Chili is as much an art as a food. There are all kinds, from Betty Crocker to Buffalo Breath, and they range from something very Hormel-like, to soupy, to so thick a spoon stands up and bounces back when you hit it just like an inflatable Mr. Magoo (look it up, young blood, it was a thing).

The thing about chili is that YOU have to make up your OWN recipe. Oh, you may eventually try enough recipes to find one that is distinctly YOU, but it happens a whole lot faster if you are confident enough to just TRY to change a few things. So I'll give you some instruction in what to change for what kind of result.

• Some kinds of beans change the flavor, some kinds do not. And some people can TASTE that change, and some cannot!
  
  Some beans just have a different texture, so they are noticeable. Different shapes may feel different in chili also.
  
  
• All of the recipes below that have beans take 2 lbs of dry beans. If you need to use canned beans, then you can sub about 9-10 of beans instead. You need about a gallon of cooked beans, and each can has a little less than 1 pint. Same with your home canned beans, due to headspace and other issues, you'll have just less than a pint of beans per pint jar.
  
  
• Wheat can be subbed for beans, but it absorbs a LOT of flavor, and tastes different.
  
  
• Onions are important to the flavor of a good chili, they add a mellow sweetness and savoriness. For people who do not like onions, subbing in onion powder instead of chopped onion can help. For people who are really sensitive to onion, you can leave it out.
  
  
• Many people like a really garlicky chili. No reason not to bump it up if you like, but if you leave it out, you may or may not notice. Garlic flavor can get stronger during canning, also, so if you are going to can your chili, keep it mild.
  
  
• Chili powder is the essential flavor of chili. The thing that makes it chili. It isn't QUITE just chili peppers. Mostly. But not entirely.
  
  This is a possible chili powder recipe - but don't blame me if you don't like it, I never tried it, I just went hunting to see if anyone gave a clue.  
   
      1⁄4 cup sweet paprika
      1 teaspoon garlic powder
      1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
      1 tablespoon onion powder
      1 teaspoon dried oregano
      2 teaspoons ground cumin
      citric acid is often added for a little tang
  
  Now, one of the things about chili is that if you like really flavorful chili, make a mild chili powder, and put a LOT of chili powder in. Keep adding it until the flavor just sings! THEN add your heat - cayenne, chopped hot peppers, hotsauce, etc. Get that really zingy chiliness into it first, using only chili powder. That way you don't add a hot chili powder, and have all hot, no flavor. Flavor first, heat second.
  
  
• You can put in any kind of peppers. I love sweet red or green peppers in chili, and have used orange or yellow. They do give different flavors. Hot peppers may have flavors in addition to hot, or they may just be HOT - you can also add hot sauce. Put in what you like, but be sure that you heat the chili and simmer for 10 minutes or so after each addition, because it takes time for the flavor to fully permeate the chili, and if you taste it too soon, you won't get the full impact of the heat that will come out within a few more minutes!
  
  

Red chili, and white chili kinda behave differently.

Red chili is thick because of the tomato base. White chili doesn't have that advantage, and there are three common ways to thicken it:

• With flour or masa flour, or other common thickeners, just like you thicken a stew.
• With cream cheese and sour cream.
• By just mashing some of the beans to let the beans thicken the chili.

We opted for method three, because it is the simplest, and requires the least specialized ingredients. But you can change that up any way you like.

White chili is less likely to be a heat challenge, more likely to be mild, but you can make it as hot as you like, just get the FLAVOR right, and then bump up the heat.



Black Bean Special

2 lbs dry black beans
5 qts water

3 lbs cooked ground beef

1 can diced tomato
1 can beef broth
1 large chopped onion
2 chopped sweet peppers
1-2 tbsp chili powder, maybe more
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp seasoning salt (I use Redmond Organic, and it is herby, so it really does make a difference)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 cup mango chutney (or other sweet chutney, apple butter, etc) (Shhhh... this is the secret ingredient!)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1 stick real butter
salt to taste

Rinse and cook the beans until tender (if you don't know how to do this, you'll need to look it up). Drain the beans until there is just enough water to reach the top of them. Throw all the other ingredients in, and let simmer for at least half an hour, then start adjusting flavors. Remember to simmer after each adjustment, for 10 minutes or so, in order to really KNOW what the flavor did from the changes.

