Award Winning Chili

 Award Winning Chili (WON Spiciest)

This weekend we had a chili cook-off and trunk or treat. I wasn't going to make a chili, but decided what the heck. Here is the recipe I made for the cook-off. It's a sweet/spicy chili. Not too spicy, but since a white chicken chili won the top prize mine is more traditional chili, hence the winning category of SPICIEST it was the winner. To me, (no offense intended for the winners) but chili is supposed to be a bit spicy and red. Not white, and with chicken. Just saying. Well that is my two cents. What ever they are worth. Many who tried the chili were kind of shocked it won spiciest since it wasn't very spicy, definitely not a triple alarm chili. It has a great flavor and not just sweet or spicy. I had many compliments on the chili, I only had a small amount left to bring home. It was great Sunday on chili cheese hotdogs. :) This recipe is fairly easy and tastes delicious! Makes a large crockpot full, so freeze half for later or feed a crowd :)

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 med onion diced
2 tsp diced garlic
2 cans chili beans
1 can tomatoes with green chili's
1 can green chili's
3 small cans Rotel (R) tomato sauce (mild)
1 1/2 cup pace picante sauce
2 heaping Tbsp chili seasoning
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 can tomato paste
1/4 c cocoa powder
4 tsp liquid smoke (use 1/2 when cooking the ground beef and onions together)
8 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 pkg bacon bits
1 cup brown sugar
S & P to taste

Directions:

Put ground beef, onions, garlic, Worcestershire, S & P,  and 2 tsp liquid smoke in pot for chili. Brown beef, and cook onions until translucent. Cook down until most liquid has cooked off. Add all of the other ingredients stirring occasionally to blend together. Place on simmer and let simmer anywhere between 30 min or later. Great to transfer to a crock pot on low or keep warm once it's all heated through.  The longer it simmers the more the flavors marry each other and meld together better.

Me and my "Spiciest" award! 

A red wooden spoon and a box of Hot Tamales.

It looks like my son Mikey was photo bombing with his hand :)

Beef and Bean Chili

This recipe is a concoction of stuff I had around the house and in food storage. I am trying to stretch our food budget and our food. This recipe includes leftovers from a previous freezer meal for Beef Burritos. This seemed like a great alternative to extend our food. The meat from the burritos stretched from burritos, to quesadillas and now to chili. All from one pot and one freezer bag. Three meals! I find that amazing. Talk about stretching a dollar. :) I may even be able to stretch this to one other meal. That would make four meals from one freezer meal! I'm thinking since this makes a TON of chili. You can reuse leftover chili from anything such as chili cheese dogs, to cornbread chili, and chili burgers. The list can go on and on. You could even make it into a cheese dip for chips. MMM my mouth is salivating thinking of all these possibilities. I digress... Well, here is the recipe for tonights chili. I hope you enjoy it. I know we will.

Ingredients:
2 cups leftover burrito beef (or other leftover meat)
2 cans corn (do not drain)
2 cans white beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can black beans, low sodium (drained and rinsed)
1 can chili beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies
1-2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp beef buillion
4-6 dashes of liquid smoke
2 tsp cilantro
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 tsp onion salt

Add all ingredients in slow cooker. Stir gently, not smashing the beans.  Set on low and cook until heated through or let simmer all day for a full blended flavor. I have mine set on low for 8 hours.

Serve with sour cream and cheese, tortilla chips or corn bread.

White Chicken Chili - Slow Cooker

Tonights dinner was a "what do I have on hand" dinner. Yeah, I know I do a lot of those types of meals, but sometimes that's all we can do. I had my good friend AMY over tonight with her three girls. And I was busy today, so it was hmmm what do I do for dinner tonight... around 9am when I'm functioning enough to think about dinner. I'm in three classes at school and I'm so overwhelmed. I may be dropping one of my classes so I can function better. I really didn't realize that I would be so overwhelmed and unorganized... That I think is the hardest thing me not being able to get organized to function. This is the worst start to a grouping of classes I have ever had. :( So not happy with myself right now.

Here's for a good gather your wits healthy nutrient rich dinner. :)

1 lb chicken - tenders or breasts cut into bite sized pieces (canned chicken or freeze dried -foodstorage would work good too)
1 onion chopped
3-1/2 bell peppers orange, yellow and red
1 cup herb and garlic with lemon juice marinade
Cook in a pan on the stove or just add to the slow cooker. (depending on if you don't mind raw chicken cooking slowly) This will take about 10 min or so depending on heat.

