my chilis always vary a bit, but there are a few things that I always do, so.

1 lb ground turkey
some sweet italian sausage. or not. you know.
onions
garlic
herbs and spices. may include some cumin, coriander, oregano, cinnamon.
tomato paste, usually about 2 tblsp
some alcohol. most often I use guinness, about 6oz
can of diced tomatoes
can of some sort of beans. black beans if my husband decides, red kidney if it's me
chipotle pepper and about a tblsp of adobo sauce

saute the onions in some oil. Cook right down on a low heat for a while, about 20 minutes. increase the heat a bit, add the meat and brown it. add the garlic and cook for a minute or so. add the herbs/spices. cook up until you smell the spices. add the tomato paste and alcohol and deglaze and cook down until there isn't any liquid left. Add cans tomatoes, beans. Cover and simmer for as long as you can wait. an hour minimum. uncover and cook a bit more if it's too watery. add chopped chili and adobo sauce and cook for a bit longer. Eat with whatever fixings you like.

this makes a smoky kind of chili. Everything is negotiable. we use turkey bc the flavor of the chipotle overwhelms the meat anyway. use stock instead of alcohol or red wine or actually a hoppy beer sometimes gives a nice taste, but then I go slightly more herby and no cinnamon. sometimes I don't use beans, sometimes I don't use chipotle and ramp up the heat with jalapenos. then I also put a bit of balsamic in there and no alcohol.

Chili is usually a Sunday football season meal in my house, and it has to be fairly quick on the table so mr. init can eat and enjoy watching, so I usually do:

1 lb. ground beef
1 Taco or Chili flavor packet (I like Old El Paso)
1 cup water
A handful of chopped celery
A handful of chopped onion
A handful of chopped green pepper

Break up the beef and brown it in a large saucepan. While the beef is cooking, chop the celery, onion and green pepper. Drain the beef and add the flavor packet and 1 cup of water. Stir well.

Add to the pot:

The chopped celery, onion and green peppers
1 can (15 oz. or so) pinto or kidney beans, half drained
1 can (15 oz. or so) crushed or whole or stewed tomatoes (if whole or stewed, break up the tomatoes with a fork)
A dash of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
1 small can mushrooms (optional; or some button mushrooms, cut-up)
1 small can chickpeas (optional)

Simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the items in the pot have cooked down a bit and everything is hot. Serve alone or in bowls with a piece of crusty bread on the side.

OK, I'm gonna go a different way: a Texas (no-bean) chili in a thick, dark chile gravy.

Put 1 T olive oil in a cast-iron skillet. Brown 2 cloves of garlic in oil. When browned, add 1/2 onion, diced fine, and saute until onion is translucent. Add 2 lbs. ground beef or, even better, "chili grind" which is coarser. Cook, breaking up clumps of beef, until brown. Then drain beef in a colander to remove grease.

Return beef to skillet. Add spices: this is about 3 T. chile powder. You can grind your own chiles and vary the balance endlessly, or you can use already-ground chile powder. It varies so much in intensity that you should taste and experiment rather than rely on a standard measurement. But you want a fair amount because you're looking for a deep, rich red color. Also add about 1/2 t of cayenne, 1 t. salt, 1 t. ground black pepper, 1 t. ground cumin (much more flavorful if you grind it yourself), some canned chipotle or chipotle powder, and (powerful secret ingredient) 1 or 2 T. of unsweetened cocoa powder. Cook down.

Once meat is tender and sauce reduced, add 1 8 oz can tomato sauce and 2 cans of water. Stir to mix, and cook another 15 minutes or so.

The serving method is as important as the cooking method. PRepare a pot of sticky white rice while the chili is cooking. Heap a lump of white rice in a bowl, and spoon chili over top of rice to cover. Then serve with the following condiments: pickled jalepeno slices, grated cheddar cheese, diced fresh white onion, sour cream, Fritos, and lime wedges.

