I’ve been cooking in one way or another for most of my life; and half that time professionally. But there is one thing that I just can’t seem to grasp. Sure, I can make it! But the thought of doing so (and well) fills me with such angst that I have to look at tons of recipes, call my mom (for her recipe), talk to my husband about it and then do more research. This happens every time I get the urge to and then proceed to make Chili - or something like it.
This post is not about the semantics or die hard chili facts (Texas peeps don’t be upset with me). I really just wanted to, once again, try my hand at cooking something that is challenging for me, learn along way and impart simple tips & techniques.
So on a semi-cold day here in the ATX I set my goal, got my spices out, cleaned out the freezer (ground meats), took one trip to grocery (then turned around because I forgot chili powder), finally got home, laid everything out and got started. Oh, and, I used my crockpot.
Is it or isn’t chili? I’ll let you be the judge.
Ingredients
1lb ground Chuck 80/20
1lb ground Chicken
6 medium cloves of garlic, peeled & minced
1 medium yellow onion, peeled & minced
1 fresh poblano pepper, stemmed, seeded & minced
1 15ounce can of kidney beans, drained
1 28ounce can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes (w/liquid)
1/4C of chili pepper powder
2Tbls of cumin, ground
1/4Tbls of kosher salt
1 14.5 ounce can of beef broth (optional-and for a chili that will have a lot of liquid)
Optional Garnishes
1/2 bunch of green onions, sliced very thinly
4 C of grated Colby Cheese
3-4 C of sour cream
Crushed tortilla chips
Process
Place meat in crockpot and break it up a bit. Add all other ingredients, mix gently, place the lid on the crock pot and let cook for up to 6 hours on high. Stir occasionally. Also watch for liquid. If you feel like there is too much just use a large spoon and skim off. Reserved it for later if you would like to add it back in when it has finished cooking.
When chili is done cooking, spoon generous helpings into bowls, add garnishes of your choice and serve immediately.
Serves 6 generous servings.
Tips & Techniques
*Use a deep & wide slow cooker. Mine was way to small for this amount.
*I chop the garlic, onion & pepper small so they will be softer when the chili is done.
*I saw the use of beef stock in one recipe I looked at and thought it would be interesting to use. I did so for this recipe but thought it was total overkill. Plus it made for too much liquid. I will definitely leave it out.
*The use of ground chicken was just because I had to stock rotate my freezer. I would not use it by itself as it is too lean for chili. Just my preference.
*I LOVE KIDNEY BEANS in chili! And that’s all I’m going to say about it!
*This recipe could also be turned into a Taco Salad. Just add some cilantro to the other toppings I’ve listed above. Start with the chips at the bottom, chili, cheese, dollop of sour cream, oinions and cilantro leaves.