Chunky Beef Chili

Southern Living, OCTOBER 2005

I am not a fan of the word chunky, but I am a big fan of this chili recipe. Chili is one of our common dinner recipes; right up there with spaghetti and Mrs. T's Perogies (which we're having for dinner tonight). I'd never made it with anything but ground meat however, and last week I was in the mood for a heartier meat dish. This recipe uses chuck roast in place of ground beef; it takes longer to cook than ground meat, but is far tastier. Since I can't imagine chili without beans, I included several cans of red kidney and pinto beans, which worked out doubly well since I ended up using slightly less meat than was called for (Safeway only had a 3 pound pack of meat). We served it with cornbread and pretended that was a vegetable.

Chunky Beef Chili from Southern Living

Prep: 25 min.; Cook: 1 hr., 45 min.

Yield: Makes 9 cups

Ingredients

• 4 pounds boneless chuck roast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
• 1 (32-ounce) container beef broth
• 2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• Cornbread sticks (optional)
• Toppings: crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped onion

Preparation

Brown meat, in batches, in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove meat, reserving drippings in Dutch oven. Add chili powder to Dutch oven; cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook 5 minutes.

Return beef to Dutch oven. Stir in beef broth and next 9 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Serve with cornbread sticks, if desired, and desired toppings.