chile con carne

I too love chili. Both my wife and I make different kinds. hers is a more traditional and mine is sweeter and is better (The ultimate test for me) on top of a chili dog.

We made some chili yesterday, and it was quite good.
I usually take very lean ground beef, black beans, kidney beans, 1 onion,
1 can tomatoes, beef broth, tomato paste, garlic, hot cayenne pepper, salt, grated cheddar cheese.

Mine's similar, except I add diced green pepper, and will put in and type of bean, kidney, pinto, black beans, and maybe some diced up fresh tomato. For the canned tomatos I get the ones with jalepenos in them.

I'll top with sour cream as well as the cheese.

Not a huge chili dawg myself, but I can help you with some Cajun red beans and rice I just made earlier this evening.

I cheat and use the Zatarain's New Orleans box mix, but kick it up a few notches by adding a tube (16 oz. I think) of sliced-round-and-then-quartered Chappell Hill garlic smoked sausage, a can of Ro-tel tomatoes with chiles, half an onion chopped, four cloves of garlic pressed in, and two cans of beef broth substituting for the water. And if that's not enough aromatica for you, then garnish with fresh chives (as I do). All ingredients available at your local Kroger.

It'll make you wanna slap yo momma.

Here's one from Pensey's

Chili con Carne

Great with a sandwich on a cold day or as a meal with shredded Cheddar cheese or a dollop of sour cream on top, with fresh buttered bread on the side. Serves six to eight. Leftovers freeze well. Start with the full amount of regular or medium chili powder and add extra hot pepper to taste for the full range of chili flavor. If you use less than the full 3 TB. the recipe calls for, the result will be more like tomato soup with beef.

2 lbs. ground beef
3 TB. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2 tsp. GARLIC GRANULES
1/2 tsp. fresh ground BLACK PEPPER
1 tsp. GROUND CUMIN
1/2 tsp. ground CHIPOTLE PEPPER
1/2 - 1 1/2 tsp. CRUSHED RED PEPPERS
3 TB. CHILI POWDER
3 Cups water
1 26 oz. can tomato puree
2 16 oz. cans no salt added chopped tomatoes
2 16 oz. cans kidney beans, drained
1-2 tsp. salt

Brown beef in two batches in a thick-bottomed soup kettle. Drain off fat and set browned beef aside. Heat 3 TB. oil in kettle over medium high heat, adding onions when hot. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add red bell pepper and GARLIC, continuing to cook 2-3 more minutes. Add BLACK PEPPER, GROUND CUMIN, CHIPOTLE and HOT RED PEPPERS to taste plus CHILI POWDER, while continually stirring until spices begin to stick to bottom of kettle and brown (about 30-45 seconds). Quickly add 3 Cups of water. Add tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and the juice they were packed in. Add kidney beans and salt. Add the beef but try not to include any fat that may have accumulated. Stir. When chili begins to boil, reduce heat to low and cover. Ideally chili should be simmered 3 hours to let all the flavors blend together. Stir about every 15 minutes, while checking to make sure heat is not too high, causing chili to stick to the bottom of the kettle. If you don't have 3 hours, use less CHIPOTLE and CRUSHED RED PEPPERS or else they will overpower the other flavors.

Thank you all for responding. My wife says it has to be pretty mild if she is to partake. Meaning, I may have to make two versions.

Chai, the green peppers are kind of bitter tasting, so I don't use them.

Edgar, you can prepare the chili without the hot stuff and season your
plate later on.

Quite a few years ago, a local talk show host offered his personal chile recipe. He said he won awards with it. I remembered and googled and found a reasonable facsimile and here it is. (Found that David died in 2004). I took this off a blog, from somebody who listened to him in a different city.

