Chili with Beans

Just got back from vacation. We rented a boat in the Virgin Islands. 

I made chili on one of the quiet days. 

First 5 days aboard Fuego was peaceful. Then all of a sudden, we ran into a storm, ran aground, had to find our way into St Croix at night, lost the boat – she slipped her mooring, met Harvey who found our boat, and in the last hour of turning the boat back into the charter company, we fouled the prop! Over 100 years of sailing experience onboard, imagine if we were new at this! Life is always an adventure! 

While in a safe harbor,made a bit of Chili

Ingredients: 

2 Cans Chili Beans – (I know, you think I am cheating, but I was on a boat, and have you ever tried to boil beans on a small propane stovetop?)  I like beans in my Chili, so I use canned, or at home, you can boil some in a pressure cooker – no problemo. 

Leftovers: Diced onion, green peppers, chili peppers, spaghetti sauce, meatballs, steak cut into cubes from the night before.  

Process: 

In the stock pot, saute the onions and the other raw veggies that are hanging out in your refrigerator, add leftover meats making sure they are diced and broken into small pieces. 

Then it is time to add the liquid ingredients: the cans of beans, can of spaghetti sauce or tomatoes – whatever you have on hand. You will need enough liquid to make it consistence of a thick soup and then allow it to simmer reducing down by at least a third. 

Season:  Chili pepper flakes, chili powder, cumin, thyme and salt and pepper. 

Go easy on the heat until you are near serving time, and adjust as you like. 

One of my friends used to call his Chili, refrigerator chili since he made it when he was cleaning out the refrigerator.  Norris made excellent Chili! 

  

Enjoy on top of a hot dog, on the side of an open face hamburger or on its own with diced onions, cheese and corn chips.  Hmmm good.