Eating Out of Your Pantry: Chili Verde and Cornbread

Jan here, in a place that I didn't think we would reach. Going on eleven weeks of Coronavirus shutdown. Can you believe it?

When we went to the grocery store last weekend, the meat cooler was nearly empty, entire shelves had minimal quantities, and the aisles were crowded. Even when there's one-way traffic, between shoppers, employees filling on-line orders, and employees trying to stock shelves, we could hardly move. I'm glad we were only there for fresh items - some dairy and some produce to round out our pantry stock.

And we are thankful to be in a state that didn't shut down. I can't imagine what this time is like for some of you!

I am also very thankful for my pantry!

The recipe I made for our Sunday supper is an old family favorite. I started making Chili Verde back when I was doing once-a-month cooking in the mid-1990's. So this recipe has been around for awhile!

I keep the ingredients for this one on hand at all times. You can use shelf-stable versions of almost all the ingredients, which makes it the perfect pantry meal.

Chili Verde From Your Pantry

ingredients:

1 can chicken breast
1 can chopped green chilies
2 cans great northern beans
1 quart chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped onions (I keep chopped onions on hand in my freezer)
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients together in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.

Cornbread From Your Pantry

This is where I'm always tempted to use a Jiffy box mix...but made from scratch is better and almost as easy!

I found this recipe on a package of corn meal years ago, it might have even been before we got married. As you can see from the ingredients, some items aren't long-term pantry friendly unless you make substitutions. Canned milk can be substituted for fresh milk and coconut oil (or vegetable oil) for butter. Substituting for the egg is a little harder, but it can be done. Do an internet search for "what to substitute for eggs in baking" and see what works with your pantry.

WARNING! This is definitely NORTHERN corn bread. As Mark Lowry says, it's really cake.

By the way, if you've never seen Mark Lowry's stand-up routine about southern cooking, watch it now. We all need a good laugh!

ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 cup flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup egg, beaten

Preheat your over to 400°. Place the 1/4 cup butter in a 9" square or round baking pan (I like to use my 10" cast iron skillet) and put it in the oven to melt the butter while you mix the rest of the ingredients.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and the milk and egg together in a small bowl. Add the milk and egg to the dry ingredients and stir until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated. Mix in the melted butter, then pour the batter into the same pan that you melted the butter in.

Bake at 400° for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Sorry...no pictures of the cornbread, but it was delicious.

Meanwhile, we're chugging away here in the Black Hills. Spring was here for a few days before winter hit again on Mother's Day. I've been keeping track - we normally have snow on Mother's Day weekend. :-)

Trips up into the Hills are more enticing now that the Iron Mountain Parkway and the Needles Highway are both open for the season.

And we are getting ever closer to the Vetsch/Drexler wedding in July. We've heard from the happy couple that no matter what the government says, they're getting married on the day they've planned. Even if we can't get there, they know a preacher and they can find witnesses. The wedding is on!

So, how are things going around your place? Snow? Mosquitoes? Are stores and restaurants opening up again, or are you still on shut-down?

We'll chat over our bowls of chili and cornbread!

Jan Drexler is an author by day who is addicted to counted cross stitch and sauntering through the Hills with her dear husband and their puppies - goofy corgi Jack and growing-fast border collie Sam. You can find Jan's books and other fun things on her website: www.JanDrexler.com.

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt and Chili Supper 2019

Jan here, sharing one of our favorite Black Hills traditions - our church's annual Tree Hunt and Chili Supper.

Would you believe I forgot to take my camera this year? But I did have my phone and remembered to take a picture of the intrepid hunters taking their captured trees back to the truck for the ride home!

It was a successful afternoon all around, complete with snowball fights, sledding, snow fort building (I wish I had taken a picture of the snow fort!) and a lot of visiting with friends and family. The temperatures were in the upper 30's, so we lingered in the forest while the children played. But as the sun made it's way toward the western hills, we knew it was time to make the journey back down the mountains. After all, the chili supper was waiting for us!

