Friday, December 17, 2010

Classic Red Chili


Classic Red Chili
Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Café
Makes 10 servings

2 medium onions, diced
2 tsp salt
2 pounds 96/4 ground beef
3 large cans (29 ounces each) pinto beans, drained
2 46 oz. can tomato juice
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup water
3/4 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tbsp light brown sugar

Brown the hamburger and onion in a large skillet with salt. Drain grease. In a small bowl combine the 1/2 cup water with the garlic salt, pepper, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin and brown sugar. In a large pot, combine tomato juice, beans, tomato sauce, and ketchup. Stir in hamburger and onions and seasoning/water mixture. Mix well. Stir in bay leaves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer over medium-low heat for an hour, stirring occasionally (this can simmer for as long as 4-5 hours).

Nutritional Information: 423 calories, 55 carbs, 7 fat grams and 34 protein grams.

Review: I actually didn’t follow the directions above – I slowcooked the whole thing raw beef and all. However, I wish I had because this BARELY fit in the slowcooker and took forever to cook! Haha So I’d follow the directions above. :) And don’t forget to drain those beans! I forgot to drain the first can so it was a little soupier than I wanted. SO all in all, regardless of my errors, it was STILL good! Hehe I really liked it, less smokey and more sweet. It has a lot of flavor and is definitely filling. I’m going to make this again – but by following the recipe above!

5 comments:

Kimmi said...

I love your new blog, I'm also a big fan of "Fitting Back In". I was wondering, when you reheat... do you just use the microwave or do you heat up on a burner, oven, etc.?

fittingbackin said...

Hi Kimmi! Thanks so much! :)

I typically pull it out of the freezer and 8 a.m. and leave it in the fridge until lunchtime. Then I defrost in the microwave (for a minute or two and stir), then cook in the microwave (for a minute or two and stir). I rarely use the burner or oven to reheat! (although pizza reheats VERY well in the oven).

r said...

One of my least favorite things to do is brown meat. I love slow cooker recipes that allow for raw meat or chicken. How long did you cook this chili in your slow cooker? I'd rather do it that way and skip the meat browning part!

fittingbackin said...

haha I know what you mean!! Browning meat (and even stirfrying chicken) are NOT my favorite things! Typically, I do 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low (I find this heats the exact same). So, with this one since I had peeps over for the game, we did 4 hours on high! Just make sure to use a wooden spoon and really go in an break up the meat with the spoon, OR pull it out on a plate and take two forks to it to break it up!

Joanne said...

I have been CRAVING chili constantly lately and love the sound of this recipe! Even more perfect that it's a slow cooker recipe. I can just set it and forget it!