Chili With Or Without The Meat Food

MEATY, MEAT-LESS CHILI

Steps:

• Stem and seed the ancho chiles and place in a pot with stock, bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat and keep warm.
• Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat with 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 4 turns of the pan. Add the mushrooms to the hot oil and brown 12 to 15 minutes, then add the garlic, onions, chile, salt and black pepper and soften 5 to 6 minutes more, season with a spice mixture of paprika, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon.
• Puree the reconstituted chiles and stock in a food processor. Add the chile stock mixture, beans, and tomatoes to the chili, cook 15 minutes until thickened, then turn off the heat, cool, cover and chill for make-ahead meal.
• To reheat: Cover the chili and place over medium to medium-high heat, stirring frequently until the chili bubbles, then uncover and simmer until ready to serve.
• Combine the avocado, sour cream, lime juice, cilantro, and salt in food processor and process into a smooth avocado-sour cream sauce for stirring into the chili. Serve the chili in shallow bowls and garnish with the avocado sauce, pepitas, if using, and a few tortilla chips, if using.

CHILI NO-MEAT, CHEAP & EASY

Steps:

• In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat.
• Saute the onion and pepper until until begin to become translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes.
• Add the remaining ingredients and simmer over very low heat for 3-5 hours.
• Enjoy with your favorite accompaniment! ex. rice, crackers, corn chips, peanut butter sandwich, elbow macaroni, etc.

MEATLESS CHILI

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the first nine ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Top each serving with sour cream and cheese.

NO-MEAT CHILI

Steps:

• Chop the green pepper. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and saute the pepper until tender-crisp.
• Add the chili powder and saute 1 minute more.
• Drain the 3 cans of beans.
• Add the beans, picante sauce, and tomatoes (undrained) to the peppers and mix well.
• Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.
• Add the corn and simmer, covered, until the corn is done and mixture is heated through, about 10-15 minutes.

NO BEANS, NO TOMATO CHILI

Steps:

• In the 3 cups of water, simmer the meat for 30 minutes(do not brown the meat before boiling it). Crumble the meat up as you add it to the water. There should not be any large pieces. After 30 minutes add the remaining ingredients.
• Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Serve this up with some cheese and extra onions if you want.

CHILI, WITH OR WITHOUT THE MEAT

Steps:

• (For optional chili with meat: Saute ground chuck in a large pot until all pink is gone. Put in a sieve to drain and put aside).
• In the same pan, saute onion and garlic in the olive oil until onion is soft.
• Mix in the remaining ingredients except for reserved tomato juice.
• (If using meat, add it now).
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook for 45 minutes. It doesn't look like there's enough liquid to come to a boil, but there is more than you think.
• Add tomato juice, while cooking, if needed. If it gets too watery for you, add some dried bread crumbs. Taste and adjust seasoning to your desire.
• Serve with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.
• If you can make this a day ahead and reheat it, it's even better.