I put the meat-free thing on hold when it comes to chili.

My father and I have a problem.

We’re chili fans, you see, and it seems that RB Rice has stopped producing their chili block, which was a vital ingredient in our Perfect Chili recipe. Without the RB Rice chili block, we’re left shaking our heads and throwing beans and spices around all willy nilly.

Dad has found that the recipe on the back of the Brooks Chili Seasoning bag is good, and adding a can of drained kidney beans makes it even better.

I have been known to melt Hershey bars in my chili. Once again, I have no idea what I’m doing.

Are you sitting on The Perfect Chili Recipe? Cough it up, my friend.

My father and I are starting to feel desperate.

And ’tis the season. ‘ ‘ ‘text/javascript’>

27 thoughts on “I put the meat-free thing on hold when it comes to chili.”

  1. No killer chili recipe here. Sorry about that but I stink at cooking. You are the topic of my NaBloPoMo post today. Sorry about that too…blame Freud or something… ;)

  2. I LOVE MY CHILI.

    I take the Best Recipe’s Veg. Chili from their Soups & Stews cookbook, and add 1/2 ground meat. Maybe a pound, if I’m feeling meaty. I can send you the whole thing if you like. It’s got 2 cans chili beans and 1 28 oz can of tomatoes, if that gives you an idea of the ratios. And 3 TBS chili powder and 1 TBS cumin seeds.

    That’s practically the recipe, right there.

  3. I’ll play! (But I’ve never heard of a chili block, and now I’m bummed that I’ve missed my chance to see one. Is it the chili version of a bouillon cube?)

    1) Saute one red bell pepper, one yellow bell pepper, and one diced onion in canola oil over low heat until soft then add three or four cloves of garlic. (I use three or four of those little garlic ice cubes from Trader Joe’s.)

    2) Bump up the heat to medium, add one pack of ground turkey and immediately pour in one cup of chicken broth and stir like mad. This will keep the turkey from clumping up. When the broth is almost all evaporated, add 2 tb ground cumin, 1/4 t. cayenne pepper, and 1 t salt. Stir all that around to blend the spices.

    3) Pour in a 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes (or one 7 oz can and a can of ro-tel), one can of dark red kidney beans (drained), and one can of light red kidney beans (drained). Stir it all around, bring to a simmer, and cover.

    4) After it’s simmered for about 20 minutes, uncover to check the seasoning. (I almost always add more salt and sometimes sprinkle in some sugar.) If you’re feeding people who don’t mind flecks, add 1 t. dried oregano, but if you’re feeding my children get out of here with your devil weeds.

    5) If you want a thicker texture, simmer uncovered for a while or – shortcut! – work a potato masher around the pot for a little while.

    6) Serve on baked potatoes, chips, or in between macaroni and a layer of melted cheese.

  5. My husband makes some really good chili. Although I’m not much help here, because he won’t let me see all that he puts in it. I mean, he could put kitten tails in it for all I know. But dang, it’s some tasty stuff.

  8. I have no idea what a chili block is. Like, a cube of spices or something? Really clueless here, which probably says something about my adoration for chili. My boyfriend, however, is a big fan, so the search for the perfect recipe continues.

    Anyway, we tried this one from Cooking Light recently and found it to be pretty good–though the cinnamon/allspice/chocolate threw me for a bit of a loop. I wasn’t sure if I was baking or making chili at one point.

    http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1918482

  10. First, I sneak some vegetables in by sweating/sauteing onion, carrot and celery & garlic at the end. Set aside.
    Trim chuck steak very lean and into 1″ chunks. Salt & pepper then sear in dutch oven with vegetable oil. Work in small enough batches that searing does not become steaming.
    Set aside and brown lean ground beef, ground turkey, sausage, your pick.
    Remove from pan and deglaze with sherry or beef broth (I prefer Swansons low-sodium broth or their beef stock.) After reducing till very thick, add beef or chicken broth along with vegetables set aside earlier.
    Using immersion blender, work until smooth. If your family doesn’t like lots of tomato chunks, add a can of crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen fire roasted is wonderful, or Red Gold) before blending.
    Add meat back in, along with a can of kidney beans, black beans, and/or Bush’s Chili Magic Chili Starter and another can of tomatoes.
    Toast cumin seeds and pulverize in spice grinder. Add to pot, along with ancho chilis in adobo (minced) or ancho chili powder, chipotle chili powder, adobo (if these are not in your spice rack, try Penzey’s Spices) a bit of black pepper, a dash of Franks Red Hot Sauce, kosher salt, and chopped onion (I prefer vidalia or sweet at this point).
    If you are feeling adventurous, add a bit of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and if you are really wild and crazy, a bit of cocoa powder.
    Let cook at low temperature for a few hours and the beef will be fall-apart tender.
    A dish of corn bread or corn pudding is called for. My favorite is a package of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. Mix according to directions, adding about a 1/3 can of sweet corn (drained) and topped with hot pepper cheese before popping in the oven.
    Serve chili with garnishes such as sour cream (mellows the heat for those that have a sensitive palette,) the remaining drained corn, leftover sweet onion (chopped), and of course, shredded cheese!

