Homemade Chili

Chili is probably one of my favorite things to cook, why? Because everyone's chili is different. So many things go into one pot, its unbelievable! I haven't perfected my chili recipe yet -- it's pretty good, but it's not going to win me any awards.

So I'll hope you'll understand the only reason I am sharing this recipe is because I plan to make it better, you won't be getting the awesome recipe ;)...

I basically throw everything into chili. You'll see what I mean. No premixed chili packets 'round here!

What I used:

-1 medium package extra lean ground beef (you could use chicken or turkey)

-2 regular size cans of kidney beans (dark red, light red, white.. whatever you like)

-1 Large can of diced tomatoes

-1 Small can of tomato paste

-2 pints of mushrooms (I used a pint of white mushrooms and a pint of mini bellas)

-3 Cloves of Garlic

-Chili powder (NOT CHILI SEASONING) to taste.

-1 Onion

-5 Stalks of Celery

-1 cup chicken stock (or beef, vegetable, whatever)

-1 tbs of butter

-1 tbs of montreal steak spice

-1 cup grated cheese (for sprinkling on top -- one cup for the whole batch, don't go crazy!)

-3 tbs of Bulls-eye BBQ bold original sauce

-1 regular sized can of tomato soup

-1/2 cup of heinz ketchup

-Salt & pepper to taste

I think that's everything. I really need to write this stuff down.


And here's what I did:

Melt butter in a large pot (I use one pot for this whole recipe, a great big stainless steel beast of a pot) then sautee (I cut my vegetables small, except mushrooms I leave chunky) onions, celery, mushrooms, garlic and steak spice until almost caramelized. Then add ground beef and brown it. Then de-glaze with your stock.

Add diced tomatoes, tomato soup, and tomato paste. Stir until incorporated. Then toss in the kidney beans (I use everything in the can, including the liquid, it helps it to thicken) and stir until everything comes together.

Add in ketchup, and bullseye sauce.

This is where it gets fun.

I don't like my chili that hot. I have my chili powder in a shaker, and I just shake it until I like it. However it takes more than what you would think to give it that nice color and taste. Also, the longer it cooks the better the flavors. I let mine cook away pretty much all day on low. (you don't want to see bubbles, else it will just burn.. A nice slow cooking process)

If you like it hot, add more chili powder and some hot sauce. Whatever the case is, keep tasting it.. Adjust the spice as it cooks.

Serve in a bowl, and sprinkle cheese on top.

Yum.

Now for some pictures.

MMm... Homemade cream of mushroom soup

Ok. So the other day I was in a bit of a panic. I desperately wanted to make porkchops with cream of mushroom soup for supper... I totally admit I usually use the 'stuff' that comes in the can. You know, the stuff that when you pour it out it comes out in one big solid, jiggly lump? Yeah, that stuff.

Anyway, I was in my pajamas, my hair was a disaster and I was in no shape to go out to the store... I checked my fridge and checked my cupboard. I had mushrooms. I had onions. I have an entire spice rack. I had flour, milk... Everything one would need to make THEIR OWN cream of mushroom soup.

So I secretly began putting it together. I never made any kind of cream soup before so I had no idea what I was doing.. But the outcome was to die for. Apparently, I have a knack for cooking. I almost ate all the soup before it even got to the porkchops, but I did manage to keep myself under control and had enough to cover them with.

So here is what I did. Please do not judge.. This was an emergency! HAHA.. Also, I DO NOT MEASURE. For all you freaks with the measuring spoons, you're not real cooks! (kidding, I do have respect for the measuring spoons... sometimes) I just generally use as much as I want until it looks good or is the right consistency. It's hard to explain. This is how I learned to cook. The only time you'll see me measuring anything is when I'm baking, because baking is like a freakin' science experiment.

What you'll need:

-Mushrooms (I used mini bellas)
-Flour
-Butter
-Chicken stock
-Milk (I used 1%)
-Carnation Can milk (not even kidding!)
-Onions
-A well equipped spice rack


Start by melting butter in a saucepan, then add in finely chopped onions. I only used about 2table spoons of finely chopped onions.

Once the onions are translucent, add in chopped mushrooms. I finely chopped some of my mushrooms, and the rest I rough chopped for texture. I used one small package of mini bellas.

Salt and pepper to taste, along with some spices. I used garlic powder, some thyme, a PINCH of nutmeg and a bit of fresh basil. I put the thyme through my spice grinder because I didn't want to chew on big pieces of thyme.

Let this cook until the mushrooms are dark and soft, then add flour and stir like crazy to make the roux. I never measure anything, but I can guess that I used about 2tbs.

After the roux is done, add in about 1 cup of chicken broth. I used home made stuff that I had made awhile back. I think the low sodium stuff would work aswell.

Once it thickens up, add in 1 full can of carnation evaporated canned milk. I know.. This sounds weird, but trust me. It's good. Then add about 1.5 cups of regular milk from the carton, I used 1%.

Now.. Let it cook on a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Once I had everything incorporated, I let it cook for about 25-30 minutes. I'm sure it would have been even better if I cooked it longer, but I was impatient and my porkchops were waiting to be covered.

Here is a picture of it still in the pot. I was impressed with my niftiness.

First Blog

Well here it is, my very first blog. I have no idea what will become of said 'blog'. I guess it will probably be extremely confusing (much like myself). I am sensing a mixture of pointless information and my thoughts on things that the general public probably doesn't care about. I guess it's a good way of storing information. Kinda like facebook without the creepers. We'll see what happens.