It's Cold Outside. Make Some Chili.

It's official.  Winter has set in.  At least, in Calgary it has.  On Friday we had wind chills of around -40!

So this time of year, who doesn't like a nice hot bowl of chili?  Seriously, if I could make and eat chili every day all winter, I would probably do it.  There's really nothing better than being able to throw a bunch of stuff into a slow cooker and leave it all day while you go about your life, and come home to something warm and delicious!

And so, I've decided to share my chili recipe with all of you.

I don't have pictures, since I haven't made chili in a little while, but I'm sure you can use your imaginations.  After all, it's basically just mush - warm, hot delicious mush.


INGREDIENTS

The best thing about chili is you can basically throw a whole mess of stuff in there, and it's probably going to turn out pretty good.  But there are a few basics that you need, more or less.

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (it doesn't matter if they're spiced or flavoured or whatever - it's a matter of your opinion here)
• 2 small cans of tomato paste (1 can would be okay too, but 2 will help thicken up the chili)
• 1 can of brown beans (try not to get baked beans or ones in maple - they won't make it taste bad, but the simpler the better)
• 1 can of kidney beans
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic (powder or diced, whichever you prefer)
• Chili powder - as much as you like
• Hot sauce to taste
• Sugar - yes, sugar

Beyond that, you can pretty much include whatever you like.  Some examples are:

• Onions - I'm not a big onion fan, so I won't buy one just for chili, but if I have one already I might chop some up to add to it.
• Peppers - I like to use non-pickled ones from a jar.
• Other kinds of beans - I personally like a lot of beans in my chili, but I typically just add more than one can of brown beans and kidney beans
• Other vegetables, like corn or diced up carrots, add a bit of a Mexican flair to it
• I like to use a bunch of different hot sauces - Frank's, sriracha, etc. Anything goes well in chili, especially if you like it hot
• Cheese!
• And the list goes on - be creative!

STEPS

1. Brown the beef.  If you're in a rush in the morning, you can easily do this step the night before and leave it in the fridge until you're ready to throw everything in the slow cooker in the morning.  If you're adding onions, cook them with the beef.  You can also add spices to your beef.  Drain it as well as you can.
2. Add the beef to the slow cooker.  Throw everything else in at the same time.  Try to train the juices from the beans as much as you can.  More juices will make the chili a bit more runny.  Add as much or a little spices/hot sauces as you like.  You can always add more before you eat it too.  If you're home while your chili is cooking, taste it throughout the day and add things too, if you like!
3. I leave my chili to cook in the slow cooker all day (about 9 hours) on low.  I'd leave it for at least 4 hours, but the longer it cooks, the more flavorful every bite will be!

And ta-da!  That's it!  Easy, right?

I like to serve mine with a bit (or um... a lot) of shredded cheese on top, and it's fantastic with either corn bread or dinner buns to scoop up the last little bits from the bottom of your bowl.

In my opinion, chili is basically the easiest thing you can make - and it's even pretty basic for those who aren't so kitchen-savvy!  And there really is nothing better than getting home from a long, cold day and having a hot dinner already waiting for you when you get home!

Enjoy!

Oh, I should add that you can also use a big pot to make your chili.  I've never done it this way (I'm a huge fan of my slow cooker), but if you leave it on a fairly low heat all day you will get the same result.