I make this in my instant pot. It's a 6 qt, so it barely holds all of this. I like my beans fairly tender, so I run it on a full bean cycle, throw everything else in, and run it again a second time.

This is a fairly simple chili recipe, but it is NOT terribly hot. It is more mellow than hot. My husband does not like hot spicy foods, so I just let him be with it. This also has a bit of a fruity side note, because of the chutney. It is just barely there, and not really obvious.

I serve this for dinner, and can the leftovers. That way I always have chili on hand for quick meals. It is just as good canned as it is right out of the pot.



Red Chili Con Carne

I've made chili for many years, and this is our family standard, from the days before I had so many digestive issues and found I could handle black beans better than pinto. Pintos are the standard for chili, but you can use Pink beans, small red beans, or combinations of beans. Kidney beans are a bit tough for me, for chili anyway. I like them in salad, but not in my chili!

This is a little hotter than the Black Bean Chili.

2 lbs dry pinto beans
5 qts water

3 lbs cooked ground beef

1 can diced tomato
1 can beef broth
1 large chopped onion
2 chopped sweet peppers
2-3 tbsp chili powder, maybe more
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp seasoning salt
1/4 tsp pepper
salt to taste

Rinse and cook the beans until tender (if you don't know how to do this, you'll need to look it up). Drain the beans until there is just enough water to reach the top of them. Throw all the other ingredients in, and let simmer for at least half an hour, then start adjusting flavors. Remember to simmer after each adjustment, for 10 minutes or so, in order to really KNOW what the flavor did from the changes.

You can make this in an instant pot, it will fit in a 6 qt pot, just barely. I like my beans fairly tender, so I run it on a full bean cycle, throw everything else in, and run it again a second time.

This is a fairly simple chili recipe, and it is very flexible. You can change it up all you want, with any customizations you need to suit your tastes.

Serve for dinner, or can it up. Or both. You can go ahead and can it even after it is cooked, and it doesn't lose much texture.



Red Chili No Beans

Oh, there is nothing better than a chili dog smothered in no-bean chili. I don't know what it is about the meat combo, but when I am craving real protein, it just hits the spot.

5 lbs cooked ground beef

1 can diced tomato
2 cans beef broth
2 large chopped onions
3 chopped sweet peppers
1-2 tbsp chili powder, maybe more
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp seasoning salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
salt to taste

Throw all the other ingredients into a pot, and let simmer for at least half an hour, then start adjusting flavors. Remember to simmer after each adjustment, for 10 minutes or so, in order to really KNOW what the flavor did from the changes.

You can do this in an instant pot, if you want to cheat, just cook the hamburger in a lump, and then break it up with a fork.

This is a fairly simple chili recipe, and it is very flexible. You can change it up all you want, with any customizations you need to suit your tastes.

Serve for dinner, or can it up. Or both. You can go ahead and can it even after it is cooked, and it doesn't lose much texture.




Red Chili Beans

Just the beans. You can bottle this up and can it for use in soups or as a chili-starter (so you can add different kinds of meat), or you can eat it as a veg chili.

2 lbs dry pinto beans
5 qts water

1 can diced tomato
1 can beef broth
1 shredded carrot (optional)
1 large chopped onion
2 chopped sweet peppers
1-2 tbsp chili powder, maybe more
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp seasoning salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp lime juice
salt to taste

Rinse and cook the beans until tender (if you don't know how to do this, you'll need to look it up). Drain the beans until there is just enough water to reach the top of them. Throw all the other ingredients in, and let simmer for at least half an hour, then start adjusting flavors. Remember to simmer after each adjustment, for 10 minutes or so, in order to really KNOW what the flavor did from the changes.

I make this in my instant pot. It's a 6 qt, so it barely holds all of this. I like my beans fairly tender, so I run it on a full bean cycle, throw everything else in, and run it again a second time.

This is a fairly simple chili recipe, and it is very flexible. You can change it up all you want, with any customizations you need to suit your tastes.

Serve for dinner, or can it up. Or both. You can go ahead and can it even after it is cooked, and it doesn't lose much texture.



White Chili Con Carne

This is as basic as it gets. You can add corn, or Monterey Jack cheese (or Pepper Jack) to it if you like, and top it with sour cream or other toppings to serve.

