Thursday, January 13, 2011

Katie's Chili

Is there anything more comforting on a cold winter night than a bowl of chili?

I have been making chili forever and have never thought of sharing my recipe on here. I guess I have thought of it as one of those things everybody knows how to make. It seems like every family has their own recipe and they rarely stray from the security of their chili. If you fit into that category, it's ok, you don't need to try mine, but there may be a chili newbie out there.

As I have mentioned before, I married at 20 years of age and I knew NoThInG about cooking.

(Somehow I managed to catch on pretty quickly and I can only think of one meal in the first year that went bad...over floured gravy...but we aren't going to talk about that one today!)

Back to the beginning...I did know how to brown hamburger. I did know how to dice an onion, not efficiently, but I could get the job done. One day I decided I wanted some chili. A friend told me to buy a chili packet and go from there. I didn't know there was such a thing, but decided to try it. The result wasn't something that I would make again...kinda thick and over seasoned. I decided to ask my mom how to make chili since she is the chili lady, but she didn't have an actual recipe and just said a pinch of this and a can or two of that.

Back then I wasn't the least bit comfortable with straying from a recipe...(funny how things change). I made her recipe for a few years until I was more comfortable in the kitchen and decided I needed to revamp it into my own recipe and add some of my favorite tastes. I experimented with making my own recipe...and I have found something we love. I finally wrote the recipe down last week so I could share it with you!



Photo Credit

1 pound hamburger
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1 bell pepper (I use yellow), diced
1 cup water
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
2 cans petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can hot chili beans, undrained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cubes beef bullion
1 1/2 Tablespoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste

Brown hamburger in a skillet until no longer pink. Drain off all fat. Add to a large pot. Add in all of the other ingredients. Stir to blend. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and serve or refrigerate and serve the next day.


2 comments:

Misty said...

I LOVE this post... Reason being is that I have a similar story of chili. Tim asked my grandma, Mingie, for her recipe and we have been using that for YEARS... a can of this and a can of that and just this week I made it and thought to myself "I am getting better in the kitchen, I can make chili on my own, without using help from canned products".

Definitely will be trying this out next time we make chili... I can't wait! I think I am going to just make it and see if the family notices a difference. :)

Katie said...

Misty,

For sure, you have grown in the kitchen! You can try mine, or try to invent your own with you family's favorite tastes!

Let me know how it goes!

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