I've made a lot of different chili recipes for this special event over the years, but I don't think I've ever shared this one.

Chili, the healthy way

with vegetarian options!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (optional - this chili has enough protein without the beef)
1/2 onion
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
4 cups (cooked) small red beans or kidney beans
4 cups beef stock or vegetable broth
1 Tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt

I cook the beans in my instant pot the day before I make the chili, or you can soak and cook them the more conventional way - whichever works for you. Start with 2 cups dried beans to yield 4 cups cooked beans. (Or you can use 3 cans of beans...)

For my beef broth, I used some of the beef bone stock I made last winter. (See my post on making beef stock here!)

For the ground beef, I usually use a pound of the grass-fed beef we get from our friends, the ranchers. But I don't have any on hand right now, so I just used ground beef from the store.

Are these special ingredients? Not really - but you need to plan ahead to use them. Of course, you can always buy these ingredients at the grocery store!

Brown the meat and onion together. Put all ingredients together in a crock pot. Cook on low for about 9-10 hours.

Serve with any toppings you like. A dollop of sour cream is particularly tasty.

This chili isn't hot and spicy - there are just enough of the spices to give it a warm, savory flavor. If you like your chili with a bit of a kick, add some hot chili peppers or more cayenne pepper!


Enjoy!

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com

Celebrating a Survivor

Jan here, with the post I promised last week.

In the third week of our hiatus between houses, we're house sitting for a young family who is on vacation. Isn't it a lovely little house?

And it's almost a log cabin!

Yes, it looks like logs, but it's really log siding - a popular style around here.

The most interesting thing about this house and neighborhood is that it's a survivor. Built in 1947, this house was already an older home during the flood of 1972.

On June 9, 1972, Rapid City was hit with a devastating flood that has been classified as one of the deadliest floods in US history. More than 1330 homes were destroyed and 238 people lost their lives. The floodwater at its highest level reached 15' 9". As you can imagine, the memories of that flood live on today.

Here's a link to the Wikipedia article. And here's another link - South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

If you go to the SDPB link and scroll through the pictures, the 7th and 8th pictures are aerial shots showing Canyon Lake. This little cabin we're staying in is located just past the top of the picture and to the left of the road. When the dam at Canyon Lake broke on June 9, 1972, this house and neighborhood were mere yards from the wall of rushing water.

While we're enjoying our stay in this house, I can't help think about the flood that happened not all that long ago. The city determined that such devastation would never happen again, and turned the ruined neighborhoods into green spaces. There are flood control areas where the banks on both side of the creek below the dam have been widened to handle extra water in case of another flood and other steps have been made to prevent the kind of damage and loss of life the city experienced in 1972.

Of course, there isn't a lot of cooking going on while we're in our little cabin. I brought my Instant Pot, and have used it a few times. We had Chili Verde for a couple meals (recipe here), and I use it to make oats for our breakfasts a couple times a week.

I've also been making my breakfast smoothies (sometimes for breakfast, sometimes for lunch) from last week's post (recipe here).

And of course, since it's summer, sometimes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is just enough for a quick meal.

But even though we're thankful for our various temporary houses, we're counting down the days until we get to move into our new home...

Eleven days!

January in the Black Hills = Chili

Jan here, shivering in the Black Hills!

Winter is a mercurial season for us. We live in the "banana belt" of South Dakota - a misnomer, really. I've never seen banana trees here! But while the rest of the state is dealing with blizzards, high winds, and tons of snow, we'll have a day where the temps reach the 50's or even 60's.

Custer State Park on a balmy January day

But don't count on it lasting! Because the weather can change drastically in a matter of a couple hours. You know that saying, "If you don't like the weather, just wait an hour?" We've heard that saying in every location where we've lived...but it's true here.

Another January picture - the group of pine trees
on the left are the same in both pictures.

Spearfish, South Dakota (just a quick jaunt up the highway from us) holds the world record for the fastest temperature change. On January 22, 1943, the temperature changed from -4° to 45° in...wait for it... two minutes!

