Chili from Episode 6
“Almost every recipe ever made – French, Italian, English, Indian – begins with chopping onions. That's the foundational act of all cooking. So every night I find myself chopping onions at six o'clock and it's both life-giving and monotonous, providing and draining."--Adam Gopnik
Who doesn't love a bowl of chili on a cold blustery day? Our Mom made us this chili recipe often and we couldn't survive the winter without it. Her recipe came from the booklet that was packaged with her electric frying pan, a wedding gift from 1957. We have modified it slightly--both Bootie and Bossy add extra beans. Bootie makes hers without meat. Bossy makes her with ground turkey (or whatever is on sale at the grocery store). Feel free to make it your own and tell us how it goes!
Makes a large pot, enough for 6 servings plus leftovers. It's even better the next day (although at Bossy's house, you won't be getting any corn chips on the second day.
​
Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 pound ground turkey, or ground pork
1 can corn
3 cans beans (can use 4 if leaving out the meat): Can use kidney beans, chili beans, cannellini or black beans
1 large can chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato soup
1 T flour
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1 T cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: 1 eggplant peeled and cubed, or 1 zucchini diced, jalapeno, carrots, red or yellow pepper diced
For serving:
Corn chips
Sour cream
Avocado
Green onions
Cilantro
Cheddar cheese
Saute onion in olive oil until translucent. Add meat if using it and saute until cooked. Drain fat (if using meat). Add tomato soup, beans, tomatoes, and any vegetables you are using. Use empty can to stir together flour, spices, salt, pepper and water. Add to pot. Simmer on low for at least 45 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, sliced avocados, chopped green onions, and corn chips. Can be served with rice or corn bread when you run out of corn chips. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to a week and frozen for up to a month.
Sauteing onions
Beans, corn and tomato soup
Bootie sauteed some carrots with the onions and added some cherry tomatoes . This picture is after all ingredients have been added
This picture is after the chili has cooked for an hour.
