game day chili

A few months ago, for my alma mater's homecoming tailgating festivities, I made a batch of chili using a new 'recipe' and loved it. I didn't have a recipe the first time but now... it's taste tested and approved. I've made it several times since. It's easy to make, relatively healthy, and can be transported anywhere in the crock pot. Today, I thought it was fitting for the Colts vs. Patriots game taking place this evening. I'm not waiting 'til kickoff to eat it but... whatever.

My chili recipe has two secret ingredients: 1) Tabasco brand chili starter; and 2) Red Gold diced tomatoes with jalapeno. This is what the chili starter looks like:

You need this chili starter! It's only a little hot and has a ton of flavor. It's awesome. My #2 secret ingredient is below - the Red Gold diced tomatoes with jalapeno. It's the middle top can. It says 'hot' on the can - and it is hot - but in the chili it adds a nice flavor and heat. If I were brave, I'd do two cans of them instead of one. Maybe next time. I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to heat! Red Gold is superior to other brands in my opinion - the tomatoes are grown in Indiana so you I'm partial to them. Here are the cans of the ingredients I used. I usually use the Jiffy brand corn muffin mix. You could also make it from scratch if you have the time. This is the meat and onions cooking. I now get all of our ground beef from a local butcher after reading a scary article in the New York Times along with the book Fast Food Nation about meat and food safety. I like that the butcher sells local meat that they butcher and grind in house and it makes me feel better about what I'm eating. Okay, back to cooking! And here is the chili cooking in the crock pot. Yummy! I tried to make a recipe below - let me know if I'm missing anything! I don't usually write entire recipes with steps and all so bear with me.

Game Day Chili
serves 8-12

1 pound lean ground beef (ground round or sirloin is preferable to chuck)
1-2 yellow onions, chopped
olive oil
1 jar Tabasco chili starter
1 can Red Gold tomatoes with jalapeno
1 can Red Gold chili ready diced tomatoes
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can light red kidney beans, drained
water or light beer

Optional:
corn muffins (I use Jiffy muffin mix)
sour cream (I use fat free)
shredded cheddar cheese (I use the light kind)
green onions
Tabasco hot sauces

Turn crock pot onto high setting or put Dutch oven/stockpot on the stove on the medium setting.

In seperate frying pan (for crock pot) or in the Dutch oven, brown ground beef in about a tablespoon of olive oil; add onions midway through. Cook until beef is no longer pink and onions are translucent.

In crock pot (or in the pot you're using if you're using a Dutch oven), start adding the chili starter, tomatoes, and beans. After you pour in the chili starter, fill up the glass jar with water or light beer and add that. Add beef and onions to the crock pot, making sure to scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan.

Turn your crock pot or Dutch oven to the low, or simmer, setting. You want it higher than the warm setting though.

Cook for 4-6 hours. You can eat it after 1 but it gets better as it simmers. Serve with corn muffins and the condiments of your choice. For tailgating, I served it in 16 oz. styrofoam cups with a ladle full of chili, a corn muffin, and topping the cup off with more chili, with some cheese or sour cream on top. It's an easy way to eat it while standing and worked great.

Enjoy!