Our Favorite Chili (It's SO quick!)

I like the flavor of this chili!

Years ago, a recipe card for this chili was handed out when Qualheim's True Value in Shawano hosted a kind of promotional event put on by the Regal cookware company.  During the 'event', someone from the Regal company was in front of the store and serving free cupfuls of this chili recipe from a HUGE frying pan that was sitting over some kind of heat source-- honestly, the huge pan was something like 5-6' feet across.  (M-m-m-m-m-m, the chili-- tasted so good!!!) 

This is about the 'QUICKEST' chili ever!  To save 'preparation time' when cooking, I like to 'brown hamburger' ahead of time-- about 5# at a time,  bag it and freeze in 1# amounts.  Using the pre-browned and thawed hamburger, this recipe can be completed start-to-finish in the length of time it takes to cook the onion/green pepper mixture.  (20 minutes?)  Even if starting with raw ground beef, it's still quick!


I like to double this recipe so I'll have some left for the next day.

6 servings (maybe less if you have 'chili likers')

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 chopped green OR red OR yellow  OR orange pepper (optional)
• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 pound lean ground beef

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• 1 package (1 and 5/8 oz. size) chili seasoning mix (recipe called for French's)
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoned salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 can (15 oz.) kidney beans, with liquid
• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained (my addition, optional)
• 1 can (16 oz.) diced tomatoes with liquid, OR stewed tomatoes, OR whole tomatoes
• 1 can (4 oz.) sliced mushroom pieces, drained (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Sauté onions and peppers of your choice in butter in a 10-inch fry pan over medium heat until onions are transparent.  While 'getting the onions ready', and if you are not using 'browned-ahead ground beef',  brown the raw ground beef in separate fry pan, and drain. 
 
(To speed everything along, you could start heating everything in the last group above over low heat while the onion/pepper and the hamburger is being readied.)

Combine EVERYthing.*  Mix well, breaking up tomatoes (if whole).  Bring to a very light boil, reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 5-10 minutes (to make sure the beans are totally heated ).
 
*Once I get everything combined, and if  I'm in no hurry to serve, I'll put it into the oven at 340-degrees for about 30 minutes.  This is also a good crock pot meal.  Also, see note at far bottom of this posting.

This can be served with a variety of toppings:  Grated cheese, chopped green onions, snipped chives, or ???

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SOUR CREAM......

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 P.S.  I've seen cooks take a recipe like this, add a large can of tomato juice, a small handful of spaghetti strips that have been snapped into 1-inch pieces, and a can of corn for a different kind of dish-- adjusting the cooking time and amount of chili powder, as desired.

Chili Con Carne (super simple quick recipe)

If this recipe is not considered simple, I don't know what is!   I got this from an old "Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book" which I gave to my mother back in 1961 or 1962.  You do not need anything "fancy" to put this together.

INGREDIENTS and DIRECTIONS, all together in one list:

Brown in 3 tablespoons hot fat (less than this amount is okay)...

     1 lb. ground beef (I used just 1/2 pound and that works, too)

     1 and 1/4 cup minced onion

Add to the above and cook for 10 min...

     2 of 15 oz. can cooked kidney beans (I drained each, but probably wouldn't have had to.)  For a different look, you can use one can of light colored kidney beans, and one of the dark red variety.

     1 of 10.75 oz. can condensed tomato soup, as is.

     

Combine the following in a small bowl, stir until totally smooth, and then blend into the above...

     1 tablespoon chili powder (more can be added at the table)

     1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

     3 tablespoons water

     1 teaspoon salt  (If, out of habit, you already salted the hamburger/onion mixture as it was frying, omit this.)

Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for 45 minutes.  Serve hot... with crackers or hot corn bread, or ???  (Instead of following this last step of "cooking over low heat" for 45 minutes, I put the chili into an enameled cast iron pot, covered it, and stuck it into a 350-degree oven for 30-40 minutes.)   M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m!

Above:  Little squares of sliced Aged Swiss 

Cheese tossed atop the dollop of sour cream.

Serve with toppings of your choice:  Crackers, sour cream, snipped green onions, grated cheese, cubes of cheese, broken corn chips, etc.

Phil's "Skinny" Chili

"Over the years, the cooks (from our most local medical center) have tried recipes submitted from other employees.  This one proved to be a favorite."

When I saw this recipe in the recipe book, 

Recipes & Remembrances, 

put together and sold to celebrate the medical center's 75th Anniversary (1931-2006), I was reminded of a very similar chili recipe I often made in the early 1970's.  This particular recipe was submitted by Phillip T. who had been the Radiology Manager at the hospital for a lot of years.  I remember Phillip from when he attended the same grade school and high school that I did.

*My very first real employer (for $$) was for a "hospital building fund".  I worked at that job from June of 1962 until the Spring of 1963 as their one/only secretary-- this was based out of a basement room of the local county courthouse.  When the 'mission' for that was completed, I was 'moved' to work in the main office of the hospital at its present location.... having gotten married in 1963, I continued working there until the Fall of 1963, when I quit to stay home and help with farm chores while awaiting the birth of my (our) first child in 1964.

INGREDIENTS*:

• 2 lbs. lean ground beef
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 bunch celery, chopped
• 1 of 15 oz. can chili beans, undrained
• 2 of 15 oz. bean sprouts, drained and rinsed
• 2 of 15 oz. diced tomatoes
• 1 of 46-ounce tall can tomato juice OR V-8 juice
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Lawry's seasoned salt
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano, rubbed between fingers to release flavor
• 1 tablespoon dried sweet basil leaves, also rubbed between fingers
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/4 OR 1/3 cup chili powder, OR 1 packet of chili seasoning mix

DIRECTIONS:

Combine beef, onion, green pepper and celery and fry until beef browns.  Drain excess fat and return mixture to 6-quart kettle.  (After I drain excess fat off, I sometimes take a cup of very hot water and pour that over the drained meat, also.)

Add chili beans, bean sprouts, diced tomatoes, tomato juice and ketchup.  Mix well.  Add the salt/pepper, oregano, sweet basil, garlic powder and chili powder.  Mix very well! Cook over low heat for 1 hour.  (Rather than cook it on top the stove and risk scorching what's in the bottom, I prefer to cover and set it in the oven for an hour at 350-degrees.  

I liked this chili recipe in the 1970's, and liked it just as much tonight.  Our little "borrowed' 7-year-old girl asked for seconds because she liked it so much, also.

* The variations I made with this recipe today 

weren't enough to change the end result.   

Enjoy!!!