On winter days, when I am chilled to the bone, my most comforting food is a bowl of chili. The spices in this stew seem to calm the winds and put leaves back on the trees. In other words, it’s a dish that warms the soul. So, when I want chili… I WANT chili. Recently, when I began to prepare ours, I discovered that we were completely out of the seasoning mix that I normally use, so I went surfing to find a substitute. What I found will very likely become my permanent chili seasoning.
My recipe before finding this mix was as follows:
-
- 1 pound ground chuck beef (80% lean)
- 1/2 cup frozen seasoning blend
- 1 pkg (1.25 oz each) mild chili seasoning mix
- 1 can (16 oz each) Light Kidney Beans
- 2 cans (14.5 oz each) Hunt’s® Diced Tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (10 oz each) Ro*Tel® Mild Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained
- 1 can (8 oz each) Hunt’s® Tomato Sauce
- 1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup
- 1 cup water
The new seasoning was a mixture of spices I normally have on hand, so it was an easy fix.
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I only used 1 T since the reviews said 1/4 cup was too much.)
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper (I will use less next time.)
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 tablespoon dried, minced garlic
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepperhttp://allrecipes.com/recipe/chili-seasoning-mix-ii/
I mixed all the spices together with the flour and sugar.
And sprinkled it in the chili.
Now, I will be using the homemade mix in place of the packaged chili seasoning and the Lipton Onion Soup Mix. Other than being a bit too spicy for us, it was delicious. I’ll cut down on the red pepper next time and I think it will be perfect.
How do you season your chili? And if chili doesn’t warm your soul…what is your winter comfort food?
