What's for Dinner? - Chili

Look out the window...one of those days you want to just sit inside and cover up with a blanket. Brr! It's a comfort food kind of day. How about a big bowl of chili with some garlic toast?

Yum!

And even better, this one is turkey chili. With the recent beef issues here, turkey is a good substitute. I buy mine at Costco, it's from Lilydale, 4 trays in a package for about $20. I used half of one of those 4 trays for this meal. Ground turkey is a lean meat and a good alternative I use often to replace ground beef. If you think you don't like the taste of ground turkey, think again. With all the spices in the chili, you won't even notice it's not beef. I promise!

You may have your favourite chili recipe but here's mine. I won't brag, but I've won a few chili cook-offs back in the day. I'm always tweaking my recipe, and no two pots turn out the same since I don't measure ingredients when I'm cooking. Baking, yes. You have to. Cooking is your chance to go crazy and try anything! :)

Mama Shak's Chili

Approx 250g ground meat or you can use the whole 500g (I used turkey for this one, but do also use beef) 

Spices (I don't measure, but I'll give you approximate, and you'll probably want to add these to taste anyways)

   3 tbsp chili powder

   1 tbsp ground cumin

   1 tbsp Club House Tex Mex spice mix

   1 tbsp Club House Cajun spice mix

   1 tsp oregano

   1 tsp sea salt

   1 tsp ground pepper

796ml can of diced tomatoes and liquid

398ml can of kidney beans (or whatever size it is, don't have one here, but I think there's just the one size anyways?)

398ml can of pork & beans (I use Heinz, any flavour I have on hand, this pot I used the new larger can and it worked out good too!)

156ml can of tomatoe paste

Half a medium-sized white onion, diced

3 large stalks celery, sliced

10 white mushrooms, sliced (optional, I know some people don't like them)

4 large carrots, finely grated

Brown the meat in a large pot over high-medium heat. Drain if necessary. Add all the spices and stir. Add the tomatoes and beans and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in tomatoe paste.

You may have seen my speedy tip about cooking the onion and celery. I do this while the meat is browning. Have a look at this previous post. Once the onion and celery are almost cooked through add the mushrooms to the pan. Once all three are soft, add them to the chili. You can add in the grated carrot at this time too. Extra veggies, no one will even know it's there if it's finely grated!

Let the whole thing cook for a few hours if you can. I often make the chili the night before and then put it in the fridge. Reheat it the next day for a quick dinner. Pop the leftovers in the freezer for another day.

I'm going to guess this serves 4-6. We're 2.5 and there's always lots leftover.

Add your favourite cheese on top. I shredded some cheddar for mine, and serve with garlic toast and/or a side salad.

Garlic toast

I just used Udi's gluten free bread, toasted two slices in the toaster and spread on my homemade garlic butter. It's a secret Shak family recipe. But I'll share it with you 'cause you're nice and read all the way to the bottom of my post :)

Garlic Butter

Half a block of butter, softened

1 tbsp seasoning salt

1 tbsp Club House Italian seasoning

1 tbsp Club House Roasted Garlic & Peppers seasoning

2 tsp garlic powder (not garlic salt)

2 tsp onion powder (not onion salt)

In a small bowl mix together the softened butter and spices. I suppose this is more of a seasoned butter. I do sometimes mix 8 cloves of crushed garlic with just the softened butter and a bit of dried parsley. This is really good too!

Spread on your toast. Keep leftovers in the fridge, soften slightly to spread next time. You can also use this the slow way, spread on the bread, then toast in oven. But I'm too impatient for that :)