Tai-Tai's Texas Chili - Make it Your Way

Cook Club went off well even though I am a slave driver and we made a ton of food.

The menu was Chili, Corn Bread,Taco's made with homemade seasoning, Chicken Fajitas, and Guacamole, with that we had 3 types of cheese, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack and Cheddar, Sour Cream, Salsa and lettuce and tomato for garnishing.
Since Mexican food is a mystery to many of the club members it was a real hit and everyone enjoyed making and eating it.
What's for dinner tonight? Leftovers of course. I will try to post all of the recipes from this class. I already posted the Corn Bread recipe a while ago, It is a back of the box recipe which is very good.
The Taco Seasoning is here .   Today I will leave you with my recipe for Chili you can make it your way.
The recipe is versatile and I enjoy adding cocoa to it once in a while for a little different taste. Is it really Texan, well, I lived in Dallas - Fort Worth when I was 5 years old, so maybe just a smidgen, Y'all.

Tai-Tai’s  Texas Chili - Make it Your Way

500g  beef cut into cubes

 OR

500g Ground Beef – lean

2 - 400g cans peeled tomatoes whole or diced

1 - 425g can Red Kidney beans or Pinto beans

1 onion chopped

1-2 cloves garlic crushed or chopped finely

1 tsp. dried oregano (optional)

Water

2-3 Tbsp. Chili Powder

1 - 6 oz/170g can of Tomato Paste used to thicken

Salt to taste

Oil for browning the meat

In a small amount of oil brown the meat; add the onion and garlic during the browning. Add tomatoes break them up while stirring the meat. Add Chili Powder and Oregano.

Add water at this time enough to make it look like soup.

Drain the kidney beans and rinse then add to the soup mixture.

Let simmer for an hour to an hour and a half on low heat. You may have to add a little water if the heat is too high.

After about an hour add the tomato paste and some salt to taste and let simmer stirring occasionally until ready to serve.

Serve with shredded cheese, green onions or sour cream.

Optional ingredients

2 tsp Cumin

1 Tbsp Cocoa

You can use both or only one. Occasionally I use these last two ingredients…but usually I make the Chili without them, because, the kids prefer it this way.

This Chili is pretty mild, if you want to make it really hot, you can, by adding fresh Chili’s or Hot pepper sauce like Tabasco. Although the next day it is usually spicier on it's own. Remember a recipe is a guideline you should experiment and make it the way you want.