Chilli Recipe?

I make mine with three beans...pintos, kidney and red, and yes, you can buy those in a can.

Brown your ground beef with a bit of onion (if he can take that).  I use chili powder, crushed pepper and cumin.  Cumin isn't a hot spice, but gives things a nice smokey flavor.  Once the meat is cooked, drain the fat, dump in a pot, add the beans and tomatoes (I like crushed but diced work too) until it is the thickness you want.  then add seasonings to your taste.

If you happen to get it a little hot for him...serve it over rice.  The rice being bland kind of balances out the fire.

Awesome!!  Can the crushed tomatoes also be from a can? or should I crush them myself?

How long should it sit for?  How so I make it more soupy like how they serve in restaurants? is there any other liquid?

Oh yeah, pick up canned tomatoes unless you have an over abundance from a garden.  The tomatoes really should be enough for liquid.  We like ours thick, but the more tomatoes you use the thinner the chili will be.  If you like thick....lots of meat, beans and less tomato....thin, less of the first, more of the last.

We like a bit of shredded extra sharp cheddar sprinkled on top.......some folks like sour cream.

Too bad the temps are so high here...to me chili is a fall/winter meal, but it sure sounds good!

Awesome!!  Thank you so much!

Now, I am totally stupid when it comes to cooking, so please don't mind my dumb questions, but here I go:

1.  The beans, in a can, right?  Should I rinse them?  Do i pour the bean juice from the can into the pot as well? Or do I rinse the beans and then just put them in?

2.  How long should the pot simmer on the stove and approximately how high temperature?  And I'm assuming mix often or occassionally?

3.  Should I put a lid on the pot?

4.  How fine should I chop the onions?

5.  How much cummin should I put in?

6.  About how much chilli would 1 lb of beef make?

7.  The canned tomatoes, how many cans should I start with?  And I'm assuming I just dump the whole can in?  Saucey stuff and all?

Again, I am so sorry I sound so dumb.  The only soup really I can make is leek and potatoe, and well, I am a horrible horrible cook lol

http://www.food.com/recipe/simple-chili-190598

Deb W.

Dice the onions to a size YOU guys like.....or just use dehydrated onions.  As a general rule, I typically do onions about the size of my pinkie fingernail.

I like to let sauces and soups simmer for a good long time so that all of the flavors "marry".  At the very least an hour, on lowish heat, and give it a stir every now and then.

Cumin?  Start with a tsp or so and add more to your taste.  Honestly, I normally dump spices into the palm of my hand and dump them in.  I have never been one to do much measuring.  I use Nature's Seasons a lot in my cooking, failing that, do be sure to use a bit of salt on the meat.  With the meat and all those beans and tomatoes it can get a bit bland without some. 

I don't rinse the beans...I just drain them.  I prefer to cook beans from dry, but when I do use cans, I just drain them and dump the beans in.

Yep, the whole can of tomatoes.  How many cans depends on what size you buy......since I haven't had the capability to stew my own tomatoes, I tend to buy the BIG cans (28 oz).  I'd start with three of those size and add more as needed.

If I missed any questions, feel free to ask again.

And do NOT apologize for not being a gourmet chef.  It's surprising to me that so many younger gals just never learned to cook.  In my family, being the 4th of 4 girls, I had to fight my way into the kitchen.  To ME cooking is just another creative outlet and I love to let the right side of my brain loose to play.  Yet, the 2nd of the 4 of us absolutley hated to cook.

We all have our own talents and things we enjoy doing.  I happen to really enjoy cooking and as a result I'm pretty good at it.  But, I cook by taste, texture, smell and sometimes color so I'm not a great one to ask for exact amounts to use.

I can't really answer how much a pound of meat will make because of the variables....how many beans you use (and, by the way, lots of folks use JUST kidney beans....be sure to NOT get the ones they call chili beans because those will be seasoned, and maybe too much for your FH), how thick or thin you make it.

There are a lot of folks on this forum who have a far more formal approach to cooking than I do.  Hopefully some of them will post.

I have a ton of really cheap meal ideas, simply because I've lived on a super tight budget many, many times in my life.  If you need some, just hollar.

And please remember, you aren't the only female who isn't a kitchen whiz!

I know this is an older thread but Chili season is coming on us. 

I think after reading several of Glenda's cooking suggestions that she and I cook very much the same which is how I learned.  A little this a pinch of that....lol!

Chili for me is simple.  I make it the way mom did.

I use ground beef (lean) and also ground sausage (mild)

1 large can tomatoes

1 reg can ro-tel tomatoes

2 reg or 1 large can of tomato sauce

1 package of Williams chili seasoning per every 2 lbs of meat.

1 large chopped onion

2-3 cloves chopped garlic.

I brown my meat/onion/garlic til tender then add the Williams then add the sauces and tomatoes and let simmer for no less than 1 hour more than one hours is better.

I prefer fixing my beans from dry but will often have  some left over from another meal and frozen back.  (Making your meals work with each other)  If that is not possible just add a couple of cans when you add in your sauces. 

I serve it with shredded cheese and chopped onions.  Always making sure there is a bag of Fritos for the hubs and tortilla chips for me.

I also like using my chili left over for what we call 3-way.  Chili, spaghetti noodles, and beans w/shreaded cheddar...mmm yummy now I am hungry.

If you noticed: The beans were cooked for one meal (Southerners for sure know this one: Beans, cornbread and fried potatoes) then the leftover beans which goes into the freezer were thawed and used in the chili, which was frozen then thawed and reheated later for 3way!  TA-DA!!!

So glad that you brought this thread up again.....now I know what I'm fixing for dinner tomorrow night!  Chilly and rainy here so beef stew tonight and chilli tomorrow.  Thanks!