Chili Weather

I can eat chili year round. It’s crazy how much I love the stuff. I can eat bowls upon bowls for a week straight and still want it again the following weekend. The Carnivore, on the other hand, is from team “chili is only a condiment.” We’re working on this…

When we were first dating, I made a big pot of chili for an evening of movie watching at my apartment. He was dumbfounded. As far as he’s concerned, if the chili doesn’t come from a can that reads “Wolf Brand” it’s not worth putting on your hot dog. (Hand to forehead.)

In the 5 years we’ve been married, I’ve slowly convinced him to come around. He still won’t eat chili in a bowl, but he’s come to realize there are better forms of chili than Wolf Brand.

With the huge supply of meat we now have filling our freezer, I’ve been using elk in just about all of my recipes. I usually use ground beef or ground turkey, but the ground elk is delicious! You can use just about any ground meat you want in this recipe.

This a thick chili, remember it has to be thick enough to stay on top of The Carnivore’s hot dog. (Head shaking.) If you prefer your chili soupy, this is definitely not the one for you.

Chuck Wagon Chili: (Print Me!)

• 1lb. ground meat (beef, turkey, elk)
• 1/2 small yellow onion diced (or 1 Tbsp. onion powder)
• 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans (drained & rinsed)
• 1 (16 oz.) can refried beans
• 1 cup water
• 3 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
• 3 Tbsp. molasses

If using an onion – add 1 Tbsp. olive oil to your pot, then add in your onion. Saute’ for about 2 minutes until your onion is translucent, then add in your ground meat.

If not using an onion – add the ground meat to your pot and cook until brown. Add 1 Tbsp. onion powder and give it a stir.

Once your meat is brown (pour off fat if needed) add tomato sauce, water, black beans, refried beans, and seasonings. Whirl it around until the refried beans have mixed in evenly.

Then add the secret ingredient…

I’ll give you a few hints: 1. It’s sweet 2. It’s slow 3. It’s located at the tail end of a mole

Give up?

MOLASSES!

Molasses makes this chili! It gives it depth that I haven’t been able to find with anything else. Add 3 Tbsp. molasses, then let your chili simmer for about an hour.

After your chili simmers – if it’s too hot for your liking, add in a little more molasses. My sister CANNOT handle spicy, so I always add in a little extra when she’s visiting. I’m pretty sure the girl thinks peanut butter is spicy… she’s ridiculous.

Serve your chili on a bed of noodles, spaghetti squash (my current favorite), Fritos, burgers, (cough) hot dog (cough), stuffed peppers, or my all-time number-one way to eat it, straight from a bowl – the possibilities are endless!

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