Momma Miller’s Chili

I was lucky enough as a kid to have a mom who not only cooked but was pretty good at it. My dad would claim it was a vast majority of the reasons he married her in the first place. The power of fried chicken, I guess. She gave me some early insights into foods and cuisines that laid some groundwork for my “later in life” food explorations. The following recipe is one of those. 

This recipe is a close approximation of the type of Chlli my mom would make when I was a kid, and probably the one she would still make today if I asked her to. It’s the type of Chili that would get you kicked out of Texas, and you won’t be winning any sort of Blue Ribbons at a cook off with this. It's almost more of a soup, that has elements of Chili in it. A few simple tweeks and you're on the verge of making Minestrone. But as a kid, I did not care. It was good, it was hearty, and later in life when I rebelled and became a vegetarian, she could easily omit the meat and I was good to go. And when I go home, this is still the Chili I ask her to make. Thanks mom. This is super kid friendly. Age 8-80 approved.

She would do this in a pot on the stove generally, and later in life would maybe do it in a slow cooker. I have written this recipe for a tabletop pressure cooker. Lots of us have these, and they double as a slow cooker as well as a pressure cooker. So, I figured this was a safe route.

You’ll need:

1 cup onion, medium dice

1/2 cup celery, medium dice

1/2 cup carrot, medium dice

1/2 cup green pepper, medium dice

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1-2 pounds of ground beef

1 28oz can diced tomatoes in juice

3 oz can tomato paste

1 can Kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 4oz can diced green chiles

2 packets of Bard & Bellom taco seasoning. I used Original and Smokey.

Olive Oil

For garnish:

Chopped Green Onions

Chopped Cilantro

Sour Cream

Preparation:

1. Turn pressure cooker to Sear/Brown/Sauté. Whatever yours says for High Heat. Let it warm up for about 3-5 minutes to get hot.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, onions, carrots, celery, green peppers, and garlic to the pot. Stir for 5-7 minutes to get the vegetables to begin to soften.

3. Add the ground beef and stir another 5-7 minutes to begin to brown and cook the beef.

4. Add the tomato paste and stir for another 2 minutes.

5. Add the diced tomatoes, kidney beans, green chiles. Stir to thoroughly mix.

6. You can add a little water at this point if it seems to thick. But you should be good.

7. Bring entire mixture just up to the point of boiling.

8. Put the lid on and close the pressure release valve. Turn the pressure cooker to its Slow Cooker setting. Set to High, and go for at least 1 hour. You can also go longer if you like.

9. When it's done, spoon into bowls and top with sour cream, green onions and cilantro. Squeeze a lime if you're crazy. Just don’t let my mom see you do it.

• Tips, tricks & substitutions

  You can substitute poblano chiles for the green peppers. Whaaaat!?

  Use ground beef to save time. Like lots of time.

  Use ground turkey too, your heart will thank you.

  Forget the meat altogether and get crazy with all sorts of canned beans, tofu, or any meat substitute. Its your kitchen, the world is your oyster. Or fake oyster. You know what I mean.

  Add something spicy. My mom could not take spicey stuff, but still tried for me. Jalapenos anyone?

  Make a Chili bar. Make the chili and line up tons of add-ons. Shredded cheese, Queso Fresco, various hot sauces, sour cream, limes, shredded cabbage, salsas, grilled corn, etc. No limits.

  Does anyone like beer? You can add a can or bottle of a nice light lager or pilsner to this to thin it out a bit. Think of something like Miller High Life, Modello, Corona, Tecate, Lone Star, Shiner, that sort of thing.

  Feel free to make this in a pot on the stovetop.  You can for sure get some great browning in a stock pot and pretty much follow the same procedure. By all means, have at it.

  Summertime. Fresh tomatoes. Use 2 quarts fresh ground garden tomatoes instead of cans. I do.

  Crunched for time? Throw everything in the slow cooker, set to high, go to work, come home, be happy.

That’s pretty much it! Now you have chili. You are super popular now. People will want to come to your home and be your friend. Be ready.