Here's my chili recipe:
1/2 pound dried kidney beans (never tried it that way, but could substitute 2 cans kidney beans to make it easier)
2 cans (28 ounce) diced tomatoes
2 cans (5 1/2 ounce) tomato paste
either
2 cups TVP
2 cubes beef boullion
or
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound bacon (optional)
1 medium onion
1 bell pepper
chili powder
The night before:
In a large pot, place the beans, along with enough water to cover around 2 inches deep.
The day you're preparing it:
Drain beans, cover with fresh water, and boil until tender. Takes a bit of juggling the heat to keep it boiling without foaming up all over. Once tender, remove from heat, drain, and rinse in 2 changes of fresh water. If using canned beans, they're already cooked in the canning process - open the cans, drain, and put the beans in a large pot.
Boil 2 cups water. Dissolve the boullion cubes, remove from heat, and mix in the TVP. Some brands will soak up all the liquid (need to stir to ensure it all has a chance to get wet, rather than leaving some chunks still dry), others will leave a bit of liquid behind. Either way, dump all of it (including leftover liquid) into the pot with the beans. Alternately, brown and drain 2 pounds ground beef, and add to the beans.
Fry the bacon until crisp, and crumble it into the pot with the beans. Reserve a small quantity (couple tablespoons) of the grease.
Chop the onion, fry it until transparent in the reserved bacon grease. If not using bacon, fry the onion in a small quantity of vegetable oil. Add to the pot with the beans.
(assuming niece is a genuine noob in the kitchen) Cut out the stem end of the bell pepper and discard. Cut the pepper in half, remove and discard any seeds that didn't come out with the stem end. (non-noob can start here) Chop the pepper and add to the beans. Add tomatoes and tomato paste to the beans.
Mix it all together, and add chili powder to taste. 3 tablespoons is a good starting point - you can always add more. Simmer until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally (steam "tunnels" will form - these need to be broken up to ensure even heating, and you don't want it to burn on the bottom). Makes 6-8 generous servings.
1/2 pound dried kidney beans (never tried it that way, but could substitute 2 cans kidney beans to make it easier)
2 cans (28 ounce) diced tomatoes
2 cans (5 1/2 ounce) tomato paste
either
2 cups TVP
2 cubes beef boullion
or
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound bacon (optional)
1 medium onion
1 bell pepper
chili powder
The night before:
In a large pot, place the beans, along with enough water to cover around 2 inches deep.
The day you're preparing it:
Drain beans, cover with fresh water, and boil until tender. Takes a bit of juggling the heat to keep it boiling without foaming up all over. Once tender, remove from heat, drain, and rinse in 2 changes of fresh water. If using canned beans, they're already cooked in the canning process - open the cans, drain, and put the beans in a large pot.
Boil 2 cups water. Dissolve the boullion cubes, remove from heat, and mix in the TVP. Some brands will soak up all the liquid (need to stir to ensure it all has a chance to get wet, rather than leaving some chunks still dry), others will leave a bit of liquid behind. Either way, dump all of it (including leftover liquid) into the pot with the beans. Alternately, brown and drain 2 pounds ground beef, and add to the beans.
Fry the bacon until crisp, and crumble it into the pot with the beans. Reserve a small quantity (couple tablespoons) of the grease.
Chop the onion, fry it until transparent in the reserved bacon grease. If not using bacon, fry the onion in a small quantity of vegetable oil. Add to the pot with the beans.
(assuming niece is a genuine noob in the kitchen) Cut out the stem end of the bell pepper and discard. Cut the pepper in half, remove and discard any seeds that didn't come out with the stem end. (non-noob can start here) Chop the pepper and add to the beans. Add tomatoes and tomato paste to the beans.
Mix it all together, and add chili powder to taste. 3 tablespoons is a good starting point - you can always add more. Simmer until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally (steam "tunnels" will form - these need to be broken up to ensure even heating, and you don't want it to burn on the bottom). Makes 6-8 generous servings.
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