Chili - what's your secret ingredient?
 

Even though I'm in Florida and it's still hot as .... here, it's October and that means I want to make chili.

What's your fav recipe or secret ingredient that makes your chili the best?

I just throw stuff in the pot, the normal chili business but always extra red pepper flakes and a good teaspoon of cinnamon. No recipe.

little chocolate :)

I make a lot of different versions... my fav is adding some sweet curry from Penzy's to the traditional chili powder, garlic, and cumin. My hubby's fav is using Bowl of Red (it is at my local grocery store_... that is what I used in the batch that won his company's chili cook off.

i add cumin and a little extra chili powder as well

My hubby adds a can of spaghetti sauce (we use Hunt's garden veggie) and it makes the chili nice and thick.

I put in a bottle of beer and a few teaspoons of cocoa powder to give it some depth.

Evidently I have been making some very boring chili. These all sound so good. Now I just have to decide what to try this time. :)

Aaron got a recipe from a homeless man that he let squat at his place when he was in college (crazy man, my husband). It is THE BEST CHILI ever. I've encouraged him to make it for a chili cook-off but it hasn't happened yet. It uses a small can of diced green chilies and a can of french onion soup... and lots of different beans. YUM.

eta: I am happy to share the recipe if you're interested...

lentils. black lentils make chili AWESOME and some cooked quinoa.

I would love the recipe... :)

Aaron's Chili:

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. lean ground beef (you need lean)
2 (16 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
1 (16 oz) can tomato sauce
2-3 cans (16 oz) beans... we usually use 2 cans: dark red kidney and pinto
1 sm can chopped green chilies
1 med/sm onion
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow or red bell pepper, chopped
1 can campbell's french onion soup

SPICES:
2 TB chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
dash of cayenne pepper (I leave this out so the kids will eat it!)
1/2 tsp paprika

Brown beef with spices and green chilies (do not drain... this is why you should use lean beef). Add french onion soup and simmer 5-10 minutes until thickened. Combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Keep at a medium boil about 8-10 minutes. Reduce heat and let simmer 2-3 hours, covered.

We serve with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.

Thanks, Brook! I'll have to try this... it's suppose to be in the 50's coming to the end of the week, great chili weather! ;)

... chili powder, touch cayenne, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper, garlic powder, onion, red beans ...

I will have to make some this week now that you mention it. ;)

yum yum yum :)

everyone in my house LOVES chili, so i've got it listed once/week in my meal planner ... i'm glad to have some different ideas to mix it up a bit :)

Wow Brook - that recipe has me intrigued! Totally going to try it.

I am a throw whatever I have in the pot kind of lady. Beans of all kinds, diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, corn, ground beef, and of course lots of chili powder. I usually add at least a half a jar of salsa to ours too. It usually ends up more of a tex mex chili, but like I said, no recipe. It never turns out the same LOL.

my husband. :) he's the chili maker in the house.
we add loads of beans. any variety. a lot of cumin and chili pepper. also a lot of fresh veggies like onions, celery, green peppers and jalapenos. :)

my chili is pretty simple, but I usually just make it for myself - no one else likes it here. Maybe my 2 year old, but thats it! I will make a crockpot full and then freeze it in containers for myself to pull out for lunches.

Mmmm...chili. :)

I usually use brown beans and kidney beans, a can of tomato soup, chili powder, garlic powder, and maybe a dash of cinnamon/nutmeg.

oh - i wanted to add that i had cincinnati chili the other day for the first time ever, and it was so good (and so unusual! :) )

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beef/CincinnatiChili.htm

I love to make chili!! Yum! But mine sounds pretty boring after reading this thread! LOL!

On a side note... what do you eat WITH your chili? I normally just eat it by itself, but my husband has to have a fresh hot cinnamon roll to go with it! Blech!

My chili is pretty basic..ground beef, chili seasoning mix (the fam likes McCormick), a couple cans of diced tomatoes w/onion, a can of chili beans and some tomato paste. Top it with shredded cheese and sour cream, and, in Andrew's case, a few bottles of hot sauce on the table to add heat.

I used to serve it with corn bread, but I haven't been making that lately.

Mine is pretty boring/basic. A lot like Leu's - chili seasoning mix, 2 big cans of tomato sauce, 2 cans beans (kidney & pinto)...and that's it! LOL Blake loves it - it's the only soup he'll eat...

We eat it with saltine crackers and cheese. Blake loves it when I cut the cheese into shapes - especially Halloween shapes :) Oh - and DH likes to eat his over french fries.

This is the way my mom always made chili growing up and I loved it! In fact, I refused to eat Aaron's chili the first year we were married because it was too "fancy". LOL!

