We were slouching about Northern Wisconsin with friends over the weekend and stopped at Culver’s for lunch. We’d had a big breakfast, and were anticipating a big dinner, so Rich and I were just looking for a little sumpin’ sumpin’ to hold us over.
Hmmm, chili?
Yup, perfect. Culver’s chili was pretty darned tasty, but we thought it could use a bit of spice, so I did a little research on da Google and came up with this…
INGREDIENTS
Veggies:
•1 yellow onion and 1 red onion, diced, about 3 cups
•4 cloves garlic, minced
•3 celery stalks, chopped
•1 green pepper, diced
•1 red pepper, diced
•1 hot banana pepper, sliced
Spices:
•1 tbsp white sugar (+mebbe another later)
•1 tsp Cayenne
•1 tsp dried oregano
•1 tsp cumin
•2 tbsp Cajun Seasoning
•1 tsp Colman’s mustard powder
•1 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1 bay leaf
•1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, lightly crushed
Basics:
•2 tbsp canola oil
•1 lb ground beef
•1 lb ground turkey (used 20 oz pkg)
•1 tbsp Seasoned Salt
•1 tbsp pepper
•46 oz. tomato juice (1 jug)
•1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
•1 (14-1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes
•1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
•1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
•1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Optional:
•1/2 cup Amontillado
Chop/dice/mince the veggies as you like them and set aside – you should have about 8 cups total.
Drain the beans, rinse well, and let drain in a colander.
Heat the canola oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat, then add the ground meats, seasoned salt, and black pepper.
Cook, stirring to break up the meat for five minutes, then add the chopped veggies, cover the pan, and continue to cook for another five minutes, or until the meat looks to be mostly cooked.
Remove the cover and continue cooking, stirring often, until any liquid in the pan is cooked off and you mebbe have a few crispity bits to scrape up in the pan.
Stir the tomato juice, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes together with the seasonings in a large pot, then add the well drained beans and the meat/veggie mixture.
Stir to combine well and heat to boiling.
Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Taste the chili and correct the seasonings, if needed. Here’s where I added another tablespoon of sugar.
Simmer for another 90 minutes, stirring often, and serve as you like.
Rich prefers his over macaroni with crackers, cheese, and a bit of sour cream; so that’s how we had it for dinner. For leftovers, tho’, I’m thinkin’ chili dogs!
Nice, basic chili, and not too, too hard to toss together.