Corn Bean & Chicken Chili

To start, sort and rinse 1+ cup of mixed beans, using only those of similar size.

In a 2 quart pan, cover them with fresh cold water and bring to a boil. Drain, rinse in cold water and repeat the boil process several times. Soak in fresh cold water overnight. Or use 3 cans of rinsed, drained beans.

1# bite size pieces of chicken thigh meat

1/4 lg. purple onion - chopped

3T single source EVOO

In a 5 quart pot, 'sizzle' the chicken, onion and EVOO, while stirring. Reduce heat and continue to stir and sauté until the chicken turns white, then add the following chopped vegetables, spices, etc.

3/4 lg. purple onion

2c chopped celery

2 chopped kale leaves - rib discarded

28oz. can petite diced tomatoes

28oz. can crushed tomatoes

28oz. fresh cold water 

1# frozen corn

1t coarse sea salt

2T ground cumin

2T turbinado sugar

1t AZ Smoked Garlic Chipotle

1t Little's Chili Lime Seasoning

1t Penzeys ground black pepper

Simmer everything gently for an hour, covered, stirring occasionally. This made almost a full 5 quarts. Later I'll make cornbread to go with it for lunch after church tomorrow. . .Lin

1st Chili of Fall 2020

1⅓# Black Angus Beef Steak cut in cubes
2T good heavy Italian EVOO
1-2T dark Fig Balsamic vinegar
½t hot chili-lime seasoning
1-2t ground cumin
1 med. sweet red pepper - chopped
3 lg. cloves garlic - minced

Combine all the above in a medium glass bowl and let it marinate for about a half hour.

Meanwhile, open, rinse well and drain 1 can each black beans and black eyed peas. I had this combination stuck in my head and happened to have a jar of the two of these, in dry form, mixed together.

For raw dry beans, simmer 1c beans in 2 qts. of water. Rinse and drain, changing the water just after it comes to a good rolling boil, 3 times. If the beans are a little hard at this point, that's okay, they'll soften the rest of the way simmering, once the ingredients are all together. Simmer the meat, garlic, pepper and spices for 15 minutes until the meat juices evaporate and everything begins to brown. Add beans and the following to the pot:

2c cold filtered water
8oz. tomato sauce
1 14.5oz can stewed tomatoes (chopped) and juice
1½c homemade blended vegetable sauce
2 lg. bay leaves
6-8 chocolate chips
1t ground cinnamon

In Mexico, chili is often made with a strong Mole Sauce containing coffee or chocolate and cinnamon. I like to do this when I'm making a chili that is low on chunky vegetables. One that's mostly meat, beans, and a dark, rich sauce. Simmer over medium heat another half hour. Serve with crusty (homemade) Cheddar-Onion Ciabatta. I'll post that recipe soon.

I love chili!  Made with Beef, Chicken, Venison, Elk. . .Chili made with whole chunks of meat - not ground.

Welcome Fall! 🍂🍁🍂 I'm SO glad to see Summer gone this year! . .Lin

Fiesta Turkey Chili

1# lean ground turkey

⅓ lg. Vidalia onion - chopped

2T Ghee *  (click for more info)

Slowly, melt the ghee and simmer until the onion scents your kitchen and becomes translucent.  Add the next group of ingredients then simmer, covered on low for 45-60 minutes:

½ lg. green pepper - chopped

⅔ lg. sweet onion - chopped

1½c sliced - chopped celery

2 med. carrots - sliced thin

⅔ chopped GREEN parts of scallions

1-2T Better than Bouillon

~ vegetable or chicken

1T ground cumin powder

2t smoky "chile" powder

1 28oz. can petite diced tomatoes

~ and the tomato juice 

1c pasta sauce

1c dry white Tepary Beans

1c dry black Turtle Beans

1c dry tiny Elbow Spaghetti

½ bunch of fresh cilantro - optional

Carefully pre-cook each type of beans and the pasta separately before adding to the chili pot.  It takes time, but perfectly cooked beans, from scratch, are so good and flavorful.