I've had a hankering for this for a while and hope to make some next week.

Here are some good ideas from 5 years ago.

Chop an onion fine. Saute in olive oil. When translucent, add 3-10 cloves of chopped garlic. (Totally up to your taste. For most things, I'm on the 10-clove end of the spectrum, but I don't actually like a whole lot of garlic in my chili.) After garlic has softened, add 2-3 table spoons of chili powder (best if you grind your own), 1 tablespoon of cumin, and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. Mix well and cook until tomato paste is browned and spices are fragrant. Add a touch more oil to keep spices from burning, if necessary.

When tomato paste is browned, add 12-16 oz of CHEAP AMERICAN PILSNER BEER. Seriously, don't use good stuff. I've tried it. Doesn't work. I use Bud or Miller or Coors -- whatever is on sale at the grocery store in a 32oz bottle. (I use the rest as slug bait. Saves me from buying a six pack I won't drink.)

Let beer/spice mixture reduce. Then add 2 big cans of diced tomatoes + their juice. Alternatively, add 2 big cans of whole peeled tomatoes that you've finely chopped, plus their juice. (I do this -- I prefer a finer chop than the dice.) Also add the liquid from one can of white hominy. Reserve hominy. Taste for salt and seasonings. Add enough water to make desired amount of chili.

Cook for 1 hour or 2 hours or until it's as thick as you want it to be. Add reserved hominy, plus 1 or 2 cans of drained, rinsed beans of your choosing. Cook 10-15 minutes more.

Serving suggestion: Over fritos, with grated cheese and onions on top, plus sour cream and yogurt. There you have veggie frito pie and you can pretend to be Texan.

(Sour cream and yogurt = sour cream or yogurt.)

Saute onion in oil with absurd amount of garlic. Add minced beef (not too fatty) and fry well until broken up and very brown. Drain fat. Add can of kidney beans (well washed), cumin, ground coriander, fresh chilies, smoked paprika, salt, pepper and any other spice you feel like. Add in un-healthy splash of good BBQ sauce and a tin of chopped tomatoes. Cook until beans are turning to mush and onion has vanished. Boil macaroni in incredibly salty water, add to meat. Throw in huge handful fresh coriander and several finely sliced spring onions. Top with mozarella cheese, sour cream, sweet chili sauce (Thai style) and mashed avocado.

Grate a carrot and zucchini and cook with the beef if trying to be super healthy - the kids never notice.

on preview: YUMMM! You guys are making me so hungry!!

This is what I do -

2 large cans of tomato juice
1-2 pounds of ground turkey (or fake crumbles - sometimes I mix 1 pound turkey and 1 pound of turkey sausage)
1 super huge onion
2 cans of black beans
2 cans of kidney beans
1 can of pinto beans
Some cinnamon
Some chili powder
Some pasta thing

Throw the turkey in a skillet with the chopped up onion over medium high heat until the turkey is cooked. (I do not have to drain this if I use ground turkey breast. I do not use additional oil. If you use oil or use a different meat - you may need to drain this before adding it to the other stuff.)

While the turkey/onion is cooking put the tomato juice, beans, cinnamon, and chili powder in a stock pot and put it on medium heat.

Throw the turkey and onion into the pot with the tomato juice, beans, cinnamon, and chili powder.

Throw together some cornbread or brownies or something while the chili is simmering. Once that's in the oven - taste the chili to see if it's chili. Add more cinnamon or chili powder if it needs to be there.

Let it simmer away for a while longer. When it's done - throw in some dry pasta (I normally use macaroni, rotini or spaghetti.) Don't overload it with pasta. Just enough to make it interesting. Put the lid on and let it simmer until the pasta is al dente.

If you made cornbread then probably it would be nice to have the cornbread with the chili so you know, wait.

I never measure anything when I make this. And the older I get the less chili powder I use. I have been known to also add pineapple and/or salsa to the chili as it's cooking.

