celery and bell peppers with the ground beef before draining it, a can of diced tomatoes, some tomato paste, a bit of sugar to cut the acidity in the tomatoes, then add altogether with the beans and season with chili powder, seasoning salt a bit of garlic and let simmer.

Watson

I usually make chili a couple times during the winter time, making a large pot each time so I have extras for the freezer. I found I liked using ground pork more so than ground beef in mine........plus the price is better too. I don't have a recipe I go by but just throw in peppers, onions, sometimes carrots, black beans, dark red kidney and light red kidney beans....usually 4-5 cans and then a couple quarts of my home-made salsa for the tomato portion. Plus of course whatever spices I have in the cupboard which will include chili powder, spanish paprika, basal (sp) and cyan (sp) and red pepper flakes. I just keep adding till I get the heat I like. Salt and pepper to taste too. I split each pot in half which usually makes 1 gallon or 1.5 gallons and put half in the freezer for later use. No one else can eat it as I make it too hot for them. I'm single so don't have to worry about that though. When I go to heat it up, I add a dopple of sour cream and green onions to the top after heating. Oh so good........to me.

I live in Texas so no beans in my chili. I have a recipe that I use which I've combined with a recipe I got years ago from someone who placed 2nd at Terlingua's chili cookoff. I mostly stick with those and don't add a lot of other things to it. Now stew is another topic . . .

Love chili! Not to stir the pot but didn't realize there was such different views on beans. LOL!

When I was growing up my Mum made 'Chili', A tin of baked beans, a tin of Campbell's Tomato Soup, some chopped onion and a teaspoon of chili powder. Yuck. Almost no flavour. This was during the time of recipe books using canned soup in everything.

I started to make Chili when I was a teen and I vary it all the time. I make a wicked vegetarian Chili, that I used to bring to pot lucks.

Now it is just my son and I and he is not too fussy about Chili, so when I make it, I freeze leftovers for my lunches.

I like to use mixed beans, diced tomatoes, beef (ground or chunks), onion, celery, garlic, sometimes fresh peppers, and a variety of dried chilis. I go for medium hot spice.

Always serve it with homemade cheese biscuits.

I also try to sneak some extra veggies into my chili (as well as my lasagna sauce) No one notices pureed celery, carrot, zucchini or basically any veg. Love my Magic Bullet!! Corn and any small amounts of leftover salsa, ketchup or pasta sauce from the fridge, have also been known to show up in a batch. I will do a double or even triple batch, simmer most of the day and portion into single serve containers for the freezer. Quick and easy on a busy (or lazy) night. Just pull out as many serves as you need and gently reheat. I do use beans--well rinsed canned red and white kidney beans--no salt added when I can find them, because I believe they are more tender. Spices depend on the day but always include cumin and some of my homemade cajun seasoning.

I shall try Watson's trick and puree at least some of the beaans. I've often done it with soup for a thickener--don't know why I didn't think of doing the same for chili.

Yum, lots of good ideas. I really hadn’t thought of making double and freezing. That could be quite handy.

Or freeze in single portions!!

When I got married my DH did not like chili. Since I did like chili, I made it, and he loved it. A few years later his sister invited a group of family members together for a chili dinner. (No corn bread, just chili. My DH family does not eat cornbread, I think there is something wrong with them.) When the chili was served I almost choked on it. It was spaghetti sauce with chili beans. A couple of the cousins were also surprised and thought maybe she accidentally used the wrong spices. But my SIL was just so pleased with her chili, I thought is couldn't be a mistake. So instead of being critical, I praised the chili and insisted I needed the recipe. The other cousins also wanted to see the recipe. Sure enough, there wasn't a bit of chili in the entire pot it was all Italian seasoning. SIL was very proud that it was the same recipe her mother used. When we got in the car to go home my DH asked if I really intended to try the recipe, heck no, I want my spaghetti with noodles not beans. He then told me why he never liked chili before he ate mine. He had no idea there was a spice called chili.

Interesting...what does the carrot do for taste?

I don't add meat, but I like to add a little bit garbanzo bean flour (Bob's Red Mill) to thicken it up a little and make it hearty.

~ C

I also put carrots (chopped very finely) into my chili. I don't think it does much for the flavor one way or another.

I will also vary the ingredients - depending on what is available. The basics are ground beef, onion, celery, green peppers, tomatoes, kidney or chili beans - the seasonings are chili powder, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.

After I figured out that cumin was what made canned chili taste like it does - I never - ever - put cumin - in my home-made chili. I don't mind cumin in taco seasoning, though.

I have - once in a while - added a tiny bit of unsweetened cocoa powder.

I’m enjoying the talk about chili. I grew up in Phoenix, AZ but didn’t have any chili till I was grown. Fell in love with it. It’s been quite a few years since I made some - my husband is not a chili eater at all. And any chili I eat must have beans and meat but I can’t handle spicy so it has to be mild. Personally I like chili over French fries������