I make a vegetarian chili at our house. My secret ingredient is fire roasted tomatoes!

beer is supposed to take away some of the acidity. When we make chili here we add steak instead of ground beef. Cooking slowly in the crock pot makes it nice and tender (and I have to admit I dont actually make the chili my husband does LOL. I do the shopping though) And my son has been begging for chili for weeks now. It does not last long here. A full crockpot will usually be gone in one night.

My husband likes to eat chili over spaghetti noodles (like at steak & shake). I say that is yuck. Cheese & crackers are ok though. I rarely eat chili though

hey, guess what we're having for supper tonight! LOL

This is what I do also. And I only used pureed tomatoes because we don't like tomato chunks in our chili.

I am totally trying the cocoa powder thing next time! Sounds interesting!

Haha. I think we are, too! The wind is blowing and you girls are sure making chili sound good.

Now I am hungry for chili and fries.

I make vegetarian chili all the time. My favorite is a mango black bean, but I also love one called rainbow chili with all different colors of veggies. I pinned a couple to try with quinoa, too.

I'm totally trying Brook's recipe next time.

We mix up what we eat with it...crackers or grilled cheese or garlic bread.

Gosh, my chili is pretty boring. My family loves it though. :) I use a pound of ground turkey, season it with garlic powder and onion powder. Then I sprinkle on chili powder, add a can of rotel tomatoes (or the generic version) with chili peppers and a can of 'chili' beans (spicy kidney beans). That's it. Takes about 10 minutes to cook and they eat it like crazy. I'll have to try some different varieties though. :)

My grandma made her chili in a unique way. She put a couple of pounds of hamburger in a huge pot of water and boiled it with some William's Chili Powder. Then she added a couple of cans of kidney beans and that was it. It is what I grew up with so I liked it but it was very greasy and really soupy so you had to crush crackers in it in order to thicken it up. LOL Sean hated it but, like I said, I grew up on it. Grandma did what she could to make a little bit of food stretch a long way because she was always feeding a small army on very little.

No special recipe here...although if I'm making it, I definitely prefer a traditional Texas version, ie no beans. I don't like them, and DH definitely doesn't need them. LOL, I usually fix cornbread to go with...it's what mom and grandma always made with chili.

Vinegar is my secret ingredient! :)

We eat our chili with elbow noodles (isn't that typical for midwest?) and then top with cheddar cheese and crushed saltines... and if I'm feeling naughty, I'll add sour cream and scallions on top....oooh yum!

You know, I don't think I've ever made chili. I don't think it's a big northeast thing, and I grew up in New England. I may have made a vegetarian version once back in college, but nothing more recent. I wonder if my kids would eat it. I may need to try. I'd do 2 pots, 1 with meat for DH and the kids and 1 without for me. I don't know how I'd serve the kids' (with fresh bread/in a bread bowl or over pasta, probably) but I'd put mine over salad.

Couple of cloves added in while it's simmering... and then I try to find them to remove them before someone gets a bite in to one..... gives it a good overall flavor, but I can't stand it if I get one in my mouth :/ Although, somehow it usually works out that the kids get it instead of me

My husband likes his chili over rice, which is the way I serve it for the kids. I like it in a bowl with oyster crackers, cheddar cheese and a little bit of sour cream and onions.

I like white chili too, but no one else here will eat it.

My husband makes the best chili. I was never a fan until I tried his.... but I have to say that my favorite version is when he adds either peaches or mangos. So good!

ground beef
onion / carrot / celery
red bell pepper (NEVER green)
can diced tomatoes (maybe 2 if I want to stretch it out)
can tomato sauce
handful or so frozen corn
1 can each: black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans
garlic powder
salt
pepper
chili powder
cumin
oregano
1 bottle of beer
chicken stock (or a combo of chicken/beef, if I'm out of either of those, V8 or tomato juice)
1/4 c honey/brown sugar

sometimes I do more veggies (zuchinni, mushrooms, whatever needs used up in the fridge), I don't really have a recipe, just throw it together.

Eat it plain, with corn bread, on top of potatoes, in tortillas, over chips, on a hot dog. Topped with cheese, sour cream, freshly chopped red onion, black olives, green onion, depends on what we have.

My hubby is the chili maker in our house and he throws everything in there! I esp. like when he adds some chocolate, corn, beer...

Well my chili is in the crockpot for today. Aside from the normal stuff I use, I added beer, green pepper and cumin.

Next time I'm trying something like the chocolate or fruit added.

LOL My DH would have a fit if I tried to put fruit in his chili! But a beer....now that's an idea :)

Does it matter what kind of beer? Im going to add that in next time!

I make chicken chili - ground beef hurts my tummy. And I have a different "add-in" to it - BACON!!! mmmm
My family loves it! So simple too - onion, bacon, ground chicken, peppers, celery, kidney beans, tomato soup, a touch of garlic, tons of chili powder, and some salt & pepper.

Oh, and we have ours with Ciabatta buns or garlic bread.

My secret ingredient is cinnamon.