I prefer to use a huge yellow onion but nothing bad will happen if you only have a white or red onion.

You may want to add salt to the turkey (or whatever meat thing) as you cook it. I rarely salt anything I cook.

This is Mama Lily's 30-minute chili (expanded version):

close to 2lb hamburger
a few whatever you like cloves of garlic - pressed or chopped fine
1/2 onion - chopped
1/2 bell pepper - chopped
1 can chili beans in sauce (I like Bush's), don't drain.
1 can black beans - rinse and drain
1 can red kidney beans - rinse and drain
2-3 small can of tomato sauce, probably 3
chili powder
cumin
red pepper to taste

Brown the meat. Add a few dashes of chili powder and cumin and toss in the garlic, onion, and bell pepper as soon as the meat is brown. Cook and stir until onion is clear. Add beans, and then more chili powder and cumn. Let it simmer for a bit.

We serve with grated cheese and sour cream on top and fritos scoops.

Takes less than a half hour to make and my kids stuff themselves with it.

Also, taught the kids how to make it this past week. It's the effort of getting them self-sufficient.

1. Call mother, request chili.
2. Drive home.
3. Eat.

For realsies - I've been using the Consumer Reports chili recipe since I started cooking and it's my favorite.

1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 clove garlic, minced (I up this.)
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 medium green pepper, finely chopped
4 Tbsp Chili powder
1 Tbsp Cider vinegar (I don't use this)
1/4 tsp Allspice (or this)
1/4 tsp Coriander (or this)
1 tsp Cumin (I use this)
1/2 tsp Salt, or to taste
1/2 c water (I usually sub in whatever I'm drinking.)
1 16 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 16 oz can of red kidney beans
1/4 cup Corn, frozen or leftover, or Canned (hell no I don't use this.)
-----MEATLESS VERSION-----
Omit meat and substitute
1 Tbsp Oil
1 16oz can Garbanzo Beans
1 16oz can Pinto Beans

I also add other spices and a can of black beans, as well as the chickpeas and pintos. And I double everything to make up for the fact that it's now about 80% beans. And I add masa harina.

So when I said I use this recipe, I mean that I take it out and then blithely ignore it.

1. Drain all the beans.
2. Cook the beef. Remove from pan, and remove all but 1 tbsp of the fat.
3. Cook the onion, garlic, and green pepper over medium heat. Oh, yeah, and add a red pepper too.
4. Wait 'til everything's soft, then add all the other ingredients except the masa. I add some cinnamon and paprika, usually.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 45 minutes, stirring frequently.
6. Right before it's finished, add 2 - 6 tablespoons of masa harina, one at a time, stirring after each addition. Stop when you get to the thickness you like.

Papi makes the chilli in my house, but I know his secret ingredient is a small amount of yellow table mustard.

Yummm!

My chili isn't from a recipe and is never the same twice, but someone once asked for a recipe so this is the best I could come up with. I don't like a lot of beans in chili so I use just one can and lots of veggies instead. Nothing fancy here, just simple ingredients and flavors. Serve, of course, with shredded sharp cheddar and sour cream and fresh cilantro and chopped green onion.

Karen's Tasty Chili
Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 package (1.25 lbs) ground turkey
4 links hot italian turkey sausage
2 zucchini, chopped
1 package mushrooms, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 can or 2 cups frozen or fresh corn
1 small or 1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 2 jalapeno peppers, minced
2 - 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced (amount depending how spicy you like it)
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
12 oz. beer
1 - 2 cans beans (black or pinto, amount depending how beany you like it)
salt
pepper
cumin (2 - 3 tsp?)
paprika (1 tsp?)
ground cayenne pepper (1 tsp?)
lemon or lime juice
cilantro (optional)

Directions
Brown ground turkey and turkey sausage in vegetable oil in heavy pot. Season with salt, pepper, and spices to taste. Remove from pot. Saute onion, garlic, bell peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms until soft. Season veggies with salt, pepper, and spices to taste. Add cooked turkey back to pot. Add chipotle peppers, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, beer, and beans, and simmer at least 10 minutes or up to an hour. Before serving, add juice of half a lemon and cilantro (optional).

