Hi, everyone! Gosh, I haven't checked these reviews for years. I'm so glad to see there are so many people loving this recipe. HEY... be sure to enter this chili in contests at work... it WINS all the time :-) Last Friday I just won 1st place for "Hot"' category, and overall grand champion for receiving the most points from the judges.
Now... I have a couple of BIG secrets to share with you about this recipe, that might make it EVEN BETTER. When I entered it online in 2000, the use of brand names weren't allowed, so I'll try to enter them here so you know. The salsa is actually PACE PICANTE SAUCE... Med. or Hot. The chili seasoning I use is Williams Original (not available in all areas), I use one package per 2 lbs of ground beef... sometimes I throw in a little extra from another package.
Enjoy! Best regards, Deb.
I wish I could give more than 5 stars to this recipe!
The chili I've been making for years is my mom's recipe, and it's really more like a thick spaghetti sauce than a chunky chili. I needed a new recipe for a chili sale at my work, and it needed to taste great.
Deb's recipe did not disappoint. I used Pace salsa (I think it's called Chipolte???) with jalapenos for a little extra kick and added a can of Rotel tomatoes and green chilis.
Everyone who tried it raved over the great flavor, and a lot of folks asked for the recipe. It had a little bit of a spicy aftertaste, but was mild enough to appeal to all but the pickiest eaters. My husband even asked me to make a batch for him to take to work Superbowl Sunday. I will never go searching for another chili recipe again! Thanks Deb!!!!!
HELPFUL TIPS: I halved the recipe because it's just for my husband and 2 toddlers (although one eats like a monster!), and we still had leftovers :) Put the normal amount of onion and black pepper. One 10oz. of diced tomatoes w/green chiles and one 14oz of tomato sauce because it needed it. HALF a jar of chunky salsa (although I will do a taste test an hour in to see if I need more), half a jar of each DRAINED kidney bean, and half a can of ranch style chili beans (pinto beans). They are the best beans on earth. Added one can of drained mushrooms and 3/4 a can of drained corn. After I browned 1 lb of meat, I put it in the crock pot for at least 2.5hrs. Grrrreat! We have it at least once every few months for the past several years! Update: I now add things like diced green, yellow and red peppers which really adds to the taste (and gives it color). Season with a few dashes of garlic, oregano, paprika, basil, sugar, and we're talking a real winner! Our family eats it with rice the first night (fri), sat is "let's be lazy day," so we eat it over hot dogs, and sun ...can you say football and fritos and chili over cheese!! We're not obsessed w/this recipe ...really ;)
Wow Deb and thanks for the easiest dang chili recipe I ever made - and with all the ingredients already in the house! I used 1 lb. ground chuck and 1 lb. ground turkey and added 1 can of pinto beans to the mix. Made a mistake and used the whole pack of the chili seasoning mix, but it came out tasting great. I recommend using either fresh garlic or garlic powder because the taste to me is the best. The nicest thing was that you could spice the recipe up or down depending on the type of salsa you used. I just browned the meat and onions, and threw everything into the crockpot and forgot about it for 8 hours on low.
Came home to yummy smells from the kitchen. Next time I will add green and read bell pepper.
Chili cheese fries? You all are killing me! LOL
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I originally wrote this review over 7 years ago, and It is still my go to chili recipe because it is so adaptable. Chili season is approaching and I can't wait to make it again. I wish I could give this 10 stars as it is that good........ BTW, I did have to indulge in those chili cheese fries and they were heavenly - as were the chili dogs and chiliburgers, and mexican omletes. LOL
Debzdoo, you are my chili queen!
I made this chili at a recent Chili Cook-off at my church and it won! I was surprised, but then knew I had to write a review and share the news. I made this chili exactly as recipe described. I still have people telling me, weeks later, "I loved your chili!"
This chili is wonderful! I was looking for a recipe for chili that would be as good as Wendy's chili, this chili doesn't taste exactly the same, but it is just as good. It is very easy to make, takes very little time to prepare, and it's so super delicious! I did tweak the recipe a bit, I used crushed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce, and I used more than the recipe called for. I also increased the meat a little and threw in a can of pinto beans in addition to the light and dark kidney beans, and I added a little cayenne pepper to spice it up a little more.
Great recipe and easy. I have also added a little brown sugar and a bottle of beer. I also like spice, so added a dash of cayenne. Then let it simmer for an hour or so.
I have stopped experimenting with chili recipes after trying this one, it tastes a lot like wendy's chili, but better.
We love this recipe. We make this all the time and we even made a big pot of it for our Super Bowl party. We always use a couple cloves of garlic instead of garlic salt because we don't have any at home. We use between 2-3 tsps of the chili seasoning and serve it with an assortment of toppings: dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions. Thank you so much for an easy chili recipe.
This was way to tomato-ee & needed cumin to taste like chili -sorry but not a blue ribbon chili for us.