    This sounds so good, I think it will be recycled into my nablopomo day 3!

  11. Whoa. All day today I had a craving for chili and when I came home I cobbled some together. It was good but I think it could have been better. I wish I had stopped by here before supper!

    I also wish I had made corn bread… Good thing there will be plenty of leftovers, I can do cornbread tomorrow.

  13. At this exact moment i have a large Wendy’s chili in my fridge waiting for lunch tomorrow. i’ve been SO hungry for chili lately! i also bought all the ingredients for chili this morning. My secret is 3 tbls hot chocolate powder. Swiss Miss+chili=YUM!

  14. I do not have a good chili recipe. I also do not know how to cook hot dogs. I often find myself with an unbearable longing for a chili dog, though.

    Which is weird, because I do NOT like chili OR hot dogs.

    I long for chili. But will never, ever eat it.

    I’m pretty sure I peed in someone’s Cheerios in a past life or something, to be forced to suffer so.

  15. The secret to my chili is the Main Street Spice Shop (you know the one!). They have chipolte and dark roasted chili powders that are really darn good.

  16. Er, well I am from Texas, you know. Our chili has no beans. It’s all about the beef, baby. BEEF! That being said, I am in love with the chili con carne recipe from that yankee, Martha Stewart. It’s googleable.

  17. I make it differently every time, starting with ground beef, onions, garlic, kidney beans, tomato paste, paprika paste, chili powder and spices and just adjust til it tastes good–always adding oregano, a touch of cinnamon, and whatever smells good at that moment…and then when serving top with cheddar cheese!! yummy! Green peppers if I have them, celery too..fresh tomatoes, whatever’s in the fridge–leftover anything goes well too and I just cook until I like it…

    …now I need some chili…..mmmm…..thanks for the idea! Any ground meat works but you have to have both meat and beans and lots of veggies…

  19. The Cooking With Trader’s Joes cookbook has some good chili. I tablespoon of BBQ sauce, 1/2 cup chipotle salsa, 1/2 can refried black beans. That makes it all thick and smokey and fancy even when you didn’t spend much time on it.

  21. A new use for chocolate!! I don’t have the perfect chili recipe to give, but I do know what I’ll be adding to my shopping list!

  22. Don’t mess with these ingredients…

    * 1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
    * 1/2 lb andouille sausage (the chicken kind is fine)
    * 1 medium onion, chopped
    * 2 cloves minced garlic
    * 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
    * 1 can (24 ounces) tomato sauce
    * 2 cans (14.5 ounces) dark red kidney beans
    * 2 tablespoon of Sriracha
    * 1 tablespoon of Cayenne pepper
    * 5 chopped chipotle peppers
    * 1/2 of a chopped red bell pepper
    * 1 tablespoon chili powder
    * 1/2 tsp cumin
    * Dash of crushed red pepper
    * Salt and pepper to taste

    Mess around with these…

    You can experiment with these as they are strictly a matter of taste. I add them in varying amounts depending on who the folks are eating it.

    Maple Syrup. I like using this more than chocolate or peanut butter. If you are looking for a sweet tone then this can be good.

    Chopped fresh jalapenos. I like them a lot, especially without the seeds. The more seeds to you add the hotter it will be. No seeds, very little heat. I think they are best when you add them late and they aren’t cooked down completely.

    I have also added some Guinness beer before. I recommend cooking it longer if you use it.

    The veggies I have added that seem to work well with this are carrots, squash, zuchs, etc. The only one I use with any regularity is carrots because they are a bit sweet and work well with the heat of the chili.

    I dig my chili best with cornbread. I’m just sayin.

  23. I love that you bring up chili, because I am sufferring from the most distressful dilemma! Adam and I used to love love love this recipe:

    http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/30-minute-chili

    SO GOOD! SO FAST!

    BUT! Then he went back to being a vegetarian and ruined everything! LOL!

    So my comment is to 1) recommend this recipe. SO GOOD! SO FAST! and 2) ask if you’ve ever tried those fake-meat vegetarian crumbles? I’m wondering if it would work well here because I like the texture of meat in my chili. I’m wondering if I can fake myself out and still be happy. I’d just jump in and try it, but that s%#t is EXPENSIVE! What do you think?

  25. I make my chili with cocoa powder. I totally get the chocolate bar: the cocoa and the sugar neutralize some of the acidity of the tomatoes. In my mind, at least.

  27. can relate lost spagetti ingredient before, It was one of those private stock collections that made it to the shelf of some of my favorite, commercial markets then it seemed as soon as I discoverd it, It disapeared, I’d started really liking the dish because of that, ingre, now nothing is the same.

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