I usually cook whilst flying by the seat of my pants, but my recipe for Cincinnati chili is the only one I've actually written down and follow. Of course, I have it at home and didn't see this thread until coming to work today. I can say, that I don't run my beef through a meat grinder or food processor - I simmer it in some beef broth for about half an hour (or until it achieves a really fine texture). And it does take about three hours to make. I also don't add onions until I'm making my three way.

The BF and I are hoping to stop at Skyline on our way to or from DC this month - I've never had Cincinnati chili in Cincinnati, so I'm excited to see how mine compares. I did have it at Cinners in Chicago. The place is owned by a guy from Cincinnati, and I made my recipe to emulate his chili, so I'm pretty sure it's spot on.

I will definitely have to try some of these recipes! Yum!

I make the same simple (but tasty) chili repeatedly, Simple Turkey Chili. I don't mash the kidney beans, I leave them whole. I also sautee the onions and garlic before adding the ground turkey and other ingredients.

1. Go to Meijer's

2. Buy can of Hormel Chili NO BEANS

3. Drive home.

4. Open Can

5. Pour into Bowl

6. Microwave on HIGH 3 min.

7. Enjoy. Usually with Fritos, but sometimes with leftover spaghetti..

pjern: Your recipe is very similar to the BF's, although he buys the HOT chili (NOT BEANS), and adds velveeta.

2 lbs minced (ground) beef

1 large Spanish onion, chopped

A couple of peppers diced

Garlic, to taste

1 can kidney beans (preferably the ones you can buy in chili sauce)

Chili flakes or powder

1 can tomatoes


Method:

Brown the beef in a large skillet. When browned, drain the fat and tip the beef into a large oven-proof dish.

In the skillet, in a little olive oil, cook the onion and peppers until soft, then add chopped garlic and sauté a little more, then add chili flakes or powder and cook for another minute or two.

Add this to the beef. Add the tomatoes and kidney beans. Add salt & pepper.

Put the lid on. Cook in a low-medium oven for an hour or so.

Nom.

≡ Click to see image ≡

My chili varies, with ingredients on hand, but my secret ingredient is one round of dried pineapple, chopped up so fine that you can't tell what it is. It will expand a bit during cooking and add a little sweet bite now and then, which the eater will not be able to identify, but which the eater will like.

I am stealing that for my next chili, danf. Brilliant.

huh, I made chili on Sunday too. ditto "football season project". I had 5 people to feed for the Sunday game (one vegetarian, 4 carnivores) and a number of things in that "dumpster stew" phase of needing to be gone from the refrigerator and/or garden.

We are also working our way through an abundance of items in bulk / institutional sizes (spices, dry goods, canned goods, grains, beans, etc...) that mr. lfr's ex roommates bought in various drunken/hungover Costco raids and subsequently abandoned upon moving out.

to do this one, you will need a big-ass food processor, a big-ass pot, and an abundance of time. It took roughly 3 hours' total cook time for the various simmering phases, and that was even after soaking the beans overnight, then boiling them separately for ~2 hours.

My chili isn't from a recipe and is never the same twice.

yea, I rarely work from a recipe either. I will probably be making chili frequently as a weekend project for fall/winter, since we have somewhere north of 15 pounds (holy shit) of dry pinto beans to use.

lfr's Dumpster Chili -- um... makes enough to fill a large stockpot and feed 5 ravenous eaters who've been shovelling dirt, rocks and moving landscape timbers all day, with enough left over for several lunches. Dunno, maybe 10 quarts? It cooks down some, and these measurements are all kinda guesstimates anyway, so YMMV.