For smaller beans, like these, I use fresh cold water to cover the beans well, and boil 5 minutes.  Then turn them off and let them stand for an hour.  Drain, rinse and repeat with fresh cold water.  I repeat this 3x.  The last time, I add 1t baking soda to the water, just as it boils, then continue to cook and stir for 5 minutes before the final hour rest.  Then check for doneness.  If too hard do one more boil-rest cycle until they're the way you like.  Immediately, drain, rinse and chill them in ice water.  Cook the pasta according to directions then also drain and chill it.  This will make the beans and pasta both RESISTANT STARCHES! **

Add a total of 3 cups of the cooked-chilled beans to the hot chili pot.  Save the rest for another recipe or to serve on top of big tossed salads!  Also add the cooked-chilled pasta - all or part of it.  Bring  the chili to a low simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add chopped cilantro just before serving.  This is great cold weather food.  I'm making this for a sweet family I love.  I added things I might not normally - elbow macaroni and carrots - lots of color and texture, in hopes of appealing to their little boy.  Also, the Mama in the family is sensitive to strong onions, so I used a Vidalia onion this time.  Normally, for LOTS of strong onion flavor I'd use a big yellow onion.

The pic above on the left was taken right after everything but the cilantro was in the pot.  After cooling a while, just about all the liquid absorbed!  It's now a Chili Casserole!!

Be Bold--Be Creative!  Don't be afraid to customize and change things up!  Happy Cooking. . .Lin

Chorizo-Chipotle-Corn Chili

8 oz. chorizo sausage 

10 oz. lean ground beef

1 lg. clove garlic - minced

¼ lg. onion - minced

Squeeze the chorizo out of the casing.  Combine these in a 4 qt. pot over medium heat.  Chop up the meat as it's heating and allow it all to sizzle for 5 minutes or so.

1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 13 oz. carton crushed tomatoes

1 jalapeño quartered-seeded-sliced

3 lg. cloves garlic - sliced

⅔ c diced yellow pepper

¾ lg. onion - chopped

⅔ c diced celery

1 can chili type beans

1-2 cans corn - drained

2-3T ground cumin

3-4 c water

1T sugar

Combine all the ingredients from the second group in the pot with the meat.  I didn't use the longer, Anaheim pepper.  Simmer together, stirring often, for about an hour. . .Mmmmm. . .Chili! . . . Lin

Turkey Black Bean-Corn Chili

½# organic ground turkey

1 very large purple shallot

2 very large garlic cloves

1 lg. Vidalia onion

1 lg. ribs of celery

1-2T olive oil

1T balsamic vinegar

1T chili lime seasoning

1T smoky chili powder

1T ground cumin

2 cans black beans

1 can chili beans

2 cans corn

28oz. diced tomatoes

1T sugar

Combine the first group of ingredients, heat and saute' breaking up the turkey.  Simmer on low for about 15 minutes, then turn up the heat until the meat sizzles and browns a little.  Stir to keep from sticking to the pot.  When browned the way you like, add drained-rinsed black beans, the whole can of chili beans-undrained, the drained corn and the whole-undrained can of tomatoes and sugar.  Simmer on low heat an additional 15-30 minutes. . .Lin

Super Bowl Chicken Chili

1c small red beans

14oz. chicken breast meat

2T sun dried tomato olive oil

½ med. white onion

½ lg. purple onion

1½c chopped celery and tops

2 red, 2 yellow, 2 orange mini-peppers

2t each: chili lime, cumin, hot Hungarian paprika

14.5oz can petite diced tomatoes

or ~ 3 frozen tomatoes

1t sugar

1c dry pasta - optional

Cook the beans your favorite way, rinse in cold water, drain and set aside.  Cut the chicken in small pieces into a 5qt. pot.  Saute' with the oil and a little bit of the onion finely chopped.  

Simmer-sizzle this together for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the chop-sliced vegetables and seasonings.  Simmer another 20 minutes, adding a little water if needed to keep everything from sticking or getting too brown.  Slide the skins off the tomatoes, core and chop when the tomatoes are thawed to popsicle stage.  Add them, the sugar, and the drained-rinsed beans to the pot.  Add another 4 cups of water.  Check and adjust the flavors at this point if needed.

