One cold day when I was young, I helped my mom make a big pot of chili. When we settled down to eat, my dad thought that it wasn't spicy enough, so he retrieved a bottle of Tabasco sauce from the back of the spice cabinet. He reverently added three drops of the hot sauce to his bowl, then ate it happily. Looking back now, I laugh, because 3 drops of Tabasco in a whole bowl of (bland, boring, mostly flavorless) chili is practically nothing. When I left for college, that same bottle of Tabasco was still firmly ensconced in the spice cabinet, still half full. I'm willing to bet that it's still there and still the spiciest thing in my parent's kitchen!
Since moving to Arizona, my husband and I have grown to adore spicy foods. The collection of peppers, hot sauces, and spicy condiments found in our kitchen strongly attests to this fact. See?
Asian chili garlic sauce, pickled jalapenos, roasted red chili paste,
RedHot sweet chili sauce, homemade spicy mayo, recycled Jalapeno Tabasco
sauce jar (now holding Chipotle Tabasco sauce), Cholula Costco pack,
Sriracha hot sauce, mostly empty gallon of Chipotle Tabasco sauce,
Tapatio hot sauce, fresh jalapenos, Frank's RedHot, gallon of Frank's
RedHot, pepperoncini peppers, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, dried
chipotle pepper, and chili powder. I realized after taking the photo
that I was missing the chipotles in adobo sauce and the super hot dried
asian peppers we also keep on hand. At times we've enjoyed other hot
sauces and types of peppers, but this is pretty typical of what we have
around at any given time.
I got my husband the gallon jug of Tabasco as a gag gift for Christmas two years ago. Surprisingly, it has turned out to be the most appreciated gifts I've ever given, and by next summer, we'll probably be purchasing another!
I've had a lot of fun learning how to cook with spicy ingredients. There have been a few ruined meals, a few nights ending with burning eyeballs because I forgot to take out my contact lenses before cutting the jalapenos, and even a few nights where I had to take an ice pack to bed with me because my hands were still painfully burning from the capsaicin. My best advice is to avoid touching spicy peppers with your hands. If you have to touch them, put your hand(s) inside a ziploc bag or a pair of gloves. If you accidentally get the peppers on your fingers, pour some vegetable oil over your hands right away, rub it in, and then wash with soap and water.
Although I've always liked chili in various incarnations, the recipe I developed a few years ago has become my super favoritest chili recipe ever. Although my husband claims it just doesn't taste the same if someone else makes it, I hope you all can enjoy it too! We usually make this as a big pot that feeds us for 3 days and we sometimes freeze a chunk of it too, but it scales up and down pretty well. As a general rule of thumb, use 1 lb of meat for each can of tomato soup, add as many veggies as you like, and put in more spices than you think you need! Add black beans or diced tomatoes or zucchini chunks or anything else as you see fit! I don't often measure spices, so these measurements are guess-timites, but they should be pretty close to what I typically use.
Cindy's Sweet and Spicy Chili
2 lb ground turkey
1 lb lean ground beef
3/4 large sweet onion, chopped
1-2 green peppers, chopped
3 cans condensed tomato soup
3 TBSP chili powder
2 TBSP cumin
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chipotle pepper
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 large cans sweet corn
4-6 TBSP sugar
2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (that's 2 peppers, NOT 2 cans!), finely chopped (optional)
Directions:
1) Brown meat in a pot and pour off excess fat. When nearly browned, add onion and green pepper. Saute until translucent and softened.
2) Add tomato soup, three cans of water, and spices. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes to an hour and a half, stirring occasionally and adding more water if it becomes too thick.
3) Add sweet corn, sugar, and chipotle peppers. Cook for another 5 minutes, then serve. If it's too spicy, tear up bread (cornbread or hamburger buns are ideal), and mix directly into the serving bowl.
Makes 6-10 large servings. Keeps well in the fridge, and freezes/reheats well.
We also love to make this while camping. Prebrown meat/onion/green pepper then refrigerate or freeze (depending on how long you'll be camping before you make it up). Mix up the dried spices, and bring along the cans of soup and corn. Plop a pot directly on the coals or on the fire grate or camp stove, and mix everything together... just don't forget your can opener!
* In case you want to compare, here's my chili recipe. Check them both out and let us know which one you like! *
No comments:
Post a Comment