Old Fashioned Chili

My husband’s battalion was planning a chili cook-off, which I was very excited about. Unfortunately,  it was canceled but that didn’t stop me from trying to perfect my old fashioned chili recipe. This recipe is what I made for Superbowl Sunday. Being from Texas we NEVER put beans in our chili, but being a Marine Corps wife and knowing that more people always show up than rsvp-ed, you need those beans to stretch out your meal, to make it more than what you had. This Old Fashioned Chili recipe fed 4 adults but is very easy to cut in half or double. If you want to only make half just reduce the ground beef to 1 lb instead of 2. If you want to double this recipe add 1 more pound of meat but double everything else. Happy cooking and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 lb ground beef
• 1 Tbs cracked black pepper
• 2 Tbs garlic salt
• 2 Tbs onion powder
• Lea & Perrins a few dashes
• 1 cube Knorr Homestyle stock beef or vegetable
• 1 cube of tomato consummate
• 1 can pinto beans drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes seasoned or for chili, either will work
• 1 onion diced
• 1 can of any light beer
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 3 dried Ancho chilies re-hydrated, drained and pureed*
• shredded cheese for garnish
• chopped scallions for garnish
• mini saltines or oyster crackers for garnish
• 2 Tbs cornflour*

Old Fashioned Chili Directions:

1. Generously season ground beef with pepper, garlic salt, and onion powder. Brown meat and drain off all fat. You may have to drain fat as the meat cooks so it will brown.
2. In a large pot add the drained and rinsed beans, can of tomatoes, can of beer, onion garlic, stock cube, cube of tomato consummate, and a few dashes of Lea & Perrins.
3. Add the cooked ground beef. Bring to a boil and simmer on low for 30 minutes.
4. Depending on how thick you like your chili you may need to add water to thin it out or for a thicker chili, you can add cornflour to thicken it up. To thicken it up take one cup of your chili liquid out and add 1 Tbs cornflour and mix well.
5. Add the mixture back to your pot and bring back to a simmer, simmer for 20 more minutes.
6. Serve your Old Fashioned Chili with all the garnishes on the side. If you haven’t made your chili very spicy you can serve salsa, pickled jalapeno’s, or hot sauce on the side for those who really like it hot.

The key to using canned tomatoes in any dish is that they need to simmer for at least 30 minutes to get rid of the harsh canned taste. *Ancho chilis,  you can find these in the Mexican section of any grocery store in a bag. They are dark prune looking chilies and can vary in size. You need to cut the tops off and remove the seeds, then place them in boiling water for about 20 minutes. Drain them from the water and put them in a food processor with 1 Tbs of water, puree until smooth.  The heat of all chilies will always vary, so you must be careful when adding this puree to your chili. Depending on personal preference add only a Tbs at a time.

This Old Fashioned Chili Recipe was sent in from a guest contributor.

Looking for another chili recipe? Check out Quick & Easy Freezable Chili.SaveSave