Yummy! Very good! The only thing I have a problem with is people who change half the ingredients ( in lots of recipes on this site ) and then say the recipe isn't any good. How the heck would they know????
I made this recipe AS IS before I made any changes and it was hands down the best chili recipe I have made!! next time though, I put my own little spin on it and I think it elevated it to another level! The recipe as is has a thinner consistency and isn't overly spicy. I added up to 1/2 tsp of cayenne to make it spicier, but what make it out of this world was 1/4 cup corn meal!!! Made it thick like chili you would get in a restaurant. This recipe makes a lot so you can freeze half if need be and is absolutely delicious!!!
I could eat this chili until my stomach bursts! All the ingredients are in the right proportion; I wouldn't suggest altering a single thing. Take it to a pot-luck and I guarantee that people will gobble it up. I like things hot, and I would consider this chili to be about a 5/10 on my scale. It'll clear your sinuses, but you won't be gulping down milk to cool your tongue! This recipe heats up well in the microwave, and freezes just fine - we've got three meal's worth in the deep freeze right now. By all means, give this chili recipe a try, I'm sure you'll like it.
I probably shouldn't rate this recipe because I made so many changes, but it is a great base recipe to tweak to your own liking. The end result was the best chili I have ever made!! I used 1 lb ground beef and 1 lb sausage to give a little more depth to the flavor. I also followed the advice of others and substituted the tomato juice with tomato sauce and the tomato sauce with diced tomatoes. I didn't realize that I was almost out of chili powder until I had already started the chili, so I only used about 1 T and added hot sauce (tobasco) in place of the rest of the chili powder. I used one can of chili beans (with liquid) and one can kidney beans (rinsed). I followed the rest of the seasonings. It only took about 15 minutes to put together, then I let it simmer for about 2 hours. Served with sour cream, cheese, fresh chopped tomatoes and corn chips. I will make this recipe over and over again. I have never received so many compliments - on anything I have ever made!!
I won the chili cook-off with this recipe last night. Everyone commented that they liked the combination of spicy and sweet. I adjusted the ingredients to feed 15 people. I also followed the first couple of reviews and substituted tomato juice for paste, and diced tomatos for juice. FYI, for 15 people, I used 2, 28oz cans of diced tomato, and 2, 29oz cans of tomato sauce. It's a bit thick till it cooks down. Enjoy!!
If I could rate this chili more than 5 stars I would! 5 stars for easy! 5 stars for delicious! I have been making this for over a year and I have tried it different ways. Now I use crushed tomatoes instead of tomato juice, and diced tomatoes with diced green chilies in place of tomato sauce. I use 1 can of kidney beans, one of pinto and one of black (all rinsed) in leiu of one of the lbs of beef, thus cutting down on the sat. fat and red meat content. Doubled the cumin because I like the smokiness. I also added one hot jalepeno without the seeds, diced, or cayenne pepper. I throw it all in the crockpot and let it cook for about 4 hours. SPECTACULAR!
I also changed the tomato juice - to tomato sauce...and the tomato sauce to diced tomatoes (no salt added). Otherwise, followed exactly as written. This chili was EXCELLENT. Everyone commented how good it was -- not once, but multiple times -- as they ate two and three bowls each!
This was delicious! Instead of 1 can of tomato juice, we substituted it with 1 can diced tomatoes. It made it nice and thick!
Yummy! 'Nuf said! I noticed many reviews commented that this recipe is somewhat bland. I would encourage everyone to double check the age of the spices they're using. If they're over a year old, you probably need to pump it up a little as spices lose their punch as they age. I recently noticed a jar of chili powder at my mother's that was probably at least 10 years old. She didn't see the problem with that. The problem with that is that she's basically adding slightly flavored dust to her recipes...yuk! I used fresh spices for this chili and it turned out perfectly tasty and spicy.
Update: I've been making this recipe consistently for a few years now, and I've found that I'm happiest when I double the beans (Sorry, serious chili lovers), and increase the amount of all the vegetables, plus add 1/4 cup corn meal to thicken it up. Nevertheless, this recipe is a great starting point that is easy to tweak to your satisfaction.
I did what was asked and then some more- from other reviewers and their advices. What a waste of time and effort.
