Cold Night/Hot Chili

[Magicman]

With this brutal cold that we have coming with a forecast low of 37° Tuesday morning, we had to think about comfort food.



Yup, a pot of Chili should warm things up quite nicely.

[69bronco]

I'll bring the corn bread!

[sawguy21]

Nothing better! Do you make it mild, medium or HOLY MOLY?

[Walnut Beast]

I'll bring the corn bread!

And a little butter & Maple syrup 

[Magicman]

 

 
Garnished with some shredded triple cheddar and added some Fritos....MMmmmm Good!!

[kantuckid]

To each his own as our food preferences vary a lot. That chili has too much meat for my own taste. 
I've known Mexican Americans whose chili was horrible to me, looked like meat in red enchilada sauce. 
We actually use our chili to make our taco salads for some years now. Bed of crushed corn tortilla chips, layered with thick chili, diced onions, shredded lettuce, diced avacoados, diced tomatoes, corn sauteed with some chili powder & jalapenos, tomatilla sauce and sour cream for topping and some fiesta, queso or quesadilla cheese on top. I zap mine a shot time in the microwave. 
I used to work with a Mexican-American who layed an easy over eggon their chili bowl and I still do that when not doing the salad thing. 

[mike_belben]

when the kids are whining for feed me now food, i will plop some sour cream, salsa and shredded cheddar in a bowl and dump in a crushed handful of tortilla chips then mix it up and give'm a spoon.  one notch classier than cereal for dinner. 


i have been making a lot of stew to freeze for who knows what will go wrong this winter, out of just whatever has been around a while. its halfway stew, halfway chill and pretty good honestly.  just about anything tastes pretty darn good a few days after its been simmered.  i don't even make it to eat same day anymore because it just keeps getting better as it ages.  sounds crazy, no one seems to mention aging stews but I'm telling ya.  first night, none of my stews are that impressive. filled with meat and veggies and spices yet seems thin and watery out of the pot.  by day 3 in the fridge.. wow I'm a good cook!  thick and hearty, full of flavor. 

[kantuckid]

We multi day our empty nester meal a lot. Lasagna is two days in a row then frozen and comes out several more times. Freezing stew I'll say that we do it but the potatoes suffer a tad in doing so. items like enchiladas & tamales we make our own and freeze large amopunts for later meals with stuffed jalapenos as a side dish and refried beans. Our chicken enchilda recipe has been fine tuned to our taste as has our tamales. 
I love chile relenos but having tried them a number of times using various chiles (poblanos and various other Hatch and cuban, etc. chilies- the frying part is a challenge) they are tough to get just right. 

[sawguy21]

My wife loved chili rellenos but I don't care for the peppers. As far as I am concerned good chili can't have too much meat but I have trouble getting it right. I have tried browning the meat then adding the beans, tomato and spices but the meat doesn't get infused with the flavors. It doesn't get fully cooked if it is thrown in raw with the rest of the ingredients.

[kantuckid]

Basic techniques the same for stew or chili, meat wise you brown the meat with onions unless theirs a bunch of fat to pour off. We sometimes make chili using small cubes of beef or pork or pork sausage combo with ground beef.
One of our basic chili aspects is a qt of home canned tomatoes. 
Brown the meat & onions, THEN add various other stuff. 
In the Cincinnati area which includes northern and n-central parts of KY, two chili chains are popular-Gold Star and Skyline along with a bunch of others that all feature chili they claim to be a local delicacy. It's most always served with spaghetti and other items like diced onions and huge mounds of cheese piled on. I find it watery and lacking any resemblance to what I prefer in thick, hearty chili.
 We use a mix of kidney and black beans most always. I have raised a pole lima bean that makes a great chili bean-called Aunt Violets Multicolored Butter Beans, they are a smaller butter bean, firm and many colors. I plan to raise them again next spring, alternating years as they store well dry. 
Spice wise: I'll mention this again, we use only chili powder from Topeka, KS mixed by the family of Pedro Lopez. When I was a young grocery guy Pedro peddled his Mexican food items to local groceries from an old panel wagon. Later the company sold out to a big food group then was bought back by heirs of Pedro's. They have a website which sells their items all mfg in North Topeka, KS. Being a blend same as curry powders chili powder blends all vary and this one is a darker version with just the right mix IMO. I also shake it over my taco salads lightly where the flavor works well along with a colorful sprinkle on sour cream and cheese toppings.
When I was a spice blender one year at Ohse Meat Products in Topeka we bought 100# drums of chili powder from two sources and used them half & half (I forget the other chili powders source?) in our chili con carne, sold in tubes like pork sausage. That chili used beef hearts as the only meat. 
FWIW, I may be living on soups after Monday when I'm scheduled yet again to remove the molars on the bottom both sides of my mouth-yuk.