Remember, Great Northern and Navy beans DO taste different.

2 lbs dry White beans (Navy, Small White, Great Northern, Cannelini, or even Garbanzo)
5 qts Water

2 pints Broth (to match your meat)
3 lbs cubed and cooked Chicken, Turkey, or Pork

1 large onion
1 tsp garlic granules
1 stick butter
1 can green chiles (you may need to chop these, and you may want more)
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne (or more)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp lime juice

Rinse and cook the beans until tender (if you don't know how to do this, you'll need to look it up). Drain the beans until there is just enough water to reach the top of them.

Throw all the other ingredients in, and let simmer for at least half an hour, then start adjusting flavors. Remember to simmer after each adjustment, for 10 minutes or so, in order to really KNOW what the flavor did from the changes.

Mash a little of the beans if you want it thickened, and stir well.

You can make this in an instant pot. A 6 qt will barely hold it all.

This is a fairly simple chili recipe, and it is very flexible. You can change it up all you want, with any customizations you need to suit your tastes.

Serve for dinner, or can it up. Or both. You can go ahead and can it even after it is cooked, and it doesn't lose much texture.



White Chili No Beans

No-bean white chili can be used as a topping over cornbread, rice, barley or other grains, or you can serve up White Chili Baked Potatoes, or White Chili Cheese Fries.

This is as basic as it gets. You can add corn, or Monterey Jack cheese (or Pepper Jack) to it if you like, and top it with sour cream or other toppings to serve.

2 pints Broth (to match your meat)
5 lbs cubed and cooked Chicken, Turkey, or Pork

2 large onions
1 tsp garlic granules
1 stick butter
1 can green chiles (you may need to chop these, and you may want more)
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne (or more)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp lime juice

Rinse and cook the beans until tender (if you don't know how to do this, you'll need to look it up). Drain the beans until there is just enough water to reach the top of them.

Throw all the other ingredients in, and let simmer for at least half an hour, then start adjusting flavors. Remember to simmer after each adjustment, for 10 minutes or so, in order to really KNOW what the flavor did from the changes.

Thicken with 3-4 TBSP flour.

You can make this in an instant pot. A 6 qt will hold it all.

This is a fairly simple chili recipe, and it is very flexible. You can change it up all you want, with any customizations you need to suit your tastes.

Serve for dinner, or can it up. Or both. You can go ahead and can it even after it is cooked, and it doesn't lose much texture.



White Chili Beans

Sometimes you just need beans. Cook these up as a veg only meal, or can them for a meal starter so you can throw in whatever kind of meat you want.

This is as basic as it gets. You can add corn, or Monterey Jack cheese (or Pepper Jack) to it if you like, and top it with sour cream or other toppings to serve.

Remember, Great Northern and Navy beans DO taste different.

2 lbs dry White beans (Navy, Small White, Great Northern, Cannelini, or even Garbanzo)
5 qts Water

2 pints Broth

2large onions
1 tsp garlic granules
1 stick butter
1 can green chiles (you may need to chop these, and you may want more)
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne (or more)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp lime juice

Rinse and cook the beans until tender (if you don't know how to do this, you'll need to look it up). Drain the beans until there is just enough water to reach the top of them.

Throw all the other ingredients in, and let simmer for at least half an hour, then start adjusting flavors. Remember to simmer after each adjustment, for 10 minutes or so, in order to really KNOW what the flavor did from the changes.

Mash a little of the beans if you want it thickened, and stir well.

You can make this in an instant pot. A 6 qt will hold it all.

This is a fairly simple chili recipe, and it is very flexible. You can change it up all you want, with any customizations you need to suit your tastes.

Serve for dinner, or can it up. Or both. You can go ahead and can it even after it is cooked, and it doesn't lose much texture.

It all depends on the quality of the chili, folks. I can my own. This is one of my MUST HAVE home canned foods now.

I make a really good black bean chili, and it is so easy to make meals from it. Someday I'll post the recipe. You won't make it, because you won't have the ingredients. But at least you'll know your recipe is easier!

I decided to write this page, and started with the things I do regularly. Then I went looking for other ideas, and realized I'd done most of them, or I knew the combination of ingredients is something I'll definitely do, and they'll taste good, because MOST of the ingredients are just variations on a theme. I mean, how many times can you use chili and cheese and NOT have it taste like the same chili and cheese dish you made last time?

