This might not be the best chili in the world, but I don’t get any complaints. Everything in this recipe is approximate. It is a bit on the fiery side, so if that puts you off leave out the pickled jalapenos or cut the amount.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 28 oz. stewed tomatoes, including the juice that they are packed in
- 45 oz. canned beans (kidney, black, a mixture of whatever you can find), drained
- 12 oz. pickled jalapeno
- 2 Tbsp commerical chili powder
- cooking oil
Experiments for you to try:
- Add 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
- Replace the chili powder with 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp onion powder, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Throw in some cornmeal
- Use shredded beef instead of ground beef
Instructions:
- Cover bottom of pan with a small amount of oil
- Cook ground beef until done; if using shredded beef, brown
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well
- Simmer for awhile until the flavors have blended
Don’t you just love instructions like that? Simmer until the beans have picked up some of the flavor. Since all of the ingredients were pre-cooked, you don’t have to worry about it being “done.”
Serving suggestions:
Serve over rice, cornbread, taco chips, or whatever suits your fancy. For some reason, in my family chili was always served with (not over) Jewish rye (with seeds). <shrug>
Top with taco chips, sour cream, yogurt, shredded cheese, or any combination thereof.
Schwartz Chronicles 
Cocoa powder and cornmeal in chili? I just might have to try this recipe. It sounds pretty good.
I need to give you a few warnings:
– My wife and I like things very spicy; this might taste like hot lava to the timid. Cut back on the pickled peppers if you are concerned.
– It would probably be better to use masa de maíz rather than regular cornmeal, but until recently it hasn’t been available where I shop. To be honest I didn’t realize that it was the same as hominy, which was also hard to find until I moved from a Jewish neighborhood to one with more Hispanics. (Now I have to go out of town to buy matzah.)
– Go very easy on the cocoa powder until you’ve decided how strong a flavor you want. Use it as a spice.
– I had a friend who decided to try M&Ms instead of cocoa powder. That was nasty. Don’t try 3 Musketeers, either.