While we haven't come close to that world record, we often experience huge temperature changes. The National Weather Service explains the 1943 event like this:

"The wild temperature fluctuations were likely due to cold air and warm air sloshing back and forth along the plains at the base of the Black Hills. A similar effect would be to pour warm water into a shallow bowl of cold water. The water would slosh back and forth a few times before settling down. This is likely what happened with the warm and cold air along the Black Hills."

Sunday was another example. Yesterday morning, we woke up to temperatures in the mid-40's with a mild wind from the south. A real "snow-eater," or Chinook. By noon it was 53° and rising. A beautiful sunny day!

But around 3:00 in the afternoon, the wind swung to the Northwest, and we enjoyed(?) winds of 40-50 mph, with gusts up to 70 mph. (We actually lost a piece of trim off the truck during one of those wind gusts!)

With the change in wind direction, we saw a drop in temperatures. From the mid-50's to 25° in twelve hours, and it continued dropping. By this morning, we were in the teens, and the temps aren't going up at all today. Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder.

This is definitely chili weather, so you know what we're having for supper tonight! I'm going to be making one of my favorite chili recipes - Jan's Cowboy Chili. I shared this recipe several years ago, but I think it's time for a refresher. :-)

And don't worry - there's a vegetarian option...as long as you aren't a cowboy!

 
Jan's Cowboy Chili

Start with about 1 1/2 pounds steak. I like to use round steak, or these little chuck steaks.

They're slightly icy in this picture - being slightly frozen makes the meat easier to handle.

Cut the meat into 1/2 inch cubes, and then prepare the marinade.

Marinade ingredients:
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup oil - vegetable or olive
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix the marinade ingredients together, and then pour over the cubed meat in a plastic bag or glass bowl. Put it in the refrigerator and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes - an hour or two is better.

After an hour or so, it's time to start cooking the chili.

Drain the marinated meat, reserving the onions and meat.

Brown in a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot, and then add the rest of the ingredients:

2 cups beef broth
2 cans red beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can (14 oz.) tomato sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons cumin

Let all this simmer, covered, for an hour or two. Or three. Or put it in the crock pot for a half day or so...

*Vegetarian option: Instead of marinating beef, marinate your beans instead. Whether you use canned beans or cook your own, marinate the beans just as you would the meat. Drain and use in the chili. And instead of beef broth, use vegetable broth.


Now, lift the lid and take a whiff. Don't you feel like you're on a cattle drive with the cowboy of your dreams?

So, how is January treating you at your house? We could use some more snow, but other than that, I'm not complaining. I love the cold!

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com.

Chili for the Win! and The Great Christmas Tree Hunt 2018

Jan here, continuing a series of posts that I started last week, all about healthy eating BEFORE the Christmas feasting begins! (Click here to read last week's post.)

Last week's recipe, oven baked egg cups, were low-carb and delicious. Full of the healthy fats our bodies love.

But man (and woman) does not live on healthy fats alone! Our bodies also crave carbs - healthy carbs.

FYI - That cookie you're eyeing right now? That is not an example of healthy carbs.

Healthy carbs are fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Add a source of low-fat protein like chicken, turkey, or beans, and you have a great low-fat meal.

By the way, if you follow the Trim Healthy Mama way of eating, you are already familiar with keeping the low-carb and the low-fat meals separate. It becomes a way of life.

This recipe is one I've shared before, but this is the perfect week for it. Yesterday was our Great Christmas Tree Hunt and Chili Supper, one of our favorite Black Hills traditions!

Chili Verde

(aka "Green Chili")

ingredients:

2 quarts chicken broth

2 cups cooked, diced chicken or turkey

3 cans Great Northern Beans, or one pound beans cooked

2 small cans diced green chilies

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 teaspoon chili powder (I used chipotle chili powder)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

salt to taste

Combine the ingredients in your slow cooker, large pot, or pressure cooker.

In the slow cooker, cook on high for 4 - 6 hours.

