Let's talk about Chili

Wifey's mostly vegetarian, but I still love how easy and tasty this recipe is:

1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
Diced celery, carrot, onion and garlic
Generous splash of red wine
Spices you like (bay leaf, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, ground CHIPOTLE, white pepper, cayenne pepper, salt)

Serve with cornbread from mix (add cheddar cheese and jalapeno slices prior to baking), sour cream and BEER!

When I make soup or chili I usually try and estimate how far up it comes on my pot. It's usually halfway so I can figure out how many one cup servings there are in my head.
I am making chili this weekend, I will try and enter everything into MFP and come up with a number and post back.

I enter chili contests...I have 2 wins, a few seconds, thirds, and honorable mentions to my name.

The secret to winning is the chili must be appealing to look at as well as testy. 3 beans and contrasting colors always helps. You can cut back on the ground beef or add another pound - but you will have to adjust the water/tomato sauce to get the desired consistency.

Another trick is to season the hamburger (to suit) while browning (I use salt, pepper, and garlic powder). This trick is not in the recipe below.

I call this recipe Three-Bean Award Winning Chili when entering contests (being a bit arrogant helps too lol)
(or unofficially "no leftover chili")
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2 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup green pepper, diced
1/2 cup red pepper, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons jalapenos, finely chopped
1 (14 ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
3 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup water

Add: crackers, shredded cheddar cheese, green onion, sour cream to suit

I also cook competitively - chili, ribs, wings, bbq in general. Best success has been with chili. I tweak my recipe based on the crowd that's expected (chili die hards get hotter and the color has to be more accurate - whereas a "charity event" will garnish less spice and more meat...etc.)

This is the recipe that has gotten the best results - I am undefeated with this particular recipe; 4-0. I'm not saying it is healthy, or fat free, or anything... it's just excellent chili. I’d classify it as a medium-hot spiciness. You can cut down on the spice by leaving out the habanero flakes, or cutting down on the peppers used.

I plugged it all into MFP and this is what I get per serving (makes 8 servings):

604 calories / 37g protein / 55g carbs / 26g fat

-1.25lb ground sirloin 90/10
-0.75lb chorizo sausage – loose, not in the casing
-1 medium sweet onion - diced
-4 cloves minced garlic
2-packets McCormick chili seasoning
1.5 teaspoon dehydrated habanero flakes
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1- 46oz can Red Gold tomato juice
2- 10oz cans of diced tomatoes (Rotels with chiles)
1-15oz can of dark red kidney beans – washed and drained before adding
1-15oz can of chili hot beans - added as is, with juice
1-15oz can of black beans – washed and drained before adding
1 Anaheim pepper – de-seeded - diced
1 Serrano pepper – de-seeded - diced
1 Poblano pepper – de-seeded - diced
8oz Porter beer – I use Founder’s Porter
Salt
Pepper

The spices I listed were to taste, not exact - so take those measurements as guidelines not rules. Also, for competitions I will buy whole cumin seeds – toast them lightly in a skillet, then grind them fresh in a coffee grinder for a lot more aroma – but the ground cumin you can buy works just fine.

Instructions:

Brown ground beef and chorizo in a large pot. After browned, drain the majority of the fat in the bottom of the pot. Put all spices, diced onion and minced garlic back in and stir so that spices are mixed well. Continue to brown meat until the onions are opaque. Add the tomato juice, diced tomatoes, and diced peppers. Bring to a boil and add the beer. Simmer until the peppers are cooked through (~25 minutes). Lastly, add the beans and cook another approximate 15 minutes until the beans are tender. Adjust flavor with more pepper flakes, salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder as necessary. My one tip is that you will use a LOT more chili powder than you expect. Don’t worry, add liberally.

Will not give up my recipe but will say that habanero peppers and brown sugar is what makes it.

WHITE BEAN CHILI

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 (18.75 ounce) can tomatillos, drained and chopped
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (7 ounce) can diced green chiles
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 ears fresh corn
1 pound diced, cooked chicken meat
1 (15 ounce) can white beans
1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste

I bake mine in my dutch oven, seems to get all the flavours blended really well

browned ground turkey or chicken
can of red kidney beans
can of black beans
can of beans in tomato sauce
veggies ( I use peppers, carrots, celery, onion, zucchini)
can of cubed tomatoes
can of tomato soup
can of tomato sauce
chili powder and chili peppers to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp sugar

bake for a couple hours

edit to add tomato sauce

will save for later

These are all great and might have still a couple recipes except I will substitute using ground venison!!!