Anyone out there got any good, fairly mild chili recipes? I've been itchin to make some, but sometimes after makin a recipe in a book, you wonder if the people who wrote it ever actually tried the recipe! So thanks in advance!

-- Elizabeth (Lividia66@aol.com), March 25, 2001

Answers

Hubby calls this chili soup but here goes , I also dont measure anything so you will have to wing it .1 pound hambugar meat cooked ,onions ,peppers fry in pan .add all to pot stir in tomato soup , add chili powder .I sometimes add crushed tomatoes or even fresh .Make it as mild or spicy as you like add hot pepper sauce or peppers , or crushed hot peppers.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), March 25, 2001.

mild chili?? thats a "why bother",, chilli got its name cause,,, its everything but :)

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), March 25, 2001.

Elizabeth,

Here is my wife's chile recipe. We make it with all of our home- canned goods from our garden.

Hope you like it. :-)

Ruth's Chili

8 oz hamburger
salt and pepper
1 small onion
1 quart canned tomatoes - do not drain
1 quart kidney beans - do not drain
1/2 cup of water
1 to 2 Tbsp. chili powder

Cook hamburger and onion until done - adding salt and pepper to taste.

Put cooked hamburger and onion into soup pot and then add the rest of the ingredients.

Bring to boil and simmer for about half an hour.

-- Jim Morris (prism@bevcomm.net), March 25, 2001.

"good" "mild" "chili" . Pick any two. You CAN'T have all three.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), March 25, 2001.

Yes you can have mild chili , my husband prefers me without hair on my chest !

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), March 26, 2001.

Brown a # of hamburger...drain...saute a large chopped onion...put in large pan/dutch oven... add a can of Brook's hot chili beans...two cans of either V8 or homemade equivalent...add a couple T of good chili powder...salt...a qt of homecanned tomatoes(opt.)...simmer a couple hours. Now if you want it really good, add a lot more chili powderand maybe a jalapeno. Grated cheese and onions-macaroni optional. Enjoy!

I learned recently what we call chili in Indiana, is really chili beans in California and I guess other places. But to me, it isn't chili without the beans.

-- Cindy (SE In) (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), March 26, 2001.

You're talking Friday supper --Being it was Lenten Friday it was meatless.

3 16oz cans Bushs Chili Beans 2 T oil one onion chopped 2 cloves garlic chopped 1 T. chili powder (mild) 2 t. ground cumin 3/4 c. granular TVP (unflavored) 1 16 oz can tomato sauce

Cook onion and garlic in oil until onion is transparent. Add chili powder and cumin and fry lightly for a minute. Open and add 3 cans of chili beans, TVP, and tomato sauce. With a half can of water, rinse the sauce in the cans and add to chili. Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour, stirring frequently, until as thick as you like.

Serve with grated sharp cheddar cheese, chopped onion, corn chips and hot sauce on the side.

-- Sara (urthmomma@aol.com), March 26, 2001.

Brown one pound ground beef and one onion, chopped. Drain. Add one quart of canned tomatoes or chopped fresh equivalent and two 15 ounce cans Ranch Style chili beans (the old Husband Pleasin' beans). Sprinkle with garlic powder and adjust salt and black pepper to taste. Simmer 20 minutes. This has the blend of chili type flavors, but no heat and is better for those of us with picky digestive systems.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), March 26, 2001.

Patty, I never said you couldn't have mild chili - the bit you've got to omit is "good" if that's what you insist on.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), March 26, 2001.

Use any chili recipe and just cut down on the chili pepper to make it less spicy (we generally double the chili pepper and add mustard too!). Shredded venison is a great meat to use if you can.

-- David C (fleece@eritter.net), March 27, 2001.

Midwestern Butter Bean Chili- (mild, tomatoey) Brown together 1 lb ground pork, 1 cup chopped onion & 2 cloves minced garlic. Drain off fat. Add: 2-16oz cans diced tomatoes, 2-16 oz cans drained butter beans (Aldi has them), 1 or 2-4 oz cans chopped green chilis OR for really mild chili use chopped sweet bell peppers, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1/2 tsp each: salt, sugar, crushed dried basil, 1/4 tsp ground allspice, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/8 tsp ground red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover & simmer for 30 minutes. Serves 4 to 6. This is my family's favorite chili. Tried & true. Enjoy!

-- Jean (schiszik@tbcnet.com), March 27, 2001.

Don , tell me it isn't so I don't want a hairy chest .Yes you can have all 3 ? OK I'm a whimp and cant take hot stuff , I confess!

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), March 27, 2001.

Patty, I don't think the connection is firm. I LURV hot chili, but as for hairs on the chest - well, I'm a shade over fifty, and I'm averaging about one hair per quarter century. It was nice when the first one stopped being lonely, though.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), March 28, 2001.

Hi Elizabeth

I eat my chili "industrial strength"

-- woodsbilly (coleenl@penn.com), March 30, 2001.

Any of these recipes sound good but try adding a pound of browned, drained chorizo. This is Mexican spiced sausage (not hot). I've also found vegetarian chorizo in the produce dept. at W Mart. Then add 2T of cocoa. Yup, cocoa-it doesn't make the chili taste like fudge but adds a mellow flavor. And you MUST make cornbread to serve with it and Call me when it's finished I'll be right over.

-- slm (queenbuffness@hotmail.com), March 31, 2001.

Thanks for all the great recipes! Cornbread is great, but spoonbread is better! I don't know if it ever made it out of the south, but spoonbread is kid of like undercooked cornbread (I know it doesn't sound good, but believe me, it's great!) The best recipe for it is in the Crosscreek Cookbook by Majorie keenan Rawlings (I have know idea if I spelled her name right, but she wrote the Yearling too). I'd post it, but I don't know if that's legal!Thanks again!

-- Elizabeth (Lividia66@aol.com), March 31, 2001.

Here's my chili recipe:

Brown a lb of hamburger, one chopped onion, and one chopped garlic clove. Drain. Add a can of chili beans or kidney beans and a can of tomato soup. Add 1 tbl chili powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp cumin. Simmer for 20 - 30 minutes or until desired thickness. Add water if you like it soupier.

This should make a very mild but good chili. We usually use 2 tbl of chili powder and 1/2 tsp cumin plus some red pepper. That usually makes it hot enough for us. You can also use 2 cans of beans to stretch it. We have difficulty finding chili beans here (Upstate NY) but I won't make chili without them.

-- CJ Popeck (cjpopeck@amexol.net), March 31, 2001.

You can have a good, mild chili - in fact most chili is not the burn out your guts chili - what you are talking about is Tex-mex - not real chili.

-- beckie (none@this.time), March 31, 2001.

The key to "chili"-tasting chili is cumin - if you don't want the heat but you want the flavor, load up on the cumin & leave the chili powder in the cupboard.

I make mine starting w/ dried beans. In our opinion, it takes about 3 days to make truly yummy chili. ;) We make vegetarian chili & then - if need be - add meat of some sort. You can use just abt any kind of meat you find in your freezer - that unidentifiable stuff w/ the frost all over it will be just fine. The slow cooking & strong flavors will eliminate any potential freezer burned taste.

& don't forget the cumin!

Also, for a good, peppery flavor w/o the bite - just use bell peppers. Yum!

Good luck! Sarah/MI

-- Sarah/MI (colonel@frontiernet.net), April 01, 2001.