In a large pot (stove-top), simmer on medium heat for about an hour.

In a counter-top pressure cooker (aka Instant Pot), cook for 10 minutes on high pressure and use the natural pressure release (about 30 minutes total time.)

The Chili Supper was a success, as always. We had nine different pots of chili-type soups, including borscht! One of my favorites was sweet potato chili with bison for the meat. Yum!

And the Great Christmas Tree Hunt was one of the best because we had a beautiful, fluffy layer of snow covering everything.

You know I love spending time up in the Hills, and Sunday afternoon was no exception.

But I noticed something this time... When we're in the Hills, we're walking among giants.

Sure, we're looking for that special tree. The one that will look perfect in our house this year. But while we're looking for that six foot or eight foot tree...

We're surrounded by massive pines that have stood here for a century or more.

And this is only a small part of the forest.... The Black Hills National Forest covers only 1.25 million acres out of the almost 190 million acres of national forest land in the United States.

Is there a national forest near you? Probably. There is a national forest or national grassland in all but ten states. Look up your state and plan a trip to the great outdoors! List of National Forests by State and List of Canadian Forests by Province

But here's the big question: Was this year's tree hunt successful? Of course it was!

Did you find a national forest near you? Do you think you might plan a trip there next year?

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt and Chili Supper 2017

This weekend was the long-awaited Christmas Tree Hunt!

Jan here, sharing one of our favorite Black Hills traditions - our church's annual Tree Hunt and Chili Supper.

We rarely need an excuse to head up into the Hills on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, especially when we get to do it with a few of our closest friends!

I think I've mentioned how our church is growing...sixty-one folks from our church gathered for this year's hunt.

photo by Janet Sartorius :-)

The weather was a lovely 55°, even though it was a bit overcast due to an approaching storm front. This lovely spot in the middle of the Hills is expecting 4"-6" of snow overnight Sunday and into Monday, our first real snow of the season.

But we found our tree, and then we all headed back to the church for the chili supper.

I made one of our favorite chili recipes this year - Chili Verde - which is really more white than green. :-) But it's tasty, not too spicy, and super easy to throw together.

Chili Verde

ingredients:

2 quarts chicken broth

2 cups cooked, diced chicken (I often use canned chicken)

3 cans Great Northern Beans, or another large white bean

2 small cans diced green chilies

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 teaspoon chili powder (I used chipotle chili powder)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

salt to taste

Combine the ingredients in your slow cooker, large pot, or pressure cooker.

In the slow cooker, cook on high for 4 - 6 hours.

In a large pot (stove-top), simmer on medium heat for about an hour.

In a counter-top pressure cooker (aka Instant Pot), cook for 10 minutes on high pressure and use the natural pressure release (about 30 minutes total time.)

That's it! Super simple, and delicious on a snowy, stormy day.

And this is a perfect dish to make when you want or need to use your pantry. I always keep a stock of these ingredients on hand, so this is a dish I can make even if we haven't made a trip to the store in a few weeks...or months. 

So, where is your favorite spot to find your Christmas tree?

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com

Ghost Towns, Miners, and Black Hills Chili

Jan here, with a tour you're going to love.

What is it about ghost towns that capture our imaginations?

Is it knowing that something was here once that drew people in?

Maybe it's getting a glimpse into the every day lives of folks who are long gone.

One evening last week, after a long day of wrestling with my current work-in-progress, my dear husband came home from work an hour early.

Where do you think we went? Up into the Hills, of course!

We had heard of a ghost town, not too far off the road, that was an interesting spot to visit.

The name of the place is Spokane, and no one knows very much about it. It was established in 1890 as a mining town, and for forty years or so, the mine yielded enough ore to keep the town going and growing. The mine was originally a gold mine, but they also found silver, zinc, mica, hematite, beryl, copper, and graphite. The biggest year for the mine was 1927, when the profits were over $140,000.

A school was built, so we know families lived here. The school teacher's house has been preserved and is located on a nearby property. The remnants of the town cover a one-square-mile area, so we know it probably had a good-sized population.

