Fearghus really likes chili so I’ve been experimenting with it to find one that he likes so we can keep them in the freezer. I think I’ve finally found one that’s mostly pantry-fare. You could doll this up with red bell pepper, garlick and fresh tomatoes.. if you had those on hand.. or you can make it out of the pantry.

Last night I was making this for dinner and a couple of AT&T salespeople showed up. They’d been by the house earlier in the day trying to convince me to change my phone/internet/tv plan.. I’d hesitated telling them I needed to run it by Fearghus first. They offered to come back later in the evening. When they showed up I was almost done making dinner. When we greeted them they commented that whatever I was cooking smelled fantastic. During the discussion Fearghus offered them a bowl of our chili. Since I’d made a quad batch of chili (so I’d have plenty to freeze for lunches) I didn’t see a problem with it. I served them in my new little bowls from Bed Bath & Beyond and they both agreed that the chili tasted as good as it smelled (I think they were being generous.. it needed more salt and pepper, which I added before F&I ate it for dinner). Anyway, the salespeople gave us a bonus “kicker” of a $50 gift card for feeding them. So I’ve decide to title this dish my “$50 Kicker Chili”. LOL

Below is the quad recipe. It makes ALOT. You could easily half this and still have a decent amount of leftovers. I make this up and we have it for dinner. Then I let it cool off. I then put a small handfull of cheese in the bottom of a 9 oz paper cup and then fill it to the top with chili and freeze it.

I take one of these cups to work with me and microwave it. I’ve found the 9oz paper cup is just about a perfect serving size for a work-day lunch.

$50 Kicker Chili

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium yellow/white onions, roughly chopped
2 lbs hamburger

2 16 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 8 oz cans of tomato paste
2 16 oz cans of kidney beans, drained
spices (garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, chili powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper)
Finely shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream

Add oil to large hot pan(I used a medium/large roaster). Add onion and cook until brown (about 3 minutes). Add hamburger and cook until brown.

Add all the rest of the ingredients and season to taste with onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, chili powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. I started with 1/2 tsp of each and then adjusted quantities to taste.

Cook until warm throughout.

Serve over brown rice. Top with a small handful of cheese and/or a dollop of sour cream.