It’s been over a year now since I stopped working. I miss the part about creating recipes, cooking for a big crowd, and getting compliments from my customers. I don’t miss the heavy physical toll on my body, however. I am happy now to cook for you readers!

One of the dishes our college kids loved was chili. We made many kinds but today I will be sharing my popular beef chili recipe. I have made chili many times, tweaking it each time. I think this recipe was the biggest crowd pleaser.

Chili is one of those dishes you can make any day of the week depending on the recipe you use. Some call for simmering an hour or longer if you want thicker chili. A wonderful thing about making chili at home is that you can feed a big crowd and make it ahead of time. I think chili tastes better the next day, and you can freeze it if you have leftovers.

This chili recipe starts with spices like chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaves. Also, aromatics like onion, garlic, and jalapenos. I used ground beef in my chili but you can easily swap that out with ground chicken, turkey, or pork. I haven’t tried it with a meat substitute, but if you do, then swap out the beef base for vegetable base. I have a vegan chili recipe that is also really good that you can check it out.

You can use black bean, white bean, or pinto bean in this recipe if you are not a big fan of kidney beans. I used kidney beans as they are a classic.

A fun thing about chili is you get a huge range of toppings. Most popular is sour cream, cheddar cheese, chopped white onions, green onions, and chopped cilantro. Choose all or choose a few — you will not be disappointed! You can even put the chili over a baked potato or a hot dog if you want something fun.

Ingredients

• 1 lbs. ground beef
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 cup yellow onion, small diced
• 1 tbsp. finely chopped garlic
• 3 tbsp. seeded jalapeno, chopped
• 3 tbsp. mild chili powder (one you buy to make chilies)
• 1 tbsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tbsp. beef base
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 14.5 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 tbsp. sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 15.5 oz. can kidney beans, (do not drain)

Instructions

Heat oil in a large, heavy bottom soup pot or Dutch oven. Cook ground beef over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until the beef is no longer pink. Turn down the heat to low, then remove the beef with a slotted spoon to a plate or a bowl, leaving most of the fat behind.

Turn up the heat to medium, then add onion, garlic, and jalapeno to the pan.

Cook the onion mixture for 3-5 minutes or until onions are soft. Add chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaves. Turn down the heat to low and cook and stir for 3 minutes more.

Add tomato paste and cook for a minute. Add canned tomatoes, beef base, water, cooked beef along with all accumulated juices from the bowl to the pan. Stir well.

Cover and cook for 45 minutes, checking and stirring in between. Taste for seasoning.

Serves 4

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post, share, and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram. If you would like to be notified of upcoming posts, please consider subscribing to my blog!