A few weeks ago, I came to the disappointing realization that I had never uploaded one of my favorite, go-to recipes. My deliciously easy chili is not only healthy, it super easy to make.  On a recent women's retreat with my church at Pacific Church of Irvine, this was a meal I made for the ladies and I had so many requests for the recipe, I said I have to add it to my blog, so here it is!  Once again, this uses my ORGANIC Sammy Wong's all purpose seasoning.  This seasoning can be purchased as a spice blend rather than having to make it since I realize that people don't have the time, don't want to be buying all the various spices for the mix and by the time all the individual herbs are purchased, roasted and blended, it ends up being very expensive!

Tips for making Delicious easy chili

Meat

For this chili, use the ground meat of your choice.  Since this recipe calls for browning the meat first,  higher-fat, less-expensive meat can be used since the rendered fat will be drained. Ground beef, turkey or chicken can be used. Other meat like lamb and pork can be used but these meats tend to have a very high fat content so make sure you drain the rendered fat!  There's nothing worse than for guests to see a layer of oil on your chili.

Browning the ground meat before assembling the chili produces a maillard reaction. When the meat is cooking around 285-330 degrees fahrenheit (140-165 degrees celcius), a chemical reaction occurs that produces browning and enhances the flavor.

Vegetables

The base of the chili is a mirepoix, a fancy French name for a combination of diced vegetables that cooked to create an aromatic flavor base, made up of diced onions, carrots and celery.  Canned diced tomatoes and tomato puree are also added. Frozen corn is added just before serving to add sweetness and crunch.

Flavorings

Sammy Wong's Kitchen's all-purpose seasoning is used.  In addition, 2 bay leaves are added when the chili is simmering. This brings an added depth of flavor to the chili.

Toppings

Traditional toppings such as sour cream, grated cheese, avocado slices, shredded lettuce and chives can be served. A 5% plain yoghurt can be substituted for sour cream and diced onions can be substituted for chopped onions. Shredded lettuce and the corn, especially the corn chips, makes the chili almost like a deconstructed taco.  Corn chips are absolutely delicious with chili, just saying!

Cooking the chili

This chili recipe can be cooked on the stovetop entirely.  It can also be done with a slow cooker or insta-pot.  When the chili cooks slowly for a long time, the meat breaks down and the flavors become complex.

Storing chili

Chili stores really well frozen.  The best way is to portion out the chili in serving sizes into freezer bags and freeze them.