If the chili is too soupy, you could thicken the liquid with a flour paste, or add some pasta that was cooked separately until half done.  Drain and add to the chili pot.  As it continues to cook, it will absorb some liquid and add starchiness, which will help thicken it.

Dig in and root for your favorite team 😉 . . . Lin

Beefy Red Adzuki Bean Chili

1¼# excellent quality beef stew meat

1 very large onion - minced - chopped

6 med. cloves of garlic - smashed

⅓c Tuscan Olive Oil flavored with:

(basil, oregano, marjoram and sage)

1c or more water - or can be:

(part Vodka, beer or red wine)

14.5oz. diced tomatoes

This started out to be Beef Stew, but then I discovered I needed to go buy vegetables.  I found a beautiful pack of chicken thighs on sale, at Super One!  I decided to use those in a 2-day stew or soup in the near future.

So. . .This is now a chili recipe.  I love it when circumstances force us to change a comfortable pattern!  Not only the recipe, in this case, but also in tweaking my usual technique.  In so doing, we break a mold, showing us a new, often, better way.

I'm NOT a fan of ground meat!  If you have really good quality ground steak - beef, venison or elk, it can make a good burger, but I feel, that's all it should ever be used for!  I unwrapped and dried the beef very well, (essential for browning) then minced about a third of the onion, and garlic.  Put those in the pan with the oil and began browning.  I used only water, then browned and deglazed 3 or 4 times *  

At the very end, I added the remaining, smashed garlic, chopped onion, and undrained tomatoes, then removed the pot from the heat and covered it.  Normally, this is when I'd add all the remaining ingredients and continue cooking.  However, I then let the ingredients in the stew pot, sit, hang out together, and soak up all the others wonderful flavors.

An hour or so later, I put it in the fridge, to start again later the first day, or the next, after shopping.  Incorporating a little chill time makes the meat all the more flavorful and tender.

Then, in my case - on Day 2:

~ ~ 1c dry red adzuki beans

14.5oz. diced tomatoes

2c celery and tops

3 sm.-med. yellow onions

1 poblano pepper

1t sugar (white or brown)

1 lg. dry bay leaf

2T ground cumin

2T chili-lime seasoning

1T smoked Spanish paprika

1t finely ground black pepper

Before Serving:  ½ bunch cilantro leaves and stems

Cook the dry beans according to your favorite method, or google 'cooking dry beans' for help with that.  Once the beans are cooked and tender, as you like them, rinse several times in cold water, drain, then put them aside.

Chop the vegetables, fine or rough, and toss them, and the second can of tomatoes, into the pot.  Add a bit more water if needed, then cover and simmer an hour or so.  Check the flavors then add your seasonings and bring back to a simmer for another 15 minutes to an hour, then taste again, making any last minute adjustments.  Stir in the chopped cilantro just before serving.  If you're not a fan of cilantro, substitute Italian parsley if you'd like to include a fresh, green, finishing touch to your chili.

This keeps well for many days in the 'fridge, and will still be wonderful even after gently reheatings several times.  It also freezes well. . .Lin 

A Beefy-Beany Chili

1c dry Mayocoba beans

1¼# lean boneless beef

extra virgin olive oil

1 lg. green pepper
1 poblano pepper

3 stalks celery

1 lg. onion
1T chili powder
1T ground cumin
1T beef soup base

1 lg. can crushed tomatoes

1 reg. can diced tomatoes

1-2t sugar
½-¾ bunch of cilantro

This is a 2-step process, when using dry beans, but if you're short on time, you can use 2 15oz. cans of navy, kidney or black beans, that are drained and rinsed.  Step 1 - Cooking The Beans:  Follow these instructions *  When they're almost to the tenderness you want, drain, rinse in cold water, let sit draining in a colander, and proceed with the recipe.

