Chili

My first post on this blog was about chili, and we've come a long way.

I had a pound of ground beef and a dream, so we ran to the grocery store to grab the few items that were needed (naturally picking up much more than intended). I'm very loosely following Tini's gameday chili recipe here, or I'm at least referencing it. First of all, I don't like onions unless I absolutely have to use them, so I substituted a red onion for a shallot. My husband isn't a fan of bell peppers and I hate jalapenos, so those were both left out as well. 

I mixed up my seasonings-- garlic powder, cumin, paprika, s&p, chili powder, oregano, and a hint of cayenne pepper. My onion powder was questionable after the move, so I threw it out and hoped for the best. Otherwise, I'd have used it. Tini only uses a touch of salt and cumin so I definitely might've overdone it. 

While I was waiting for the meat to thaw (I never learn) I diced a large shallot and about 4 big cloves of garlic. And now I'm blogging.

Okay, once the ground beef is about 70% thawed, throw it into a pot! I quickly browned it all the way through then added it to a paper towel covered plate and used the leftover grease to cook the garlic and shallot. I forgot to "bloom the seasonings" per Tini but quickly threw them into the grease, so it's probably fine. 

Once I got impatient with that, I added about half of a standard can of tomato sauce (so about 8ish oz?) then about 3/4s of a bottle of Guinness. If I'd have bothered to buy tomato paste, I would've included it too. Then came 2 cans of chili beans (sorry Dad), the remainder of the seasoning, the ground beef, and a cup of beef broth. 

I'm always concerned about how thick the chili is. It seems like ultimately I add too much liquid every time, and I just pray that the 30ish minute simmer will thicken it up. This time, I'm struggling with the seasoning. I've been standing over that pot and adding more garlic powder, salt, tomato sauce, chili powder. Should I have added the cocoa powder? Tini adds it to enhance the flavor of the bell pepper, but I didn't use any. Did I use enough seasoning for the meat? No idea. 

I forced my husband to have a taste and he suggested more salt and/or more tomato sauce. I'd done both already, but OF COURSE, once I added more one last time it was perfectly fine. However, the 30 minute simmer had passed and it was still a touch too liquid-y, so I decided to let it hang out for about 10 minutes more. 

Toppings included sour cream and shredded cheddar, along with a side of grilled cheese.