Fun with Chili

Kev got me a really nice new slow-cooker for Christmas.  So, I needed something to make in it.  This coincided with really cold weather and a recent push to get Daphne to try new things.  So, I decided this was the perfect time for chili.

Chili can be a very controversial thing.  There are many regional varieties, and I have witnessed plenty of arguments about what is and what is not REAL chili.  My mom grew up close to Cincinnati, so we always had mild chili with ground beef, red beans, and spaghetti.  People across the nation would consider this last ingredient complete and total chili blasphemy.  But it's GOOD!    Kev likes Texas style chili, with stew meat, lots of heat, and no beans.  And most definitely no spaghetti.  One time when we went camping, he made chili this way.  I am pretty sure this is the spiciest thing I have ever eaten.  I thought I was going to spontaneously combust.  But I liked Kev a lot, so I ate it (along with probably a whole sleeve of saltines, several pieces of white bread, and about a gallon of milk to take the edge off).

Anyway, since we both like totally different kinds of chili, we never make it, so Daphne has never had it.

On New Year's Day, we started a "New Foods Chart" for Daphne.  Every time she tries something new, she rates it and gets a point.  When she gets 20 points, she gets to watch Star Wars, which is a pretty big incentive in Daphne's World.  We have discovered that she is much more likely to try something new if she helps to cook it.  So I had the idea to get her involved in the whole chili process.  I found an ATK chili recipe which I used as a guide, left out any and all spicy ingredients except a pinch of cayenne, busted out the new crock pot, and we got to work.

Daphne did a great job helping me.  She was totally enthusiastic about the whole thing.  She helped make a bread and milk paste, she measured out ingredients, she poured and stirred, and even read parts of the recipe to me so I could carry out the steps.  She got to use some of her new cooking tools that she got for Christmas.  The deal was sealed when she found out that the "secret ingredient" was brown sugar.  Mmmmm...sugar...

So, we got the chili going in the morning, and when she got off the bus after school, she ran, sniffing frantically,  directly to the kitchen and demanded a taste.  Well, OK!  I let her use a Frito instead of a spoon for her tasting vessel.  She went crazy.  There was even a funny little joyful Chili Dance.  Next to the German Apple pancake, this is the most highly ranked food on her New Foods Chart so far.

If they cook it, they will eat it.

I guarantee that if I had made the chili alone while Daphne was at school,  and just put it in front of her at dinner time, there would have been a battle to even taste it, and even if she did taste it, she wouldn't have liked it because her mind would have already been made up.  Don't say it, Mom.  I know.  Payback time.

We made it this time with ground beef and red kidney beans, (no spaghetti), served it with Fritos and cheddar cheese.  And last night, we used the left-overs for chili dogs.  Yum.  I think Kev even sorta liked it.  And he definitely liked that DAPHNE liked it.  Dinnertime was pleasant.  That's always good.

Here is how I made it, loosely based on a recipe from America's Test Kitchen  "Slow Cooker Revolution."  It isn't the best chili I've ever had, but it was good and warm and I would make it again for sure based on how easy it was and how much Daphne liked it.  Next time I would probably double the recipe as well.  I bet the left-overs freeze well.

Daphne's No-Alarm Slow-Cooker Chili

1 slice white bread torn into quarters
2 tbsp whole milk
1 lb ground beef
   Salt and pepper
2 tbsp veg. oil
1 onion, minced
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
   pinch of cayenne
1 29 oz. can tomato sauce
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar

1.  Mash bread and milk into a paste in a large bowl using a fork.  Mix in gr. beef, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper using hands.

2.  Heat oil in 12" skillet over med-high heat until shimmering.  Add onions, chili powder, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, oregano, and cayenne and cook until onion is softened and lightly browned (8-10 min.).

3.  Stir in beef mixture and cook, breaking up any large pieces, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes.  Stir in half of the tomato sauce, scraping up any browned bits.  Transfer to slow cooker.

4.  Stir in the rest of the tomato sauce, beans, soy sauce, and brown sugar.  Cover and cook until beef is tender, 6-8 hours on low, 3-5 hours on high.

5.  Let chili settle 5 minutes. then skim fat from surface using large spoon.  Season to taste, and serve with two Bean-O tablets and your favorite chili toppings.

6.  Do the Chili Dance.