Step 2 - Everything Else:  Cut the beef into bite-size cubes.  Saute' in a little oil or butter, browning and deglazing several times using water, red wine, Vodka or beer for the deglazing liquid.  Before the last time, add the chopped peppers, celery and onion.  Brown a bit before adding the rest of the liquid.  Add the next 6 ingredients, stir to blend everything then reduce heat to medium until the whole pot is happily simmering.  Turn heat to low, cover and cook for an hour or more, adding the beans for the last half hour.

Chopped cilantro should be added now too.  Taste the chili 'gravy.'  Add fresh ground salt and pepper, or more powdered beef soup base if it needs a flavor boost.  If it's too acidic, a little more sugar may help.  This can be served now, or chilled and reheated tomorrow.  It always tastes best the second day 😉

This would be great served with a nutty, grainy, moist oatmeal-cornbread. . .Lin

Chicken Chili

1½# chicken breast or thigh meat

2 med. white onions - chopped

4 lg. ribs of celery - sliced

2-3T of an olive oil - butter mix

1t fresh ground garlic sea salt

2 cans Bush's Chili Beans*

1 28oz. petite diced tomatoes

Use these - They're excellent!!

Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and dry it well.  Sauté the chicken, onion and celery in the oil-butter until everything snapping and the chicken starts to brown.  Add seasonings, beans and tomatoes.  Rinse the chili bean can and add the water.  Stir and simmer everything together for at least 45 minutes, creating a low-medium bubble.  *(note - the beans I used were Bush's WHITE Chili Beans.  I will NOT use them again.  They have no flavor, at all!  Their original chili beans are so much better!)  This is a quick and easy recipe that feeds lots of hungry people. . .Lin

A Wonderful Pot Of Chili!

1-1/4# lean beef stew meat
2T butter
1/3 onion - minced
1/2c wine
6 lg. cloves garlic - minced
2/3 lg. onion - chopped

3 ribs of celery - chopped
celery tops - diced
42oz. canned diced tomatoes
25 oz. rinsed-drained black beans
15 oz. rinsed-drained garbanzo beans
15 oz. water
1/2 - 1t fresh ground pepper
1/2 - 1t Himalayan pink salt
1-2T ground cumin
1-2T medium hot chili powder
1T sugar

Brown the meat in butter with the minced onion.  When nicely browned, add remaining ingredients, stir and simmer an hour or so.  Turn off heat and let stand until just warm.  Chill an hour or more, reheat and serve with cornbread. . .Lin

Fiesta Chicken Chili

1-1/2# chicken thigh meat 

2T butter

2T white balsamic vinegar

1-1/2c chopped celery

2 med. onions - chopped

1 green pepper - chopped

1 red pepper - chopped

1 28oz. San Marzano tomatoes - chopped

2c water

1T fresh ground pepper

1T fresh ground garlic / sea salt

1T raw sugar

1T cumin 

1T med. hot chili powder

*2 cans of black beans - drained / rinsed

1 can chili beans and 'gravy'

1-1/2c frozen corn

Remove fat from the chicken then cut the meat into bite size pieces.  Saute' the chicken in butter and vinegar, until nicely browned.  Add the chopped, vegetables, tomatoes, water and seasonings.  Simmer for a half hour.  Add the *beans, and corn.  (*after seasoning my chili I decided it didn't need the second can of chili beans - shown - so I swapped those out for another can of black beans.)  Combine well, cover and simmer another 20-30 minutes. . .Lin

Chorizo-Chicken Chili

1# chorizo sausage

1¼# chicken breast tenderloins

2 med. red onions

2-3T extra virgin olive oil

1½c chopped celery

2 lg. cloves garlic

1 14.5oz. can petite diced tomatoes

2 14.5 oz. cans black beans

¾c small pasta - dry

In a 5qt. pot, break up the chorizo and add a little bit of the onion, that's been finely chopped. Stir this over medium heat with the olive oil. Once the chorizo starts to sizzle, cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and add to the pot. Stir well and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add rest of onion, celery, chopped garlic, tomatoes and some water if needed. Simmer on low heat for 30-60 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta, separately, to the el dente stage, then combine drained pasta and rinsed-drained beans with the rest. Simmer another 5 minutes, covered, then serve. . .Lin