And sometime in its early days, one of the miners was killed in a dispute involving a claim. We didn't find his grave, but I've heard it's there, with the story of his murder on the stone marker. (An excuse to make another trip back to Spokane!)

By 1940, though, the mine played out, and the town was abandoned. The forest has grown up around it, and is slowly taking back the land.

Why don't we know many details about Spokane? I think it's because this town is just one of many thousands of towns just like it. Towns are born, grow and prosper, and then either continue growing, or they die. In this case, when the mine played out, the town was doomed.

I often write about our cowboy neighbors here in the Black Hills, but I can't forget that mining was a huge part of history here. We see it all around in abandoned mine shafts and leftover structures.

And sometimes, in the middle of the forest, we'll come upon a wide pit dug in the ground, eight or ten feet deep. Some miner's exploratory dig from one hundred forty years ago?

That brings me to my recipe. I've made over my "Cowboy Chili" (see that recipe here) to bring back memories of a miner's life.

The miners lived on whatever they could bring with them, since the freighters and merchants charged gold rush prices for their supplies. And meat was scarce. The gold rush in 1876 brought thousands of miners to the area. Any game soon learned to hide deep in the Hills, and beef was hard to come by.

So they lived on beans. One of the books I use for research (Deadwood, the Golden Days by Parker Watson) has a list of the supplies an eager prospector should take with him: "The recommended foods included flour, bacon, beans (called 'false friends' because of their tendency to talk behind one's back), coffee in the bean, baking soda for flapjacks and biscuits, sugar, salt, pepper, and dried fruits."

Not a varied diet, but nutritious enough.

The biggest problem for a group of prospectors was assigning one of their party to be the cook - because if you were cooking, you weren't hunting for gold!

By the way, this chili is vegetarian friendly. :)

Black Hills Chili

ingredients:

2 cups dried beans (I like small red beans, but you can use any dried bean you like), soaked and cooked

OR

3 cans (approx. 15 ounce size) beans (again, any style you like...except green beans!)

*a note about preparing beans: If you don't want them to "talk behind your back," be sure to soak dried beans in water with a couple Tablespoons of vinegar added. And then, with both soaked beans and canned beans, rinse them well before using them.

1 quart vegetable broth

8 ounces canned tomato sauce

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon garlic powder, or one garlic clove, crushed

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon chipotle powder

1/4 cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Combine all the ingredients and heat together.

On the stove: In a large saucepan, heat over low for an hour or more, stirring often.

In a slow-cooker: Cook on low all day, or on high for two to four hours.

In a counter-top pressure cooker (aka: Insta-Pot): Cook on high pressure for ten minutes, then use the natural pressure release.

And I'll leave you with a taste of the Black Hills in autumn. Forget pumpkin latte's - give me golden aspens any day!

Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.

Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt of 2016, and Orange-Molasses Snickerdoodles

It's that time again!

Our midday view to the south in December.

Long nights, short days, and Christmas trees!!!

Every year, on the first Sunday afternoon in December, folks from our church make a mad dash up into the Hills. We spend a couple hours tromping through the woods, looking for the perfect Christmas tree, then head back to the church for a chili supper.

After many years (this is the sixth year for our family!), we've developed a method that has proven successful every time.

The first ones to arrive at base camp build a fire.

Then we gather, spending many minutes chatting and visiting. Thatcher made a new friend this year. :)

He wasn't too sure about Titus until a snack was shared between boy and dog. Now they're best buds.

But finally, all have arrived and it's time to head into the forest with our saws and high hopes of finding the perfect tree.

Thatcher has an unusual hunting technique. He runs as fast as he can until he thinks we're too far behind. Then he races back, tags one of us, and he's off again. By the end of the hunt, he was one tired Corgi!

And then - look! - can it be? The perfect tree?

It takes experience to pick the perfect tree from 1.2 million acres of forest! The one to the left looks good, until you notice the big hole on the lower right. The one in back? WAY too big! That one in the front center?

