Chili with Canned Beef

As everyone struggles to afford meat these days, canned versions are often overlooked.  Nearly every meat is available canned.  A few brands of the beef are especially good and come packed in gravy.  I had a couple of home-canned jars of chuck to use, and decided to make chili with one.

I don't make chili often and used a curry approach rather than look up a recipe.  Blooming the spices in onion and tomato paste brought out a slow-simmered flavor much faster than dumping everything in together.  Since the meat and beans were canned, the whole stew came together in under an hour and tasted like it had taken half a day.

This is a very mild chili.  I actually only used 1 tsp chili powder in mine, and it still set off my allergy as it cooked.  No rash, just a bit of asthma.  I credit that to the cooking method.  If you want spicy, add red chili flakes and/or diced peppers of choice.

2 Tb oil
1/2 red onion, diced
*1/4 C tomato paste
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper
*1 12-14 oz can beef in gravy
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinse
1 to 2 C beef broth
garnishes as desired: cheese, sour cream, jalapeños, cilantro, etc

1.  In a soup pot, heat the oil over medium.  Add onion, tomato paste, and dry seasonings.  Stir together and cook until the onion softens and everything is fragrant, about 5 minutes.  At this point, I added some kale that I'm not putting in the recipe.  I've never heard of putting greens in chili, but didn't feel like making a side dish for the vegetable.

2.  Add the canned beef and diced tomatoes with their juices, but rinse the beans before adding.  Stir everything together.  If dry, add one cup of broth.  Cover and simmer 30 minutes.

3.  Stir chili, then decide if it needs more broth.  Depends if you want it more sturdy or soup-like.  Serve hot with garnishes of choice.  A side of cornbread is traditional.  You could spoon it over potatoes or pasta as well.

Difficulty rating  π