Quick Corn Chili

½# pork loin

1 can corn

1 med. onion – chopped

1 can chili tomatoes

1 can red or black beans

Cut the pork in cubes and brown in a little butter with the corn and half the onion. Cook and stir this until the pork and corn have picked up a little bit of a char. Add remaining onion, tomatoes and drained beans. Simmer about a half hour. Top with a little sour cream and serve with some crusty bread. . .Lin

Chicken Chili

14oz. chicken tenders

2-4c chopped celery and onion

1T ground cumin

1T med.-hot chili powder

1T sugar

28oz. can petite diced tomatoes

8oz. tomato sauce

15oz. can black beans

15oz. can kidney beans

2c water

½t salt

Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces into a 4-5 quart pot. Add celery and onion and 1-2T butter. Stir over low heat. When butter is melted and everything starts sizzling, continue to stir-fry these ingredients over medium heat. When chicken starts to brown and vegetables are translucent add a little water. Stir and do the browning procedure once more, deglazing the pan with water or a little beer, white wine or Balsamic vinegar. Drain and rinse the beans. Add remaining ingredients, stir to combine well. Simmer on low an hour or so to finish cooking and bring out the flavors. Serve with biscuits, cornbread or crispy breadsticks. . .Lin

Black Bean-Chorizo Chili

8-16oz. good quality chorizo

1 onion – chopped

3 stalks celery – chopped

2 regular cans diced tomatoes

2 regular cans black beans

1t sugar

1t cumin powder

Chop up the chorizo in a 3qt. Kettle adding a little of the onion. Saute' several minutes then add the rest of the onion and celery. Continue to cook just a little until the pan is sizzling and the celery is becoming translucent. Add tomatoes and juice, the drained and rinsed black beans, sugar and cumin. Mix well then cover and simmer at least an hour to develop all the flavors. . .Lin

Black Bean Chicken Chili

½# chorizo sausage

1½# boneless-skinless chicken

1 lg. onion - chopped

3 stalks celery - chopped

2-3 cans petite diced tomatoes

1T sugar

2 cans black beans, drain and rinse

2t good quality cumin

2t good quality chili powder

Chop up the sausage in a big pot with the bite-size chicken chunks. Heat in a little olive oil until it sizzles. Continue to cook on medium heat until the chicken is nicely browned. Add onion and celery, tomatoes, sugar and a little more water. Simmer an hour or so then check flavors. Add seasonings and beans at this point, then simmer another half hour. Serve with crusty Italian bread or corn bread. . .Lin

Late Winter Chili

The calendar says spring but here in north central Wisconsin, the weather is definitely winter, trying to take a last stand, with an additional 4” of snow the past 24 hours. The good news is, it's melting fast and the real spring weather will be here soon. Meanwhile, a big pot of chili sounded just right for this weekend.

1½# very lean good quality beef

½ lg onion – chopped fine

2T butter or extra virgin olive oil

12oz± water

~ ~ or beer or red wine

Cut the meat into bite size pieces, trim the fat then brown in butter with the onion. As the sizzling becomes louder and the pot browner, stir in a little of your cooking liquid, let evaporate then repeat this process 4-5 times. Your meat and the pot should be nicely browned. When done correctly you'll notice you don't need to add beef bullion or salt. This process brings out all the flavor in the meat. Now add the first group of ingredients listed below:

¼t Penzey's black and red pepper blend

2t Penzey's medium hot chili powder

1t Penzey's ground cumin

1t sugar

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

~ ~ or petite diced tomatoes

1½ lg onion – rough chopped

5-6 stalks celery – chopped

1 30oz can drained-rinsed pinto beans

1 15oz can drained-rinsed black beans

Simmer, covered, on low heat about an hour. Stir in beans, cover and simmer another 20 minutes to blend all the flavors. Tastes best if cooked one day then chilled and reheated the next. Serves lots of people, and any leftovers freeze well. . .Lin