Yes, I see the hole on the right side of this one, too. Shhh! It will look beautiful once it's decorated!

The next step is to cut our perfect tree and carry it back to the car.

Before you wonder if our adventure is beneficial and legal...yes, and yes. Cutting the trees this way helps thin out the smaller trees, which can grow in thick groves, stunting the growth of all of them. The trees are much healthier if there is space between them and plenty of room to grow. Thinning the trees helps cut down on Pine Beetle damage and forest fires.

Legal? Yes, we bought our permit!

Then, finally, once everyone has chosen successfully bagged their trees, we all pose for a group picture.

With all those hungry, cold people who have spent the afternoon hiking and hauling trees, you'd think the chili supper would be a hit. And you would be right!

I took a crock pot full of my favorite chili (you can find that recipe here), and we also had venison chili, Cincinnati-style chili, two kinds of white chili, a half-dozen pots of chili of various degrees of heat, some beef stew, and Dan's chili. Dan's chili is more than spicy. It's in a class by itself!

But this year, I thought I'd share the dessert that my daughter, Carrie, brought.

Orange-Molasses Snickerdoodles

The original recipe for these cookies came from the Food Network magazine (a great magazine for people who love to cook!), but Carrie substituted candied orange peel for the orange zest. Delicious!

ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup plus 3 Tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

2 Tablespoons molasses

1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 400°.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Beat the butter and 3/4 cup sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in the egg, then the molasses and orange zest.

Reduce the mixer speed to low. Then beat in the flour mixture until just combined.

Combine the cinnamon and the remaining 3 Tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Roll heaping Tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, then roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat.

Arrange 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. 

Bake until the cookies are just set around the edges but the centers are still soft, 11-13 minutes. Let cool 3 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Carrie added a squiggle of Royal Icing and some sprinkles to dress the cookies up for Christmas.

And how are the newlyweds doing? Getting ready to spend their first married Christmas together!

In other exciting news, "Hannah's Choice" is available in e-book for only 99 cents!!!

Go Here to get a copy for your Nook from Barnes and Noble,

or go Here to get a copy from Amazon for your Kindle.

Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.

Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com

Cincinnati Style Chili -- Version 2

Missy Tippens

A couple of weeks ago, Jan shared her recipe for Cincinnati Style Chili. In the comments, I mentioned my method for making the recipe. Since I made it over the weekend, I thought I'd share it with you today. First, a gratuitous spring photo from our backyard! :)

Now on to the cooking...

As usual, I didn't have all the ingredients I needed. This was a last minute meal made with a pack of beef from the freezer. I didn't have a can of tomato paste and had to use my whole tube of paste instead. :) I also didn't have any kidney beans so used mixed pinto and navy.

Years ago, I frequently bought the seasoning packets at Kroger. But when we moved here in 2000, I couldn't find a store that carried it. So when I found the packets for sale at a Gold Star restaurant in Kentucky a while back, I stocked up!

1 lb. ground beef (I use 93% lean)

6 cups water

4 oz. tomato paste

1 seasoning packet

Do NOT brown the ground beef like usual! Instead, put all the above ingredients in a soup pot and stir together, breaking up the beef. (I used my potato masher, but the packet says to use a fork.) Cover the pot and bring to a boil.

Boil for 3 minutes, remove cover, and then turn down to medium and let simmer for about 25-35 minutes. I think mine needed at least 35. While it's cooking, prepare a box of spaghetti noodles to serve under the sauce.

Now here's the fun part. The toppings!

Chopped onions

Cheddar cheese

Red Beans

Oyster crackers or saltines crumbled (my own addition)

Here's the back of the seasoning packet that tells you all the ways you can make the chili.

So how would you want yours? 2-way?

3-way, 4-way or...

5-way!

Oops, I remembered the crackers after I'd already sat down to eat. :)

So how would you pile on the toppings to make your Cincinnati style chili?

By the way, happy April Fool's Day!

missytippens.com