Chillin’ with Chilli!

How do you spell chilli? There are variations of it, but I’m going with the Oxford Dictionary’s spelling of it, and my mother’s spelling of it, as she was a school teacher. However you like to spell it, chilli sure tastes great if you have a terrific recipe.

With the Superbowl on the way and the Vernon Winter Carnival Downtown Vernon Chili-Cookoff coming up Feb 10 I thought I’d share not only my own recipe that received an honourable mention the first year that the Chili Cook Off started in 2010 but also 1075 Beach Radio’s Duane Grandbois’s chilli recipe that won the” Chili Spirit Award” that year..

My recipe is actually my Mom Rhona’s, with a few adjustments as I like heat in my chilli!

CHILLI:

1 lb lean hamburger

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1 large onion chopped

28 oz can tomatoes mashed

1 tin of mushrooms-pieces & stems

19 oz kidney beans

1 green pepper chopped

1 tin of tomato soup

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp chilli powder or to taste (If you like heat, you’ll need at least 1 tablespoon)

Fry meat, onion, & green pepper

Add other ingredients & simmer until blended.

I look to cook chilli in the slow-cooker and sometimes I throw in fridge leftovers such as salsas or hot sauce remnants.

Serve with shredded cheese/green onion on top, some great garlic bread and maybe a tossed or caesar salad.

Photo Credit: Krumpli

Now for the recipe from Duane Grandbois!

CHILLI:

Ingredients, for family group serving:

 2 lbs lean ground beef

1 lb. chorizo sausage, ground or smaller links.

1 lb. bacon

3 cans Bush’s brown beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can Italian diced tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

2 cups raw sliced mushrooms

1 jar pickled jalepenos

1 cup frozen corn kernels

2 cups shredded old cheddar cheese

1 large vidalia onion

1 container sour cream

edible pastry taco shells 

1-2 envelopes sloppy joe mix 

garlic powder

chilli powder

taco chips 

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

Hy’s season salt

 Cut bacon into approximately 1/2 inch pieces, best cut frozen, and fry till well done. Remove bacon and spread on paper towel to dry.  (If you prefer to do the sausage in links cut into 1/2 inch pieces and fry on both sides until they get a nice crust.)  Leave bacon fat in pot and season meat with Hy’s seasoning to taste, sea salt and fresh ground pepper, course preferred…fry hamburger and sausage together until browned nicely, then add chopped onion, don’t overcook and drain after onion gets a nice brown edge yet still firm.

Add beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sloppy joe mix, 1 cup of pickled jalepeno juice, season with chilli powder and continue to monitor for taste as it slow cooks for about an hour or longer as preferred.

Once it’s tasting exactly how you want it,  add the frozen corn, bacon pieces and fresh mushrooms and let simmer on low for another 20 minutes stirring minimally.

 To serve scoop hot mixture into a taco shell…immediately sprinkle shredded old cheddar cheese on top in a little mound about half the size of the shell…let sit for about 5 minutes then add a dollop of sour cream in the middle. Place taco chips in a circle pointed up around the sour cream like a taco corral, then put sliced jalapenos from the jar to taste on top of the sour cream.

Use the taco chips for scooping out the mix…till you either run out of chips or want to just use a fork or spoon…done.

Melanie.