Chilli--as in the recipe, not the temperature

This is the chilli with the chocolate in it, a family favourite.

Really Divine Chilli (This is a combination of recipes that was created for a work sponsored chilli cook off, and is also in my book).

4 lbs lean ground beef
2 large onions, diced
1 large red pepper, diced
2 large cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 large can mixed beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 cans maple brown beans
2 large tins plum tomatoes–chop tomatoes and reserve juice
1 large (12 oz) tin of tomato paste
5 C chopped fresh mushrooms
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4-6 tsp chilli powder (depending on taste)
1 Tbsp Sambal Olek (chilli paste) (optional but yummy)
1 tsp cumin
½ can dark beer
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup olive oil
3 ozs dark chocolate (add close to the end of cooking time)

Garnishes:
Grated cheddar
Sour cream
Red/green Tabasco sauce

1) Brown hamburger in large skillet. Drain. Set aside.
2) Heat olive oil in skillet. Add onions. Sauté until clear (3 mins). Add peppers and mushrooms. Sauté 4 minutes or so.
3) Put browned hamburger and cooked vegetables in large
saucepan. Add all beans, tomatoes with juice and tomato paste.
4) Add seasonings and beer. Stir well and often.

Simmer x 3 hours. Add the chocolate and stir well while it melts. Garnish with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese, or a tablespoon of sour cream, or
shots of hot sauce. Great on rice or with crusty bread.

Enjoy!

For a slightly different taste, add the chocolate to the hamburger as you are browning it. It will still take away a lot of the acid taste from the tomatoes, which is what it is for actually, but will taste just a bit more "something" than it does when you add it at the end of the mix. Chocolate also works great in tomato based spaghetti sauce.

Also, you can use a couple of large cans of chili diced tomatoes that come with green and red peppers, and maybe even a touch of jalepeno if you like, instead of the plum tomatoes.

This sounds like a good recipe, Pam, and I'll give it a try later this week. Getting rid of the mushrooms and maple flavored beans of course, and substituting a can of black beans in their place.

Also a cup of black coffee will add some darkness to the chili, making it a bit more evil looking.

Do you know that if you go to a chili cookoff you can't use beans in your recipe? I prefer beans myself, and never make chili without them, but for purists, beans are a huge no no.

Thanks for sharing.

Oh, I just can't wait to try all these ideas!!!! I will have to make several different pots to try them separately and then all together. LOL

Thank you so much for sharing!!!!!!!!!

Sounds great, Pam, but it's much easier to open a can of Hormel's.

Hmmm I was just wondering, Dick. Does your last name fit you? Stodghill for stodgey? Ok, ok don't take offense. I was just teasing you. My husband likes the Hormel brand too. I just think it is "stodgey" to open a can. *giggle*

You called it, Sue, I am Stodgy. Most of the men I have known called me Stodgy and still do. I try my best to live up to the name.

You're doing a good job.

The thread title pun takes on deeper meaning in Mexico, where chile is not just a hot pepper, but slang for the male member.

So the bilinqual joke is: A guy out walking on a brisk winter day sees a Mexican guy peeing on a fence post. Their eyes meet, so the gringo says, "Pretty chilly"
The Mexican replies, "Ah, gracias."

Thanks for the compliment, Shelagh. It was a compliment, wasn't it?

If you say so.

You look so stern and, yes, stodgy! *giggle* I am sure there is a heart of gold under that austere facial expression. How tall are you? You resemble a leprechaun. Sorry. So does my husband. Perhaps a Lincoln look-alike is better? *grin*

Now I not only need a thumbs up smiley, I need a leprechaun. *grin*

Lin I just love that and had no idea...I wonder what would happened while eating if I were to say "Wow! What a chille." I pose the thought as a rhetorical question, of course.

