Everyday Chili

Ingredients:1/2 a bag of black and pinto beans, soaked over night
1 can Rotelle-chili mix
4 roma tomatoes, diced
chicken broth
1/2 tsp. Ancho, chipotle and chili powder
1 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 lb hamburger
12 oz. Denver griller steak
2 small onions, diced
2 mild peppers (ancho and pablo), diced
3 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cumin
3 cloves garlic
juice from 1/2 lime
1 cinnamon stick (remove before eating)
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Directions:

1. Soak beans overnight. 
2. Let steak come to room temperature. Season with salt and pepper. Sear 1 minute on each side in a hot pan. Let sit 10 minutes then dice up and add to pot. 
3. Combine all ingredients except lime juice. 
4. Let simmer on low for 4-8 hours. 
5. Adjust salt as needed. 
6. Add lime juice last hour. 
7. Remove cinnamon stick.

White Chicken Chili

This chili is the best of both words. It's kinda of like a mix between chili and chicken noodle soup (except with no noodles). This is the Mexican flavored comfort food you want to be eating on a cold snowy night.  There are a few basic things that take this simple chili from 'ok' to 'wow!' First, use homemade chicken broth, and second, use dry beans instead of canned beans. Dry beans are cheaper, healthier, and canned beans can’t even begin to compare with the flavor and texture you get from cooking them from scratch.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 dry Great Northern beans (before cooking) or about 4 1/2 cups after cooking (or 3 15.5 oz cans)
• 2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 1/2 cups chopped red, green, or yellow bell better (any combination of colors is fine)
• 2 fresh jalapenos, seeded and chopped (use less or none depending on your desired spice)
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 3 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth

Directions:

1. Dump all ingredients in a stockpot or crock-pot*
2. Bring to a low boil
3. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender, about an hour

*You can put this on in the morning and just eat it when you come home.

YOAK-O-LOCO Chili

This is my scratch recipe. "YOAKO-O-LOCO". It's easy to make. Dont let the 30 ingredients throw you off. You probably have most of these ingredients on hand. The Chili has a Tex-Mex flair, with sweet Midwest Barbecue notes. It has a nice finsihing heat, but nothing that sends you rushing for the milk. I made this at Hope Presbyterian Church's Harvest Day Festival and it took 1st place. I hope you enjoy it. Happy simmering!

Ingerdients:
6 ounces hot turkey italian sausage
1 pound ground sirloin
3/4 pound pork tenderloin (pre cooked to medium then cubed in 1/2 inch pieces)
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
8 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup bacon fat
1 jalapeño pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
2 bay leaves
1/8 teaspoon rosemary
1 1/4 cups Merlot or other fruity red wine
1/4 cup Heinz ketchup
1/8 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce (you can sub this for your favorite)
1/4 cup beer (your favorite brand will do)
1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped
1 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
1 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained
1 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes undrained
2 ounces of unsweetened dark chocolate

Preparation:

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage, ground sirloin, pork loin, onion, and the next 4 ingredients (onion through jalapeño) to pan; cook 8 minutes or until sausage and beef are browned, stirring to crumble.




2. Add chili powder and the next 7 ingredients (chili powder through bay leaves), and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.




3. Stir in wine, ketchup, and 8 ingredients through pinto beans; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.




4. Uncover and add diced tomatoes and unsweetened dark chocolate and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaves.




5. Note: Like most chilis, this version tastes even better the next day. Best if slow heated on the stove top, avoid the microwave.




6. Garnish: shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese sour cream diced white onion

Ben's Beefy Chili

This chili is a bit different than the ordinary beans, tomatoes, and no-flavor chili's that many people make. This chili has loads of tex-mex flavor, a complex taste, and some nice back-heat.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb bottom round beef, cut into cubes
1 lb ground beef
1/4 lb Italian sausage or ground pork
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
1 bottle (12 oz) of a nice dark beer like Guinness
2 tablespoons finely chopped semi-sweet dark chocolate
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 large red onion diced
4 gloves garlic finely chopped
1 Poblano seeded and finely chopped
2-3 Chipotle peppers packed in adobe sauce (less if you want this to be less spicy)
1 teaspoon Ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon New Mexico Chili powder
1 teaspoon Adobe seasoning
2 cups homemade chicken stock
1 can (16 oz) whole tomatoes, pureed (don't drain)
2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Directions:

1. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a dutch oven type pan.
2. Season the cubed steak with salt, pepper, and brown all the sides of the steak.
3. Sprinkle the steak with the cumin and stir.
4. Deglaze the pan with the beer, bring to a boil, then add the chocolate, let reduce.
5. In a separate pan, brown the pork and ground beef.
6. In a separate pot heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and caramelize the red onion.
   
7. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes.
8. Add the Poblano pepper and cook another 2 minutes.
9. In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, Ancho chili powder, New Mexico chili powder, Adobe seasoning, onion/garlic/Poblano mixture, Chipotle peppers, and the reduced beer mixture.
10. Puree this mixture.
11. Add the mole type mixture you just made to the beef, pork, and steak.
12. Add the beans.
13. Add the chicken stock (I used homemade chicken stock so it is unsalted, at this point I add another 2 teaspoons salt, just taste it and see if it needs it)
14. Add the maple syrup.
15. Stir and put in a dutch oven or crock pot and let simmer for an hour or two, or longer. It will just become thicker the longer you let it go.
16. Enjoy!

I made this for a chili cook off we were having at Church, it got 2nd place and as you can see below, this is what happened to the pot I took it in: