Poor Girl's Spicy Chili

Tonight I'm making my very own chili recipe, and thought I would share.

It is derived from recipes of Facebook friends and other websites. I adapted all of their different recipes to fit ingredients I keep on hand pretty much at all times.

This is what I came up with.

First I take a jalapeno and roast it. This is a technique I picked up in high school from a friend who worked at a Tex-Mex restaurant in my hometown. I just use the same pot I'm going to make my chili in put it on high with nothing in it but the pepper. Then I turn the pepper until it blisters on every side. This helps it release its flavor and makes your chili spicier.

Then I brown the pound of beef I was thawing while my pepper roasted. (If you're feeding a big family or want a lot of leftovers, double everything.)

The tower of spiciness!!! ...and ketchup.

While the beef is browning, I season it with salt, pepper and chili powder. I wait on the chili powder until it's almost done browning. I do this because it's how my mom taught me to season ground beef. I have no idea why, but she's the best cook I know so I just do what she says.

Next, I add a can of ranch style beans, and the forefathers of Texas chili turn in their graves. I love Texas, but I prefer beans in my chili. I am also unarmed and a cat person. Please don't shoot me! I also find that the sauce on the beans adds a nice flavor and texture to my chili.

Then I add a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies. In my house, we call that Rotel, but since I buy the off brand I feel the need to describe it.

This is the part where things get weird.

I next add about 1/4 cup of ketchup because I don't stock tomato sauce in my kitchen. I probably should, but I just don't. That measurement is approximated because I just added 2 or 3 long squirts out of the bottle until it looks right to me. I cook the scientific way, y'all!

Then I add some Worcestershire(I love Chrome's spell check feature!) sauce, about a dozen good drops. 

Then I open up my seasoning cabinet and things get crazy. Okay, not that crazy...

How am I not eating this right now?

I add a generous sprinkling of onion powder. (Real onions chopped up in there could be nice too! But my hubs doesn't like the texture.)

Next, I add about a half teaspoon of minced garlic. That actually came out of the fridge, but I think of it as a seasoning. Garlic salt or powder would work here too.

Finally, add some crushed red pepper til it's spicy enough for you. (If it's already too spicy for you, go back to the North, Yankee! Just kidding! You can add tomato sauce to tone it down.)

I let all that simmer for just as long as I can stand it, because the longer it simmers the yummier (and spicier) it is. Today, I'm leaving it on for an hour and a half, but it's technically ready to eat as soon as it starts to simmer steadily.


There you have it, folks, Poor Girl's Spicy Chili. Enjoy!