lazy man's healthy* chili†

GeorgeC

GeorgeC

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GeorgeC
Fall is approaching and so is chili weather.

Fry a couple pieces of bacon. Remove them from the pan but keep the grease.
Fry however much of whatever hot peppers you like.
Place 1 lb. ground turkey in the pan.
Add salt and chili powder and oregano.
Fry and chop into little bits until done. Put the bacon back in.

Sprinkle about a tablespoon of brown sugar on top.
Sprinkle a miniscule dusting of cocoa powder on top.

Add 1 can black beans, 1 can red beans, 1 can tomato paste.
Add a few dashes of malt vinegar.
Add a splash of espresso.

Mix in enough water to make the consistency right.

Cook until done.

* the turkey is why it's healthy
† for some values of chili
 
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Here is my "Award Winning" (I did win an apron in a charity chili contest in the "other" category)....


Award-Winning Tempe Tempeh Chili
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This one the best “other” chili recipe at a school fundraiser my sister was involved in.




Time to Prepare: 60 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Serving: 6 People

Ingredients

1 large onion
1 bell pepper
2 7oz packages tempeh
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 large can tomatoes (I prefer whole peeled roma/san Marzano)
1 can hatch chilis
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
Cumin
Dark chili powder
Sweet paprika
Garlic powder
Cayenne pepper (powder)
Salt


1. Sautee the onions and peppers in a little olive oil and set aside.

2. Crumble the tempeh and toast it in the hot pan from the above until it browns slightly..

3. Shake in a the Worcestershire sauce to “deglaze” the pan and give the tempeh some color.

4. Add back the onions and peppers and add in the tomatoes, beans, and chili peppers

5. Spice the recipe as follows. Add some cumin until you can just discern it’s there. Same with the chili powder. Add paprika and garlic to taste.

6. Add cayenne. A little goes a long way. Start with a quarter teaspoon depending on how much heat you want.

7. Salt at the last minute as the beans will soak it up.
 
IBTL :D

Whichever chili religion you’re from:

I found my masses enjoy chili with beef or venison cut into stew meat.

I add about enough whole peppercorns so that a bowl ends up with 2 or three. It’s really a pleasant surprise.

For those that don’t like it spicy, a few mostly de-seeded/deveined jalapeños add a nice pepper note. You can also use a green pepper with some hot pepper to moderate the heat but keep that note in there.

Fight on...:cheers:
 
Tin can chili:

1# ground beef
1# spicy sausage
2 cans Bushes hot kidney beans
1 can Bushes mild black beans
1 can Ro-Tel hot
1 can tomato sauce 15 oz
1 can tomato paste 6 oz
1 can diced tomatoes 14.5oz

Surprisingly good with little effort.
 
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With the cooler temps we got goin on (mid 80’s) I made my first batch of crockpot chili yesterday and while I didn’t put chopped up scorpions in it, I did put two of my scorpion hot sauces in it. And while I didn’t put Fritos in the chili, I considered putting potato chips made by frito lay in it. Then I didn’t, because I’m not 7.
 
If you're going to put beans and tomatoes in it, you might as well other stuff. Real chili has none of it.
Don't knock the tempeh if you haven't tried it. It is nothing like tofu.
 
Haven't tried tempeh. TVP is ok too.
 
flyingron said:
If you're going to put beans and tomatoes in it, you might as well other stuff. Real chili has none of it.
Don't knock the tempeh if you haven't tried it. It is nothing like tofu.
Click to expand...

See post #8
 
Bill said:
See post #8
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Well, there's really beef and no beans/tomatoes/etc... and there is everything else. It's sort of like calling any cocktail a Martini.
 
flyingron said:
If you're going to put beans and tomatoes in it, you might as well other stuff. Real chili has none of it.
Click to expand...
I’ve never had chili without beans and/or tomatoes in it, but it seems like *real* chili must be awfully bland if it lacks all of the good stuff.
 
I just had a batch of tempeh go bad, don't know why, isn't the most difficult fermentation I do. I would never ever put it in chili, wrong texture. Last chili I made had beans, I think TVP, tomatoes, lots of peppers. I think I based it around a roux. Lots of peppers of course. Might have thrown in some bulgur wheat, I often do. Took me a LONG time to make vegetarian chili that tasted like something other than spicy tomato sauce. Comes out just fine these days.
 
Bill said:
Tin can chili:

1# ground beef
1# spicy sausage
2 cans Bushes hot kidney beans
1 can Bushes mild black beans
1 can Ro-Tel hot
1 can tomato sauce 15 oz
1 can tomato paste 6 oz
1 can diced tomatoes 14.5oz

Surprisingly good with little effort.
Click to expand...

Tin can chili:

1. can of chili

See, that was even less effort.
 