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups dry pinto beans, soaked overnight, then rinsed.
one giant mixer bowl (6 quarts? who knows...) full of medium sized tomatoes in various stages of "ripe" (none green, some perfect, a few kinda marginal) If you're stuck using tinned tomatoes, I'd say the processed volume was roughly equivalent to 2 large (32 oz? I forget...) cans.
5-6 medium yellow onions
1 1/2 cups baby carrots (i.e. the leftovers in the bottom of a 3 lb bag that needed to be used up)
1 15 oz can black olives
1 15 oz can black beans
1 15 oz can yellow corn
1- 12 oz bottle of some random local IPA that someone left behind (FYI: chili is the ideal use for random crappy / leftover beer).
1 metric shitload of garlic. srsly, I smashed up an entire good-size head in there.
1/2 cup dry bulgur (pearl barley would work too)
1/2 cup dried parsley flakes
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
5 tablespoons Hershey's unsweetened (baking) cocoa
5 tablespoons cheap bulk chili powder
3 tablespoons ground cumin... I prolly added some more later
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon dry oregano
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp New Mexico dry red chili powder (aka "the good stuff") - the sort you use to make proper enchilada sauce; it adds heat, but not "bitter heat" like cayenne, jalapenos or serranos tend to.
some salt (to taste)
juice of one whole, fresh lime.
Optional:
- 1 1/2 lb plain old ground beef (if using, brown the beef in a skillet ahead of time, breaking up the chunks very fine)
- extra cayenne, jalapenos, Anaheim peppers, Scotch Bonnets, Cholula, whatever. go nuts, get wild, do your thing. This basic recipe is somewhat spicy and very savoury, but not "hot, hot", so feel free to vary according to preference.

GARNISH(es):
- shredded cheddar (asadero if you can find it)
- corn chips
- diced sweet onion
- minced fresh cilantro
- minced fresh jalapeno
- sour cream / greek yoghurt
- guacamole (yea, I know. Weird people are Weird).

DIRECTIONS: Soak dry pinto beans for 12-18 hours, then drain and rinse well. Put them in a pot with fresh cold water to cover, a generous shake of salt (we used about a teaspoon), and 1/4c apple cider vinegar (this magically de-farts them). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 hours until soft. Drain and set aside.

Prep your tomatoes (if using fresh) by blanching, peeling, coring and quartering them, then grind them up by pulsing them in the food processor until they make kind of a slightly chunky mess (don't over-puree or they just get all foamy and crappy). Set aside in a bowl. Process the (combined) onions, olives and carrots all together (I use the standard whirlyblade to do this + the tomatoes FYI), and set them aside in a bowl. Mise en place, etc.

Put a large stockpot (~15 qt?) on medium-low heat, and add the DRY (important) cumin, coriander and bulgur wheat. Toast and stir this mixture over low heat until it all becomes fragrant, but don't let it smoke or burn. Add the olive oil, stir until the oil heats and forms a paste, then turn your heat up to medium-high, dump in the onion/carrot/olive mix, and sautee until soft/translucent. Now add the cocoa powder and all the rest of the herbs and spices and mix it around until it's well integrated and kind of a concentrated brown oozy mass of awesome. Now add the bottle of beer and ~ 2 cups of water, and bring it back to a simmer. Get a big garlic press (ok, go ahead and mince it if you're that much of a pedant/glutton for punishment) and put your mashed/minced metric shitload of garlic in there (it's crucial not to do this too soon in the process, or your garlic will scorch and then it goes all nasty and bitter)

Now add the pinto beans, the black beans, and the corn, and heat it until it gets nice and fragrant and is nicely integrated. I let this phase simmer for ~ 15 minutes on medium heat while I prepped tomatoes. Now dump all your tomato sauce in there, turn the heat up again, and bring it to a good fast simmer, like maybe medium high (stove settings / mileage may vary). Give it a good stir once every 5-10 minutes to keep it from sticking on the bottom. Let it simmer fast / reduce for oh, maybe 30 minutes, then turn it back down to medium low (barely simmering), stick a lid on it, and just let it go for at least another hour, preferably 90 minutes or more.