Beef 'n Bean Chili

1# lean beef stew meat

2 sm. onions

2T extra virgin olive oil

2T heavy Balsamic vinegar

2 14.5oz. cans stewed tomatoes

2 center stalks of celery with greens

2 15.5oz. cans chili beans

Combine stew meat, cut in small pieces, with a little bit of finely chopped onion, oil and vinegar. Cook and brown while stirring a while. When meat is nicely browned add a little water or juice from tomatoes to loosen the brownings in the pot. Continue with this browning and deglazing for a few minutes until the meat is well browned. Add finely chopped tomatoes, onion, celery and tops and beans. Bring mixture to a low-bubble simmer and cook this way, covered, for about an hour. At the end check seasonings and make any necessary additions. Serves a lot of hungry people. . .Lin

Chili and Chicken Soup at the YMCA

I made these yesterday at a cooking class I taught at our local YMCA. I didn't take photos of the ingredients in their beautiful, colorful 'before' stage, but here is the end product of each.

Tri-Color Sweet Pepper Beef Chili

1½# ½” thick beef round steak cut in cubes

¼c (½ stick) butter

¼ lg. onion diced

Combine these in a heavy 6-8 qt. pot, saute' to bring out juices, turn up heat until the meat sizzles. Add a little water, stir and begin the Browning and De-Glazing process (described here in an earlier post.) Brown again, deglaze with a little vinegar and oil. Repeat this process 4-5 times until meat is very brown, then add:

2 15-16 oz cans petite diced tomatoes and juice

1 can Bush's chili beans in Hot sauce

1 lg. green, yellow and orange pepper, slice-chopped

1 lg. onion – chopped

4 ribs of celery – sliced

Stir this together and bring to a simmer. Simmer 10-15 minutes then add the following drained, rinsed beans:

1 15-16oz can black beans

1 “ can garbanzo beans

1 “ can white or yellow hominy

1 bunch of cilantro – optional

Combine everything and simmer a little while to bring all the flavors together. If using cilantry, add that now. Also, if necessary, add a little sugar if it seems too acidic. If flavors are weak, add some powdered beef soup base, cumin or chili powder. Serve with crusty bread, soda crackers or cornbread. . .Lin

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Lemon-Garlic Chicken-Rice Soup – Quick Recipe

1½# chicken breast or thigh meat

cut into bite size pieces

½ lg. onion chopped

¼c (½ stick) butter

¼ chopped green pepper

⅔c 20 minute white rice

Combine the above ingredients in a heavy 5qt. pan. Simmer on low until the ingredients are combined and the water is out of the chicken – 5-10 minutes. Continue to saute and add water in ¾c increments, until meat reaches the desired brownness and rice is a little bit 'snappy.' Then add the following chopped or sliced vegetables, lemon juice and zest to the pot with 4-6 cups of water:

4 stalks of celery

4 med. carrots

1 bulb of fennel – sliced

5 cloves of garlic – minced

1 lemon – zest and juice

Simmer and stir until rice is cooked and vegetables are tender, then add:

chopped celery tops

fluffy fennel greens

½ bunch of chopped curly or flat-leaf Italian parsley

Simmer this 5 additional minutes.

Check flavors, add Better Than Bouillon chicken soup base if needed. . .Lin  

Venison Chili

1-1/2#  ground venison
1/2c onion - finely chopped
3c    chopped onions
3c    chopped celery and tops
1/2  lg sweet pepper - sliced
       orange, yellow, red or green
2  cans petite diced tomatoes
1  can chili beans (not shown)
1  can rinsed and drained black beans

Saute' ground venison with 1/2c finely chopped onion in 1T butter.  When nicely browned, add the larger chopped onion, celery and peppers.  Saute' 5-10 minutes then add the remaining ingredients.  Simmer about 10 minutes.  (Chill overnight then heat another 30 minutes the next day)  Or, to serve the same day, continue to simmer another 30 minutes.  Check seasonings, add cracked pepper, salt, powdered beef bullion, cumin - whatever it needs to make it the way you like.  Serve with crackers, cornbread, beer bread or biscuits. . .Lin