Chili is no place to scrimp and be healthy. My chili is roughly this, but I probably change things from time to time. Or I might not have listed a few things.
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound beef sirloin, cubed
  • 1 can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice
  • 2 cans tomato paste
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon each of dried oregano, cayenne pepper, ground coriander, salt
  • 4 cans of dark red kidney beans - 2 go in early, 2 go in late.
  • 2-4 fresh hot chile peppers
soften onions and garlic, add to crockpot. Brown the meat, into the crockpot. Add everything else except 2 cans of beans and chile peppers. Let simmer all day. An hour before serving add the rest of the beans and peppers.

It makes a nice chili, probably about 6 qts. I made this at the last chili cookoff at the flying club and it was the first one to run out. It isn't fancy, it's a workhorse chili.
 
Timbeck2 said:
Had to stop and look it up. May as well be tofu. Recommend the ban hammer on the offending party
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I had to look it up, too. I'm ok with it in hot and sour soup, but otherwise I don't like soy products mixed in with food. I think most GE Momentive products have better texture, more flavor, and are probably better for you.
 
Timbeck2 said:
Had to stop and look it up. May as well be tofu. Recommend the ban hammer on the offending party
Click to expand...
I've not yet put tofu in chili, but I'd not hesitate to do so. Tofu doesn't really taste like anything, so putting it in something strongly flavored means you get a high protein ingredient with no flavor penalty. Tempeh has a strong texture, so I'm hesitant to just throw it into a lot of things. I'll throw TVP into anything, I usually hydrate it in soup broth first.

I have some leftover tofu I need to cook up tonight. I think I'll pan fry it, sauce it with something, and then serve it on some quinoa with my home make kimchi.
 
RyanB said:
I’ve never had chili without beans and/or tomatoes in it, but it seems like *real* chili must be awfully bland if it lacks all of the good stuff.
Click to expand...
Bland? Not in the least. But competition chili is diced or very coursely ground beef and spices. You can use onion or garlic, but it better be so finely processed that it's indistinguishable from the rest of the "broth." Even grains of black pepper are frowned upon.

There is more latitude in the green and other categories, which is pork, green chills and usually diced onions and peppers. THen the "other" category (which mine won in) is anything goes.

That's all competing. THere are other categories of chili. Cincinnati chili is completely different, and I have to say I've never been particularly fond of it. It's heavy on some of the more savory spices: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice. THen there's New Mexico chili "beans" which is pretty good. If you ask for chile there, they'll likely look at you funny and bring you a red pepper. If you want a bowl of spicy beef and beans, you have to ask for chili beans.
 
flyingron said:
Bland? Not in the least. But competition chili is diced or very coursely ground beef and spices. You can use onion or garlic, but it better be so finely processed that it's indistinguishable from the rest of the "broth." Even grains of black pepper are frowned upon.

There is more latitude in the green and other categories, which is pork, green chills and usually diced onions and peppers. THen the "other" category (which mine won in) is anything goes.
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I was surprised and delighted to learn that the World Champion Chili Cook-offs organization publishes ALL of the winning recipes, going back to the 1960's. It turns out, Wick Fowler was an early winner with his 2-alarm chili.

https://www.chilicookoff.com/winning-recipes

I set out some time ago to try and replicate a few of them, but quickly learned it's really hard to source some of the ingredients, at least in the northeast. The recipes, especially the more recent winners, include a LOT of obscure chili pepper species and chili powder brands.
 
schmookeeg said:
Imagine "smoked dishwashing sponge" and you're about there in both flavor and texture realms.
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Not true in the least. The stuff is a lot firmer than that. It's more akin to a crumbly overcooked ground beef in texture. The flavor is neutral to slightly nutty as it is toasted (the first step of my recipe). If you like you can substitute ground beef, chicken or turkey in my recipe. I used to use turkey all the time, but switched to tempeh when my daughter was vegan. We decided we actually preferred the tempeh version.
 
flyingron said:
Not true in the least. The stuff is a lot firmer than that. It's more akin to a crumbly overcooked ground beef in texture. The flavor is neutral to slightly nutty as it is toasted (the first step of my recipe). If you like you can substitute ground beef, chicken or turkey in my recipe. I used to use turkey all the time, but switched to tempeh when my daughter was vegan. We decided we actually preferred the tempeh version.
Click to expand...

You may have used better tempeh than what I sampled. Admittedly it's been a few years since my last mistake, so perhaps the smoked dishwashing sponge R&D labcoats have improved things since.
 
I don't remember where, but I recall someone explaining once the difference between cooking and competition. In competition, the judge is going to take one bite, so you need that bite to be huge. But if you had that in every bite that you ate at home, it would get old really fast and you won't like it.
 
schmookeeg said:
Imagine "smoked dishwashing sponge" and you're about there in both flavor and texture realms.
Click to expand...
If you're a sad pathetic cook, perhaps.

