I love me some chili and make it all the time for the family. My wife unfortunately doesn’t do the super hot and spicy chili but she can handle a jalapeño in it if it’s not too terribly hot. But I used to make Shelby’s chili until I decided I could just make it myself from scratch. I do a 3 bean style with great northern, dark red kidney, and black beans. Lots of cumin, chili powder, fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic. I do add some cocoa powder to it just because it pairs well but not all the time just whenever I’m in the mood.
I always toss a beer in mine. I have to try something like a dark stout. I've read about a cup of strong black coffee added in. I'm at the point where I have to mix in my own spices, more trial and error. I'm naturally opposed to measuring when I cook. Now for garlic, for a single batch, I go with a 1/2 bulb of garlic pressed, double batch gets a whole bulb.
I have a quick-n-dirty recipe that turns out great and doesn't take all day. A pound of diced beef, not hamburger; two cans of Bush's Chili Hot beans; a can of Ro-Tel chili starter; a quart can of diced 'maters and a packet (or two) of French's Chili powder. Dump all the wet stuff in a big pot and get it boiling then back it down. Prep up that beef by dredging it in flour and frying it in small batches until you get it all nice and brown. There should be enough liquid there in the beef to add the chili powder and cook it in. Add some 'mater juice if not. Once that's cooked in, add the beef to the pot and bring back to a boil then back it off again. Cheatin'? Sure is, but I don't have all day to waste cookin'. Generously sprinkle with Texas Pete and some sharp cheddar cheese. I can get this meal done in less than an hour and eat it all week; it gets better every time you heat it up.
Hello, When my wife and I were in our last two years of college, we went to a lot of late night diners and restaurants to and from our Los Angeles destinations, record shops, concerts and first run movies. Los Angeles was the only area that had first run movies and it was a ways to get there, but well worth it. The San Diego and up the coastal road trips usually had some sort of steak or beef meals. Chili being one of the standard items. We could not eat the really hot stuff, but had plenty of places that served outstanding chili meals from Baja Mexico to San Francisco. Some of those places in California had powerful chili and at the time, we sweat like others, but liked the meals. We had our own recipes made from a combination of various items and used chunks of top quality beef for the main ingredient. The Spencer Steak chunks were the best as the consistency gave the meal a solid feel, but dissolved when eating the meal in front of you. Some of the beef used commercially was too hard. Some of the top brands, Filet or New York were too soft and spongy. One had to be choosy in restaurants. And, at home when cooking and having a great meal. Jnaki Then many years later, we turned to healthy eating and found some recipes to fit our lifestyle. No more heavy meals and combining foods was the key to staying slim and trim. The quality meals we prepared were outstanding and very tasty. When we served our meals for our guests, they like the taste and consistency. Chili being one of the ones that emptied the pot the fastest. If we knew our friends liked spicy chili, we added more chili powder. If less was needed, well… the opposite was in play. So, our cookbook was written by a couple named the Diamonds. Marilyn Diamond was well known and her list of recipes fit our needs and easy fix meals. No spread out ingredients on the counter, just simple products and short timed meals. We stayed slim and trim throughout our lives to this point and still remain healthy and energetic. Note: As we got older, obvious the tasty meals were still cooked to the ingredients, but we had a couple of days of meals left over. Serves 8 is close, but we had meals for at least two days of nice dinners. If we threw in a great Romaine Salad, some nice chips or tortillas, then the total amount of left over lasts three days. YRMV...
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