David Fowler's Nine times First place Trophy award winning Chili recipe.
This is not chili, and I don't know how to write a recipe using the terms and such that one finds in the real thing. Read on. Change nothing. You'll note that quantities are vague. Use common sense and taste.
Stuff in this Mess:

1 0r 2 pounds ground beef, the best
1 standard can tomato paste and sauce and whole peeled tomatoes
1 large green pepper
1 large white onion
2 ribs celery
2 to 10 Jalapeno peppers, the canned in oil kind
½ a raw potato
1 can Bud beer
1 shot or two of olive oil " do not use cooking oil (I use Contadina brand)
1 standard envelope chili mix, such as McCormick’s or whatever, but not some weird, esoteric brand…just the plain stuff and a half envelope of taco mix
Some Oregano and Thyme and crushed red pepper and black pepper and a bay leaf or two and some grated parmesan cheese, such as in the green cardboard tube, and salt and, as to the spices, I use around a ½ a teaspoon or more " it’s up to you as are all the quantities and it’s also your problem or pleasure, don’t blame me.

Method of Preparation:

New simplified directions!!!

Brown the beef a little bit, not a lot…leave some pink. Dump everything into a pot and add water sufficient to keep it from burning while you simmer it for an hour or so.
Now, I must add, for the sake of decency that prior to the dumping you must have finely chopped, sliced and diced the vegetables.
Got that?
Do it.
Dump together as noted and so forth, and by now it’s simmering nicely and you’re keeping an eye on it and adding a bit of water here and there and the lid’s on the pot, slightly askew, a sprinkling of parmesan and always stirring and sampling and simmering and, three hours having passed, you let it cool and poke it into the fridge and wait until the next day and that’s that. It ain’t chili - its better!
You want beans? Fine. You also tell unfunny jokes, force your dog to wear rubber booties on rainy days, and are basically miserable. However, if you must….please use drained and rinsed kidney beans and their name is sufficiently disgusting to me or, even better, drained and rinsed black eyed peas, though I recommend neither and how do you spell recommmmmmend anyway?
I figure it may take a lifetime for you to get this right, so forget it. You go on and read that junk in the papers on Thursdays and clip coupons and buy cookbooks.
I don’t care.
You really must mess with this thing a few times to get it to your taste and if you’re the type who follows recipes exactly, I’m already thanking you for not inviting me to your table even though I said change nothing in this recipe. If that intimidated you, don’t cook this chili that isn’t chili.
Typing and mailing this thing’s been tough on me.
Be kind when you call.
Think kindly when listening.
Thank you,
DF (David signed this with his initials)

Step One
2-1/2 lbs - beef chuck/mock tender or round steak cut in 1/4" cubes
1 tsp - lard or shortening
1 can - (8 oz) No Salt Added Tomato Sauce
1 can - (14-1/2 oz) beef broth
2 tbsp - Texas Style Chili Powder
1 tbsp - Onion Powder
1/2 tsp - Ground Red Pepper
2 tsp - Beef Flavored Base or Instant Bouillon
1 tsp - Chicken Flavored Base or Instant Bouillon
1/2 tsp - Salt
1 tbsp - Chili Powder

In a 5 quart Dutch oven, brown beef in lard/shortening (do not drain). Add tomato sauce, beef broth, 2-1/4 cups water. Combine seasonings above and add to beef mixture. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 1-3/4 hours. You may need to add additional water if chili gets too thick.

Step Two
1 tbsp - Ground Cumin
2 tsp - Garlic Powder
3 tbsp - Texas Style Chili Powder
1/4 tsp - Ground Black Pepper

Combine spices and add to chili. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Step Three
1/2 tsp - Salt
1/8 tsp - Ground Red Pepper
1 tbsp - Chili Powder
1 tsp - Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp - Onion Powder

Combine spices and add to chili. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

Thanks. I am collecting advise and recipes now, because I have to be in a chile cook-off at the end of March. Job related, but I like the challenge.

If that were me, Id get rid of the cumin and add about 1T of sugar to the spice mix. When done, have chopped onions and grated cheese ( I like a good hard Italian like Asiago)