It’s been two weeks since I used the weekend to make a solid amount of food for lunches for the week, so I decided that this latest lazy football Sunday called for a big batch of chili.  Fortunately, on the Key Foods run, I was talked out of making the MEGA batch.  (Thanks Iggy!)  As it was, what I thought would be one large pot, grew to two when it came time to get my cook on.

Since the size of this batch was crazy, I’m just going to talk about the ingredients at a high level. You first start with onion and celery at a 4:1 ratio.  Be generous with this mix, it adds great flavor, but cooks down a lot so start with maybe 1/8 pot worth.  Pour a little olive oil into a pot and cook (stiring regularly) the onions and celery until the onions are translucent and just starting to brown.  Then add some ground meat.  You can really use whatever suits you (beef, turkey, pork, etc.).  I usually just get what’s on sale.  Today I got a big pack of beef and normal pack of pork, again at a about a 4:1 ratio.  As the meat finishes browning, throw in chopped fresh garlic to taste.  Then you need to add tomatoes, you can just use canned stuff–some tomato sauce, some stewed tomatoes, some diced.  Again, whatever is on sale works, but a mix is a good bet.   Next are beans.  Red kidney beans are a must.  You can just stick with these or expand a little into white kidney beans (which add a bit of color) or other similar beans.  For spices, go with some chili power and red pepper flakes.  If you want to experiment with spices, just add them in small amounts.  Chili is a perfect taste and modify as you go dish.

My fun addition to this batch was roasted jalapenos.  You skewer em’ and roast them over an open flame on the stove until they’re blackened.  Let them cool, chop, and add to the pot.  It adds a little smokey flavor, a little sweetness, and a little more spice.

Then you just need to let the pot simmer for an hour and a half or so.  And BOOM.  You have enough chili to feed a hungry crowd for the night game and for lunch through the week.

(Tragically, the Vikings did what they do best against the Bears (aka lose), at least this chili was there to soften the pain.)

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