Jen’s Island Chili

Okay, so this isn’t a cooking blog, but I make a mean chili and I am pretty proud of it, so today I would like to share. This is my very own super easy recipe for crock pot chili. It is something I concoct slightly differently every time based on the availability of ingredients and I swear that every time I make it, it turns out better than the last time.

This time I was lucky and there was a large variety of peppers at the store. I chopped a selection of Anaheim chilis, jalapenos, and serranos. For the base of the chili, I use a large container of tomato juice. here you see a plastic jug, but one of the large cans is fine too. Then I add a large can of fire roasted tomatoes, although any crushed or diced tomatoes will do if you can’t find the fire roasted. Then I add all of the chopped peppers.

For some color and flavor, I found some lovely yellow tomatoes and diced them up. Then I kind of cheated and added pre-diced onions and green peppers from the grocery store to save myself a little chopping. Oh and a small can or two of chopped green chilis is always in my chili, because I usually can’t find so many interesting peppers.

I found some coarse ground chili meat and browned it up first, then added some packaged chili seasoning to the meat. Right at the end when the meat is alost done, I add some minced garlic, just to brown it up a little, without letting it get burned.

After I add the meat, I throw in a nice pile of chili powder, and a few generous palmfuls of crushed red pepper flakes for some heat. I also stir in some light red kidney beans that I have set to soak the night before and then boiled until soft. I let the whole concoction cook in the crock pot on high for about six hours, and the result is spectacular, and the best part is that the leftovers taste even better. When it sits in the fridge for a couple of days, the flavors combine even more.

The chili is best served with cheese and sour cream on top, and some chopped green onions make a nice topping too, but I don’t have any today. Don’t forget the oyster crackers, and a nice cold beer also goes well with this chili.

So if this sounds appealing to you, feel free to steal and/or adapt my recipe. I have made it many other ways including one with a splash of tequila in it, and so far all of them have been good. Do you make chili, and if so, what special ingredients do you use?