Easy Chili Recipe
Try This Easy Chili Recipe Tonight
I would also like to point out that this chili recipe contains beans. I know the chili purists will not like this, but it helps make this chili recipe easy and good.
Whatever you do for any kind of cooking, make sure you have fresh, good quality ingredients. Nothing spoils a good recipe faster than trying to save a buck on cheap, poor quality ingredients.
Let's get started.
The first thing to remember is that all the amounts are approximate. I might list three tablespoons of something but that's just a suggestion. Use more or less of whatever it is until you find what you like.
Easy Chili Recipe
Prep time:Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
- Shortening or vegetable oil: 1 or 2 teaspoons
- Good quality lean ground beef or ground sirloin: 1-1/2 to 2 pounds
- Chopped white onion: 1 large
- Good quality chili power: 3 heaping tablespoons - I like Gebhardt's brand.
- Paprika: 1 tablespoon
- Garlic powder: 1 teaspoon - (NOT garlic salt)
- Cumin: 1 teaspoon (omit if you don't like cumin)
- Salt and black pepper: to taste
- Ranch Style Beans: 1 large can (about 25-32 oz) **
- Pinto beans: 1 large can (about 25-32 oz)
- Kidney beans: 1 small can (about 15 oz) (optional)
When the meat is starting to cook and is breaking apart, add the chopped onion and stir it into the meat. Now add the powdered ingredients and stir them all in. Stir this a few times while it's cooking.
When the meat is almost done, add the beans. Rinse the cans with a little water to get all of the sauce out of the cans.
At this point your chili should be slightly watery. If it's not, add a little more water (or beer). Let this simmer for about 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
After about 20 minutes, taste it! If you think it needs more flavor, add more seasoning, like chili powder. The most common reason I've seen for having a flavorless batch of chili is not enough chili powder. So if it's bland at this point, add some more. DO NOT BE AFRAID!
Let this cook for about an hour and a half, stirring and tasting occasionally.
It can be ready to eat any time after the meat is cooked but gets better after about an hour or so. And it is better still the next day.
Chili Recipe Variations
Here are some other things to try. It adds a little to the difficulty level but not too bad. Try one at a time or all at once. Experiment! Have fun with it!- Add a 15 ounce can of whole tomatoes when you add the beans. Smash them up some with a fork first.
- Add or substitute top sirloin steak to/for the ground beef. Cut it up into small pieces
- Add some chopped up fresh garlic. 2 or 3 cloves should do it. Or even 6 or 8 if you like garlic.
- Kick up the heat with some ground red pepper (cayenne) or a couple of chopped jalapenos
- Add a beer. Not light. Not flavored.
- Try a tablespoon or so of Worcestershire sauce.
- A couple of chopped chipotle chilies (without the sauce if you are using canned) will add a nice smokey flavor as well as a little heat.
