Trash Pot Chili

Welcome back to the kitchen everyone. I’m back on chili again for this installment, but with a new twist – at least for this recipe. I’m working with ground beef (which I only do when I need to make a large batch for a lot of people), even though I happen to be cooking for one at the moment. This time around I’m going to freeze several single and double portions. When I’m done I’ll have a dozen quick meals in my freezer for use on days when I don’t have time to cook.

There are several basic styles of ground beef chili. Cincinnati style has no beans, although you can add them to your plate, as well as spaghetti noodles, chopped onions, and/or cheese. Then you have Texas chili, which many will tell you also has no beans. But it does normally have tomatoes large enough to retain shape and not just dissolve into the broth. Somewhere along the line someone said, “Hey, let’s just put the beans in the pot with everything else.” I call this American Chili.

From there, it’s not that far of a stretch to get to Southwestern Chili, which adds some corn. The reason I call this version Trash Pot Chili is that it uses several different beans and can also use both white and yellow corn. I find that the variations add visual interest and more interesting taste. Feel free to experiment to find your favorite combination.

To learn how to make Trash Pot Chili, first watch the video, then check out the instructions below.

Ingredients:

ground beef
tomatoes
beans
corn
Colorado sauce (Recipe here.)
cocoa powder

Instructions:

Brown ground beef in large pot or pan. Make sure it’s done throughout with no pink. For this recipe I used three pounds of 97% lean beef. Keep that in mind as you read the rest of the instructions, as everything else is portioned to match the amount of beef I used.

Add canned tomatoes. I used one large can of diced tomatoes. NOT petite diced, but regular sized. Then I used two standard cans of diced tomatoes and green chiles.

Add drained and rinsed beans. For this time around, I used a standard can each of dark red kidney beans, white beans and pinto beans. You can also use white or light red kidney beans, black beans, even black eyed peas, if you’re of a mind. Make sure you rinse the beans first to get rid of the “dirty water” in which they are packed.

Add corn. I used one can for this entire recipe. You may want to add more.

Add Colorado sauce. If you don’t know how to make this, check out this recipe.

Add up to one tablespoon of cocoa powder per pound of meat. I used two rounded tablespoons for three pounds of meat and it was just right for my taste.

Blend everything well, then simmer for at least an hour. I prefer to let it simmer all day.

You’ll note in the video that I began with a large pan, but it was just a bit too small. So I transferred everything into a large slow cooker. That gave me more room for stirring, which made it easier to check every few hours. (And grab a taste.)

Serve in bowls with all your favorite additions:

grated cheese
chopped onions
sliced jalapenos or other peppers
hot sauce
sour cream
crackers

You can add chips or tortillas on the side. You can also serve rice or make a quick “chili mac” by serving over macaroni or other pasta.

There are so many ways to vary this recipe, as well as the things that go with it, that you can do a minor variation every time you prepare it. And for me, that’s part of the fun. Try this one out, and maybe put your own little twist on it. Then come back and tell everyone how it went. And don’t forget…

Play with your food!

Lane

Related recipes:

Chili Colorado Sauce

Authentic Chili Colorado

Slow-Cooker Chili Colorado

Mexican Rice

Chili Colorado Omelet

Did you like this recipe? What recipes would you like to learn? Leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts! (And don’t forget to LIKE this post!) Share it using the tiles below.

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