Comments on: Need a chili recipe

By: Karla

Karla — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 19:14:33 +0000

If you’re using a Crock-Pot, you don’t even have to pre-soak the beans, just rinse and cook. The only issue is that it’s not always clear how much water to use, but in general two-three times the volume of beans is good (at least for black beans; I’ve had bad luck with pinto). I haven’t optimized this recipe, but what has worked okay thusfar (the next iteration will probably involve cinnamon) is

one bag (1 lb, about 4 cups) black beans, rinsed and cursorily picked over
one large can (32 oz?- bigger than the 14 oz) enchilada sauce and a canful of warm water
1-2 sweet potatoes, peeled and in 1/2″ dice (uncooked)
1 green pepper, roughly diced
1 onion, roughly diced

Cook on low about 9 hours to overnight or so, and if you like mash up a portion with a potato masher before mixing it back in. Add a small bag of frozen corn and hot sauce to taste.
(Yes, the enchilada sauce adds tomatoes and salt, generally no-no’s when cooking beans, but they cook just fine.)

I wish I’d thought of this when I was in grad school (biochem). It has the advantage that all of its ingredients are pantry items or things I usually have around. Good luck on your exam period.

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 01:49:13 +0000

I found this recipe to be quite yummy. When I made it, I omitted the sausage and used ground turkey instead of sirloin. To make it vegetarian, I think TVP or something along those lines would work nicely in place of the beef/turkey.

By: Moustache Frank

Moustache Frank — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 21:02:05 +0000

My own secret chili ingredient: orange marmalade. About a tablespoon.

By: Amanda Marcotte

Amanda Marcotte — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 20:13:57 +0000

I recommend using dried beans instead of canned. Just soak, rinse, boil. But that’s time-consuming.

If you must use canned corn, use hominy.

By: KathyF

KathyF — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:37:45 +0000

FatFreeVegan has a good recipe on her site (which I made for a bunch of non-veg Model UNers) and I’ve got two on mine. (Search the recipe index.)

By: celticfeminist

celticfeminist — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:18:26 +0000

I’d recommend using frozen corn instead of canned, but if you use canned, rinse and drain it well before using it. Same with the beans – it helps to reduce the sodium and get rid of a lot of the canned taste.

Also – there’s always the Vegetarian Times website (an essential magazine in my house), in which you can do a keyword search for recipes. The website itself is a little annoying, but I’ve rarely gone wrong using one of their recipes. (www.vegetariantimes.com)

By: JackGoff

JackGoff — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:59:53 +0000

God, I love Dru Blood just for the Decemberists reference in a chili recipe. So wonderful! And yeah, that recipe sounds awesome, a bit extravagant for my minimal budget, though. I also sometimes add in a tablespoon of cocoa powder sometimes. It makes the chili really rich and adds a…je ne sais quoi to it.

By: ks

ks — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:40:19 +0000

I agree with the chocolate. I usually add either a bit of dark chocolate or cocoa powder to my chili, but since all my chili recipes are meat based (even loaded with veggies, chorizo is a must in any chili I make), I can’t help with the vegetarian part. Jack’s sounds good though, but I’d add a jar of pickled jalapenos and more chili powder to it.

By: Jokerine

Jokerine — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:20:33 +0000

Oh yeah, cinnamon is awsome or try 50 g of dark chocolate for Jacks recipe. Anyway mine is almost like it, except I hate canned corn.

By: octopod

octopod — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 06:51:50 +0000

Whatever else you do to the chili, add cinnamon. This, I have found, is vital. Just a bit — a half-teaspoon in the above recipe would be enough — but it does amazing things to the taste.