Tonight was the second annual Chili Cook-off for the C721 Club of which I am a member. It is a fundraiser for scholarships we give out each year. I didn't enter last year but decided to this year. I thought about just fixing Chili Soup the way I usually do, but decided this was a good opportunity to experiment when there would be help eating it.
I searched out and thought about different recipes and what I wanted to include and exclude in my chili. If you've not yet discovered www.yummly.com, you NEED to check it out. You can enter a recipe to search for, then refine it by specifying ingredients you want included, excluded, degree of sweet, savory, etc. and it refines the list of recipes for you. I searched for "Chili" and specified the inclusion of bacon, beans and....beer! I don't know why but I've always wanted to try including beer in chili. I excluded a couple things but I can't think now what those were. Anyway I finally decided on a recipe and thought I would stick to it exactly, but then cans have different amounts and rather than figure out what to do about leftovers or shortfalls I dumped it all in, except for the extra beer. After Facebooking with my friend Aaron Blaser I did a little adjustment.
Despite the disadvantage of showing up a half hour late due to a time error on the Facebook event posting, so missing the opening rush, I finished 3rd. I was asked for the recipe so here is what I ended up with:
Crockpot Beef, Bean and Bacon Chili
6 slices bacon, cut into 1/4" pieces, browned and drained
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 cup lager beer
14 ounce can beef broth
19 ounce can enchilada sauce
12 ounce bottle chili sauce
10 ounce can Rotel tomatoes with chilies
1 can* kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can* black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can* pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can* red beans, rinsed and drained
1 11-ounce can niblet corn, drained
2 tablespoons chili powder (I used Hot Mexican Chili Powder)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
Optional garnishes:
tortilla strips, tortilla chips or corn chips
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
green onion, chopped
1. In large nonstick skillet, saute ground beef, onion, garlic and celery over medium to medium-high heat until beef is browned and crumbles (be sure not to have heat too high so you don't burn the garlic); drain fat.
2. Add ground beef mixture to a 5-quart or large slow cooker.
3. Add the bacon and the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot, except for the garnishes; mix well.
4. Cover and cook on low setting for 6-8 hours or on high setting for 3-4 hours.
5. To serve, remove bay leaf and garnish with the following: tortilla strips, tortilla chips, corn chips, shredded cheese, sour cream and/or green onions.
6. Enjoy!
*Bean can sizes vary from 15 - 16 ounces.