Don that's interesting about the beans, because up here where it's damn cold and we need to add lots of substance to stuff, our chilli (Canadian spelling--with apologies to purists everywhere) has plenty o'beans in it, and although the standards are kidney and brown, I experiment with others. I have not, however, been able to come to terms with chick peas. They remind me too much of little floating eyeballs.

Dick if you ever add a li'l piece of chocolate to your Hormel's let me know if it works. I am not sure if I can get Hormel up here, but maybe it's worth a shot. Might be quicker, and that'd give me more time for fun stuff. Like work.

This thread just goes to show how chocolate crosses cultures AND makes everything taste good. :pirat:

No beans in chili? To me, that's meat sauce, not chili.

Never heard of adding chocolate, but will try it. Amazing what one can learn here . . .

Thought I'd add some pizza to the party.

Chili Con Carne means Chili with beans if my memory is on. Or perhaps that is the other way round. Maybe lin can set me straight here. The story about the meanings was funny, and maybe the Con Carne thing will be, too.

Thanks, Shelagh, I much prefer pizza to chili. Lots of cheese and meat, with mushrooms and onions, too.

Oh no. I've been trying to get some extra weight off and now all I can
think about is pizza, with lots of gooey cheese, mushrooms, onions, and
perhaps some crunchy bell peppers.

Thanks a lot, Shelagh and Zada.

You're welcome Brenda. Remember, misery loves company!

Maybe I'll do pizza for dinner tonight! I put lots of good stuff on it.

Uh huh. Sure, Zada. Thanks.

Oh. Your next message just came through. So you make your own pizza? What are some of the good things you add?

Meats of all kinds. Game pepperoni if I have any on hand, sausage, burger, bell peppers-any color, broccolli, cauliflower, mushrooms, REAL cheeses, lots of onions, sliced tomatoes, sliced olives and the layers just keep coming. A lot depends on what I have on hand, but my pizzas are quite thick. 2 slices are a complete and filling meal.

I don't make my own crust, though. Maybe when time allows, I will.

There is also a 'fruit pizza' that is quite good. You only bake the crust which is like shortbread, and then top it with cream cheese and as many slices of fresh fruit as you can arrange on it. YUM!

Try pinapples and ham, with a light tomato sause and cheddar cheese. Mmmmm.

Well I thought that I should look it up...The name "chili con carne" is a slight corruption of the Spanish phrase chile con carne, which means peppers with meat. And then according to where you live, it comes with or without beans and all the rest of it.

That pineapple and ham on pizza is a favourite at our house, and we refer to it as Hawaiian Pizza (also good with mushrooms). I don't think they serve it in Italy anywhere, because apparently fruit on pizza is a no-no over there. I'm not even sure if they actually servie it in Hawaii LOL. We don't eat pizza often because it's very bad for diabetics, although I do love the darned stuff. My sister and daughter often wait until I am out for an evening with work and then they'll order one, and then by the time I get home there's perhaps just one little but of shrivelled pineapple on the bottom of the box. That works for me--all the smell but none of the sugar!

For all American pizza lovers, you probably wouldn't like Italian pizza. The Italian pizza crust is very thin - cracker-like. I had a hard time adjusting to Pizza over here, but there are now a variety of frozen pizza's - "American style" that have the thicker crusts. The only restuarants I found that carry "American style" pizza are located near US Military posts.

I suppose we all have our own special tastes, but pineapple on a pizza I just don't like. Nor do I like anchovies on pizza although lots of Italian pizzas have anchvies.

Carne means meat, Chili is not a Spanish word.

Carne also means "flesh".


This is just a really pornographic cuisine all the way around.

I make mine with a bought pizza base and fresh plum tomatoes (small is best). I chop an onion really fine and cook for two minutes in the microwave (no fat) and, in a saucepan, cook sliced courgettes, mushrooms and the skinned tomatoes for a few minutes, add the onions, Italian seasoning, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pile onto the pizza base and cover with coarsely grated, mature cheddar cheese (Canadian cheddar is good!) and bake in a really hot oven for twelve minutes.