Cathy's Chili

With the cooler weather making an appearance and giving us a taste of fall. I had to make a big ol' pot of chili.  I love fall and pefer to  open the windows, put on a flannel shirt and enjoy it by making and eating fall comfort foods.

My chili recipe won't be for everyone.  If you like spicy chili then I'd suggest giving it a try.  If you don't like spicy chili, you can still give it a try, just back off the spices, adding smaller amounts at a time and tasting to suit it for your palate.

I normally just make it by using the dump and taste method.  In order for me to share it with you, I had to measure and write down the ingredients as I went along. 



Cathy's Chili

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey
1 pound lean ground beef
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 40 ounce can of Brook's Chili Beans
1 46 ounce can of Tomato Juice
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Directions:

Drizzle the 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil into  a large soup pot (or dutch oven).
Heat over medium high heat.
Add the turkey, ground beef and onions along with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.

Add 1 Tablespoon each of Chili Powder, Ground Cinnamon and Ground Cumin.  Browning the meat along with the spices helps improve the color of the ground turkey and also adds a layer of spices to the meat.
Mix well and cook the mixture until meat is cooked through.

Drain any excess grease.  If you ground beef is very lean, you shouldn't need to drain any fat.
To the meat mixture add the Chili Beans and Tomato Juice.
Stir to mix well. Lower the heat to medium low (you want the mixture to not boil).
Add the remaining seasonings 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder, 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon, 1 1/2 Tablespoons Cumin and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Mix thoroughly, scraping seasonings from sides of pot.
Reduce heat to simmer.  After 15 minutes and all ingredients are heated through, taste and adjust seasonings.

Chili is always better left over, so I often make it a day before I want to eat it.  The longer it sits before serving, the spices will continue to blend and develop.   Just be careful if you microwave a bowl otherwise you will have a mess.  I created a mess by having my bowl too full!

I prefer mine topped with shredded cheese and Frito's. 

I also have used leftovers to create chili burgers or chili dogs as well. 
You can also serve it over spaghetti or add cooked pasta.  However, I typically do not recommend putting cooked pasta directly into the chili.  The texture of the pasta gets mushy and it adds additional thickening to the chili. 

.....and that's What's Cooking at Cathy's ~ Enjoy!