For those that don't know, tempeh is fungal fermented product, usually but not limited to soybeans. There are a few fungal species used, all are safe for human consumption. Soybeans are cooked, dehulled (truly the hardest part) and incubated with spores of the appropriate fungus. The fungal mycelia partially digest the soybeans, which can be difficult for us to digest. They grow in and among the beans forming a sort of cake. The fungus are perfectly edible, more so than the beans themselves. It has little flavor on its own (though the stuff you get from the store is usually just a. bit bitter) but can take on flavor from nearly anything. It has a strong texture though.

Tempeh can actually be made from any type of bean or grain even. Fungi really aren't all that picky.
 
steingar said:
If you're a sad pathetic cook, perhaps.

For those that don't know, tempeh is fungal fermented product, usually but not limited to soybeans. There are a few fungal species used, all are safe for human consumption. Soybeans are cooked, dehulled (truly the hardest part) and incubated with spores of the appropriate fungus. The fungal mycelia partially digest the soybeans, which can be difficult for us to digest. They grow in and among the beans forming a sort of cake. The fungus are perfectly edible, more so than the beans themselves. It has little flavor on its own (though the stuff you get from the store is usually just a. bit bitter) but can take on flavor from nearly anything. It has a strong texture though.

Tempeh can actually be made from any type of bean or grain even. Fungi really aren't all that picky.
Click to expand...

I'll forward your notes to the Chef du Cuisine at the Veggie Grill chain in El Segundo :)
 
Bill said:
Tin can chili:

1# ground beef
1# spicy sausage
2 cans Bushes hot kidney beans
1 can Bushes mild black beans
1 can Ro-Tel hot
1 can tomato sauce 15 oz
1 can tomato paste 6 oz
1 can diced tomatoes 14.5oz

Surprisingly good with little effort.
Click to expand...
Thats only seven cans!
 
steingar said:
For those that don't know, tempeh is fungal fermented product, usually but not limited to soybeans. There are a few fungal species used, all are safe for human consumption. Soybeans are cooked, dehulled (truly the hardest part) and incubated with spores of the appropriate fungus. The fungal mycelia partially digest the soybeans, which can be difficult for us to digest. They grow in and among the beans forming a sort of cake. The fungus are perfectly edible, more so than the beans themselves. It has little flavor on its own (though the stuff you get from the store is usually just a. bit bitter) but can take on flavor from nearly anything. It has a strong texture though.
Click to expand...

There is nothing in that paragraph that gives me the slightest desire to add tempeh to my shopping list. Truly, nothing.
 
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Sac Arrow said:
Tin can chili:

1. can of chili

See, that was even less effort.
Click to expand...
Anyone else remember when Wolf brand chili was a dark brick red/brown? Well, thats too long.(get it?) Now its orange and no better than Hormel:(Ive found many off brands or store brands to be better than the big two.
Now for good lazy Chili Dogs its a can of whatever and 1/2 a jar of salsa/picante sauce, umm umm good.

Chili can be our way to clear out the fridge and cabinets. Celery or grated carrots gets lost but adds flavor, can of corn? toss it in and for duck breasts Ive found its the next best thing to shooting them.
 
GaryM said:
There is nothing in that paragraph that gives me the slightest desire to add tempeh to my shopping list. Truly, nothing.
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Truly no skin off my nose. Tempeh is near magically healthy, having lots and gots of the good stuff we're supposed to eat and none of the bad. It can be made to taste like nearly anything. In the hands of a talented chef it is really good food. You do you, whatever that is. Me, I'll continue to eat yummy food that's good for me.

I have some beans in the basement I made some time ago, prepped them up for the colder weather that's on the way. Don't even recall what I put in them, but I know what I didn't. Hot peppers. Trying to cool it down a bit for Mrs. Steingar.
 
schmookeeg said:
You may have used better tempeh than what I sampled. Admittedly it's been a few years since my last mistake, so perhaps the smoked dishwashing sponge R&D labcoats have improved things since.
Click to expand...
Tempeh has been around for a while, something on the order of several centuries or a couple millennia. You'd think with that sort of staying power, more than a few someones find it either delicious or necessary.

As for me, I'm a sad pathetic cook per @steingar so I'll favor meat. :)
 
asicer said:
Tempeh has been around for a while, something on the order of several centuries or a couple millennia. You'd think with that sort of staying power, more than a few someones find it either delicious or necessary.

As for me, I'm a sad pathetic cook per @steingar so I'll favor meat. :)
Click to expand...

Hmm... well then hopefully one man's sponge is another man's ribeye. :D

My ribeye remains ribeye at the moment, despite compelling health arguments. :cheerswine:
 
Beans cooked in chili....blech....chili over separately cooked beans...not a problem. Chili over pasta with some parm on top.....anytime.
 
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