We broke a record low overnight last night in Hampton Roads – 58 degrees. That is COLD for August in southeastern Virginia and when I woke up this morning and stepped out on the back porch, the instant the sub-60 degree temperate hit me, I knew we had to have chili for dinner. Does anyone else have these instantaneous food triggers? Jeremy will vouch for the fact that I CANNOT listen to mariachi music without immediately needing a taco. Like, if I hear it on TV or out in public I will literally stick my fingers in my ears and go “lalalalalala” if I think there’s any chance I can’t immediately acquire a taco. This is how I am with chili. I can go months and months without thinking about it and then a cool breeze will come out of somewhere or maybe someone is burning yard debris or ANYTHING that seems like fall and I cannot rest until there is chili.
As we all know there are about a billion ways to make and eat chili and everyone from every part of the country will swear that their way is the right/legitimate/original/best way to make it. Fine, sure. It is. But the truth is, MY WAY IS THE BEST WAY SO SHUT UP.
Rachel’s Chili
(eat it or get out)
Ingredients:
- 1 lb of ground turkey
- olive oil
- one onion
- two cloves of garlic, minced
- one 15oz can of kidney beans, drained
- one 15 oz can of chili beans, drained
- one 14 oz can of tomato sauce (or home made)
- one 14oz can of crushed tomatoes
- one can of beer (minus two swigs for yourself)(actually, take three swigs)(just put in whatever is left)
- 1/8 cup of chili powder
- 1/2 tbs cumin
- 1 tsp coriander, crushed
- 1/2 tsp cayenne or hot sauce or more if you like it spicy
Optional Toppings:
- diced onions
- chopped cilantro
- shredded cheese
- lime wedges
- sour cream or plan Greek yogurt
- avocado slices
- crushed tortilla chips
- crushed saltines
Method:
- In a large skillet heat the oil, sautee the onion and the garlic until soft
- Add the turkey and cook until browned. Drain any excess fat.
- Put the turkey mixture and remaining ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours OR put all ingredients into a Dutch oven and cook over low heat on the stovetop for 3 hours.
I prefer using a slow cooker with chili because chili is just one of those things that gets better the longer it sits. I would even recommend making this the day before you’re going to serve it (The Saturday before game day, maybe?) but for me it’s too hard to make it and not eat it the same day, but do whatever your internal fortitude allows you to do. You can see by my beer recommendations, that mine is incredibly low.
And of course there are the chili toppings! I like to lay them all out and let everyone decide what they want. My must haves are plain Greek yogurt and shredded cheese with a squeeze of lime. This is the one part I’ll let you decide for yourself what is best.
I Heart Beets 