Reverse Engineered Chili

"I had been buying a name brand, pre-fab chili kit at the grocery store. It's the same one I always use as the foundation for my chili. However, I always altered it. So, one day I decided to measure what they included in the kit and note my adjustments. This is what I now use to make my chili - NO MORE kits! I know it's long on the garlic, cumin and pepper. the only one I compromise is the pepper. For those with spice sensitivities, I remove a portion of chili for them before adding the pepper. Of course, I don't reduce the quantity of pepper just because I reduced the amount of chili receiving it... lol"
 
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Ready In:
4hrs 30mins
Ingredients:
14
Yields:
5 quarts
Serves:
20
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ingredients

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directions

  • In a pot no smaller than 5 quarts, brown the ground beef with the onions.
  • When the ground beef is thoroughly cooked, drain the meat as completely as possible. I press on mine to squeeze out ALL the fluid I possibly can.
  • Return the meat/onion mix to the pot.
  • Add all the "wet ingredients" to the pot next. Then, add all the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
  • Bring mix to a low boil, stirring frequently.
  • Once it begins to bubble, reduce heat to simmer/warm and stir periodically. I like to simmer mine for about 3 ½ hours, at a minimum. I leave mine uncovered to allow the liquid to evaporate. (OK, I cover mine with a splatter screen to minimize the mess.).
  • In my opinion, the more the fluid is reduced the better. Doing so just allows the flavors to marry that much more thoroughly.
  • I like to serve this dish with grated cheese and raw, diced onion. I also love saltine crackers with butter or spread. Of course, open faced, toasted cheese sandwiches (some call it cheese toast) also goes well with chili, for that matter, so do grilled cheese sandwiches.

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>At 19 years of age, I was the only child of any of my father's friends who was regularly invited to their gatherings. I was a fish out of water, but it felt good to be included. One New Year's Day everyone gathered for a day of football and food. I noticed two things that day. The women went on and on about how good the different dishes of food were that were brought into the party that day, and I noticed that all the food was cooked by men. It was at that party that I realized it was ok for men to cook. Within a month I was regularly taping cooking programs. (There was no food network way back then. In fact MTV played noting but music videos back then.) Too many years of being single left me with no one to cook for, that is until relatively recently. I am so glad to have had someone to cook for again. I now use RecipeZaar recipes to teach my teen-aged son how to cook.</p>
 
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