Recipe: Five Can Chili

Yet again, it’s been far too long between posts.  It was a busy November for Joan and I, but still.  I have some things that I wanted to post floating in the back of my mind and some things half written, but just haven’t gotten them finished and posted.

But anyway… 

 

Since my last post, winter has finally settled into the Twin Cities.  The second weekend of December brought the first major snowfall, 10 – 12 inches of the stuff, and temperatures have been lower because of that cold snowy blanket ever since.  Thus we did plan on making this chili, as well as taking it to the home of some friends who recently had twins.  Unfortunately though, Joan and I both came down with nasty colds and had to cancel those dinner plans because we didn’t want to get their family sick – especially the little ones.  So we sadly enjoyed this chili by ourselves, although it was a nice comfort for runny noses, stuffy sinuses, and scratchy throats.

The recipe:

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

2 x green peppers, diced

1 cup white onion, diced

2 x 10 oz cans Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies

1 x 15 oz can black beans and the containing liquid

1 x 15 oz can white beans and the liquid (find in the Hispanic section of the grocery store)

1 x 8 oz can Hunt’s tomato sauce (we’ve found Hunt’s tastes the best for the recipe)

3 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt (can be left out depending on your tastes)

½ tsp pepper (again, can be left out depending on your tastes)

Suggested toppings:  shredded cheddar cheese, Fritos, sour cream, green onion

As this is a slow cooker recipe, basically just dump all of those listed ingredients into your slow cooker and stir.  (Most of the work of this recipe is just ingredient prep.)  Once all of the ingredients are mixed, the chili will seem quite thick, but it will cook down and become more watery.  Set your slow cooker on low and cook for 6-8 hours.  Dress with your choice of toppings.

I guess I should also mention that Joan and I have often assembled the chili the night ahead,  put it in the refrigerator overnight, and then started it the next morning.  I swear this makes the chili even better as it lets the ingredients marinate together in the fridge overnight.  We also have probably let this chili cook on low for 10-12 hours before with no loss of quality.

As you have probably gathered, I call it “Five Can Chili” because of the five cans of ingredients that used. There is however the option of making this into six can chili.  While prepping the ingredients, open a can of your favorite canned microbrew (I would suggest an offering by Oskar Blues or Surly) and enjoy.  I would not go much further though and make this seven or eight can chili – that would be dangerous with the knife work needed to dice the onion and peppers.