Chili Base Recipe

I have an easy chili recipe.

You put olive oil in your pan and cook chopped onions until clear. Then you brown the hamburger meat in that. Drain very well. Add a can of campbells tomato soup. Add salt, pepper and chili powder to taste. You can also add the kidney beans... for now i omit...kids dont like those.

If you like it spicy you can add some tabasco sause. We serve over rice. For each pund of hamburger meat it is about a can of tomato soup.

This is a very kid friendly chili. Hope you like it :)

I do not really measure, I kind of taste as I go...but if you are wanting to get rid of processed foods using a package of chili seasoning is something you do not want to do...you can find some things on your basic grocery shelf if you look at labels...I use chili powder, like a good 2 Tablespoons full, a couple dashes of garlic powder and just a bit of cocoa powder. I use canned crushed or petite diced tomatoes but you can use fresh too, I dice onions and brown the hamburger and onions together, I also dice green peppers sometimes too. I Love black beans in my chili I think it gives it great flavor, but sometimes we just use regular kidney beans too. One thing we have discovered is we really like it to be half sausage and half hamburger...it gives it great flavor. It is really something you will just have to experiment with. Hope you come up with something your whole family can enjoy = )

If you want a chili recipe I have one that I love. I brown about a pound of ground lean beef (depending on family size) drain the oil after its cooked. Then replace meat back in pot add 1 can dark red kidney beans, 1 can black beans, 1 can diced tomatoes, then add in 1 package of chili seasoning. Stir well and let simmer until hot enough to eat. Great for hot dogs, hamburgers or just a simple bowl of it. I just made some last night. :) Hope you like it. Also salt to taste. Enjoy and good luck.

Ok, I see you got a lot of recipes, but since you said you want to get away from canned foods as well, I will tell you the long way to make a pot of chili beans.

I use a slow cooker to make beans. Use whatever kind you like (I use pinto beans for chili beans, but you could use whatever variety or combo you like, looks like Brooks uses red beans.) Sort out two cups of beans, removing any rocks, shriveled or broken beans. Rinse them and then place them in a large bowl or in the crockpot and fill with water. Soak them overnight. Next morning, rinse the beans again and place in the crock pot with fresh water (about 3 inches above the beans).

For basic beans, I add some sort of salt and some sort of oil. This could be a chunk of salt pork by itself. It could be a a couple of tablespoons of cooking/olive/whatever-kind-you-like/have-on-hand oil and salt to taste (I'd put about 1/4 tsp because I don't cook with much salt). Sometimes I use a few slices of bacon. Cook on high for 6-8 hours.

Basic chili is just a gravy made with chili powder. The basic recipe is brown a pound of whatever kind of meat you want to use (ground beef, pork or turkey -- i sometimes make chili with pork chops or round steak, browned and then chopped to add back to the skillet), crush or mince at least 5 cloves of garlic to add to the meat while it browns. Once it is browned add two tablespoons of flour (or whatever thickener you would like to use depending on need to be gluten- or wheat-free) and two tablespoons of chili powder, salt to taste. Once all of this is absorbed by the oil from the meat you have browned, add water. Bring to boil to think. Simmer down to desired gravy consistency.

If you want extra flavors in your chili, you would chop and add whatever other veggies you want while browning the meat. Onions or bell peppers for example. The Brooks can says that it has tomato paste. After the meat has absorbed the chili powder and flour, add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, more if you want more tomatoey flavor, then add the water. The can also says "spices." Even though I use fresh garlic, I will sometimes add garlic powder. You can also add cumin or oregano, which are common chili ingredients.

I usually just mix the two when they are done cooking, but you could add the chili mixture to the beans while they are cooking, too.

I use this type of red chile powder: http://www.amazon.com/Corona-Real-Mexico-Chili-Powder/dp/..., but I'm sure any type of chili powder that you like will work.

There is nothing like a fresh pot of beans and chili! Hope you enjoy it, and I wouldn't mind hearing if you give it a try. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about my directions. :)

i always use a variation of cooked black beans, cooked red beans, tomatoes,water or vege stock, tomato paste, onion, celery and celery leaves,jalaepenos, (i use veggie burgers crushed for texture)sometimes carrots, sometimes corn, sometimes bell pepper. chili powder, paprika, cumin, marjoram, oregano, sea salt, hot sauce, white pepper,i simmer until taste testing is almost perfect, then i cut the heat off and add stir in zested fresh garlic and unsweetened cocoa powder (no im not kidding its awesome)

I serve it over rice, or cornbread, over vegetarian hot dogs, or just on bread , but always covered in grated extra sharp cheddar.

I never measure my ingredients i pinch in the spices to taste, i like mine with extra cumin, and lots of celery leaves, but to each her own

I make mine much like Tracy's but use a large can of tomato sauce rather than tomato soup.
Brown the meat in skillet. Olive oil in stock pot & saute onion, red, green yellow peppers. Add 3 large cans tomato sauce, 1 can each light red & dark red kidney beans. Add meat. Simmer about an hour and adding some chili powder to taste of a chili packet (which I assume you are trying to avoid!)

This is my base chili recipe:

-Brown 1lb ground beef with chopped onion, minced garlic,
-drain meat and put in crock pot
-add two can kidney beans(drained), 2 cans diced tomatoes (with juice)
-add cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste.
-finely chop some gardinera with the oil and veggies in it and add it to the chili. (gives it a nice kick, but you can even use mild)
-cook on low 6-8 hours while you're at work, smells awesome and tastes great--freezes very well too =)
-I add a bit of cheddar & sour cream to top each bowl and make mine very mild and let others add more chili powder, tabasco as needed. ( this way my hubby and 4 year old will both eat it) You can mix with cheese sauce and have chili cheese dogs too!

Enjoy!

Basically all you need is some kind of meat (ground beef, diced chicken, beef or sausage), canned diced tomatoes, canned beans (I usually use pinto or kidney) and a packet of chili seasoning which you can find in the spice section at the supermarket. You can also find chili spice/seasoning kits. Or you can do just meat, or just beans. You can find variations in a book of slow-cooker recipes, and I also have a chili cook book called "Chili Nation" with all kinds of different versions. You can also make it healthier by using organic ingredients.