The goal here is get it all very well integrated. You want the "edge" (acidity) of the tomatoes to completely cook away and blend in with the spice, etc. Use this interval to cook your beef (if using), grate your cheese, set the table, clean up the kitchen, and generally get the house ready for company. Adjust the spices / salt, then last but not least, squeeze in the lime and stir well. Ladle into bowls, top with some shredded cheddar, fresh onion and/or corn chips, maybe some fresh chopped cilantro or jalapeno (if you dare), a dollop of sour cream/yoghurt, or if you're the mister and/or our weirdo friend Hatchet, stir a generous spoonful of guacamole (?!) into the bowl. Serve with beverage(s) of choice. Dark beer or a spicy red Zinfandel/Shiraz is awesome, but drink what you got.

Sunday's dessert pairing involved a goodly portion of leftover devil's food cupcake icing, spooned out of a communal bowl. Yes, we are in fact savages, why do you ask?

I use Jillian Michael's recipe, omit the cheddar on top, and add a fair amount of Matouk's hot sauce (calypso, for example) to make it zingy. I also love chopped sweet white onions like Walla Walla's atop my chili. Here's the recipe before I do my hot sauce and chopped fresh onion additions:

Black Bean Turkey Chili

Ingredients

* 1 pounds turkey, ground
* 1 cup(s) onion(s), coarsely chopped
* 1 pepper(s), red, bell, seeded & cut into 1/4-inch cubes
* 2 clove(s) garlic, minced
* 2 pepper(s), jalapeno, seeded and minced
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin, ground
* 1 1/2 teaspoon coriander, ground
* 1/2 tablespoon oregano, dried
* 1/2 teaspoon marjoram, dried
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper, red flakes
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
* 16 ounce(s) tomatoes, whole, canned, undrained & coarsely chopped
* 16 ounce(s) beans, black, rinsed and well drained
* 1/4 cup(s) cilantro, fresh, chopped
* 4 tablespoon cheese, cheddar, shredded

Preparation

In a 3-quart saucepan, combine turkey, onion, red pepper, garlic, jalapeño pepper, chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, marjoram, red pepper flakes and cinnamon. Cook mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until turkey is no longer pink.

Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

Stir in beans and cilantro. Continue cooking for an additional 15 minutes.

Serve topped with Cheddar cheese.

oops, almost forgot - add the balsamic vinegar at the same time as the tomatoes. If you're not dealing with vegetarians, feel free to use an equivalent amount of Worcesterchire sauce instead.

1 lb. habanero sausage
2 cups fresh spinach
1 large green bell pepper
1 large red bell pepper
1 large red onion
2 habanero peppers
2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic
1 can of Delmonte diced tomatoes w/ chili flavoring
1 can of Delmonte diced tomatoes w/ onions & peppers
1 jar Pace picante sauce w/ cilantro
1-2 cups dried pinto beans
3 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp curry powder

Shred the sausage and discard the casings and saute it in olive oil. Chopp the spinach, peppers & onions and add them to the frying pan and also the garlic.

Dump the remaining ingredients into a crock pot and then add the sauteed mixture. Mix it all up and stick in the fridge overnight. In the morning, put the crock pot on the low setting. Either add some water when the crock is turned on or monitor it to make sure it doesn't dry out.

I prefer to use stew beef, kielbasa and/or Italian sausage, made w/ beef, pork and /or turkey, in my chili, and I'm pretty random about the rest of the recipe except that it should be cooked slow and long. I like it on spaghetti, a la Cincinnati chili. I like beans in chili, but just had a nice bowl of chili, made by a firefighter, with no beans, and it was tasty, sopped up with really good rustic bread.