Add to the slow cooker then add
1 can chicken broth
1 can chili beans
1 can drained and rinsed white northern beans
2 cans sweet corn
1 can rotel tomatoes with green chili's
salt and pepper to taste - I did about 3 pinches of salt and 10 turns of the pepper grinder
Cook 5-6 hrs on low or 3-4 on high then set to warm/simmer  til ready to serve.
30 min before serving. Add 2 cans cream of chicken soup and combine

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla strips/chips as toppings.

We didn't add any toppings except tortilla strips.

This makes enough to fill a 4 qt slow cooker, or 2/3 of a 6 qt slow cooker. Plenty for a crowd or even to freeze half for a later meal.

Verdict!
SO DELICIOUS! I know I say that a lot. My friend that was over didn't want any toppings, she said it was delicious all by it's self. Also, her girls ate 2 whole bowls. :) that's always a good sign. My boys ate BIG bowls and we still had enough to share or freeze for another family. So can easily feel 8-10 people. :) Those are always good meals. (in my opinion) :)

Who needs to go to a restaurant when you can make delicious white chicken chili at home and have it cook all day while you do other things. I think that's the best and most satisfying thing.

Everything but the kitchen sink chili

Today is going to be a long day for me. My oldest son is going on his first scout overnighter, I have a Girls Night Out... (yeah me!). I have to write one of my final papers for school, and the kids have a half day at school. Not to mention the house is messy and needs cleaning and laundry needs done. So I figured I needed a easy quick set it and forget it dinner. I pull out my trusty crock pot. Then I try to figure out what to put it it that is quick, easy and set it and forget it. I think that my cowboy stew would be nice and yummy. Then i remember i have leftovers from last night which was a raspberry vinaigrette pork loin. Which was just a low fat raspberry vinaigrette pored over a pork loin and cooked in the slow cooker all day. It was sweet, and tasty, lacked a little salt but other than that pretty good. So i figured I would try to make a chili of some sort without chili powder. Even if it is a sweet chili. Is there anything wrong with sweet chili... I don't think so. So I pull out my ingredients and away I go... Dump and stir then set it and forget it...

Ingredients:
2 cans chili beans
2 cans sweet corn
2 cups mixed sweet peppers, chopped/diced - I had orange, yellow and red
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup bbq sauce
1 lb hamburger patties crumbled, browned with salt and pepper
leftover pork roast
1 onion chopped
1-2 cups of salsa medium
salt and pepper to taste

combine all ingredients in a slow cooker/crockpot for 8-10 hrs.

Serve with cornbread/corn chips with sour cream and cheese.

White Chicken Taco Chili

A friend of mine was making a white chicken chili and I didn't have all of the ingredients for that, so I decided to make up my own version of this with what I have in my food storage and in my pantry. I've been testing it all day, and it is so yummy and creamy. It's not too white, because of the taco seasoning, so it's a little pinkish. but so yummy.

Ingredients

1 cup herb and garlic marinade

1 lb chicken tenders cut into pieces

1/2 onion diced

1/2 bell pepper or red/yellow 1/4 of each

1 can white beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can of sweet corn

1 can cream of mushroom soup

3 Tbsp taco seasoning

1/2 cup sour cream

Cook the chicken, marinade, peppers and onions in the crockpot until chicken is no longer pink. then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer all day.

This is a yummy, quick dish that is great on a cold night.

Chili with leftovers

I was thinking of not posting this recipe since it isn't completely from scratch, but I guess some of the things in here I made from scratch so I'll post it :) This isn't my normal chili, but it works in a pinch.

I tried to use some of the leftovers I had in the fridge so I didn't have to work too hard in the kitchen today. here's what I did.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup leftover sloppy joe mixture (leftovers)

1 1/2 cup taco meat (leftovers)

2 cans store bought chili with beans

3 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp paprika

1 can sweet cream corn (for sweetness)

Put all ingredients in the crock pot and let simmer for 2 hrs on high.

I am serving it with rice, cheese and sour cream.

VERDICT!

My son tested the chili and said it was a little sweet. (maybe they will eat more of it :)) It is very good, not very sweet, it has a nice flavor. The kids said it was the BEST chili they had ever had. Braeden had two bowls, I was a piggy and had two bowls, and the others ate their bowls clean... I will definitely be making this chili again. I will try to make taco's, and sloppy jo's in the same week, for this yummy leftover chili. It really was good. :) My Texas roots would be proud. :) It had a nice after taste, and flavor. Not too spicy that the kids wouldn't eat it, but just enough of a kick to be flavorful. :) A definite winner :) Enjoy!