The surprise was that the list ended up being so long. The disappointment was that there really ISN'T a lot of variety in end flavor combinations. A few real astonishing divergences, but not many.

I also found I could not go too far from the familiar path. Maybe you can, but I cannot. I just can't do chocolate in my chili. I'm a chocolate lover, just can't do it!

I cannot combine Italian and Mexican flavor profiles either. They are different things to me, and I just can't get around the idea far enough to put spaghetti sauce on a chili pasta, or Italian sausage on a chili pizza.

The beauty of this list is not that you'll ever make every one of these. It is that you can scan the list and find SOMETHING that you have the ingredients for, that you can make with leftover or canned chili.

Some of the recipes are just ideas. So simple no recipe is needed. Some have a full ingredient list recipe, and some just have a list of ingredients and instructions, with no measurements. They are that flexible.

You can use pretty much ANY kind of chili, though the majority of these have a BEEF and RED SAUCE flavor profile. Two of them specifically have a WHITE CHILI flavor profile, with chicken or other poultry. Most can be changed around to accommodate either one.

Knock it out, folks, 'cause chili is a really flexible food when you are trying to cook both frugal and healthy.


1. Burritos

Wrap it inside tortillas for fast burritos. This requires fairly thick chili, so you may need to add a little extra groudn beef.


2. Cornbread and Chili Bake

Dump chili in a cake pan. Pour cornmeal batter over the top (you can use biscuit mix instead if you don't want corn). Bake at 375 for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cornbread is set and crispy on the edges. You can do this with hotdog slices or cheese cubes in the chili also.


3. Chilidogs

Do I really have to tell you how to do that? Don't forget to sautee some onions in butter to throw on the top.


4. Tamale Casserole

Mix about a cup of masa flour with about 2 cups of water. Wait about 3 minutes for it to absorb. Thin it out some more, until it is pourable. Pour it into a cake pan. Pour 3 cans of chili over that. Layer in some sliced olives, and some shredded cheese. Make another batch of masa flour batter, and pour that over the top. Cover well with cheese. Cover the pan with foil, and bake at 375 for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until the masa flour batter is set up. Serve with sour cream.


5. Chili Stew

Heat up the chili, and dilute it with a little water or broth. Add either cubed cooked potatoes, or cubed cooked butternut squash (I have these both canned, so this is FAST), and 1/4 cup boiled wheat berries (pre-cook, and put them in the freezer in single use portions in zip baggies). Kick up the flavor a bit with some more chili powder, salt, and a little heat if you want. The key to a good stew is all in the flavor of the broth, so if you get that right, the rest comes together.


6. Baked Potatoes with Chili and Cheese

Alternately you can do the same thing to hash browns.


7. Nachos

Or chili and fritos. Don't forget the cheese.


8. Taco Salad

All the good stuff, with chili.


9. Fast Chili Mac

(this is not the only way to make this)

Make mac and cheese. Stir in 1 can chili for every 4 servings of mac and cheese.


10. Smothered Quesadillas

Roll cheese sticks in tortillas and place in baking dish, or layer tortillas and cheese in a baking dish. Cover with chili, then cheese. Bake until the cheese is ooey, gooey.


11. Chili Cheese Fries

Are you supposed to eat these with your fingers, or with a fork? Never could get that! Use your imagination, you'll figure this one out better than I can tell you.


12. Chili and Rice Stuffed Red, Yellow, or Green Peppers

Mix chili with cooked Rice. Add in some more seasonings - a little more chili powder, a little green chile or taco sauce. Rice dilutes chili a bit too much, so you need to bump up the flavor. Stuff it into cored and seeded pepper halves. Top with cheese, of course. Bake until the cheese is melty and browned.


13. Taco Soup

Dump 1 can of chili into a pot, and add 1 can of beef broth. Add some more chili powder, a shake or two of cumin, 8 oz Corn, 8 oz diced tomatoes (canned), half a can of garbanzos, and anything else you think works in here (peppers, etc). Heat through, add salt or zip as needed (chili powder, cayenne, etc), and heat a little more to meld the flavors. The success factor here is the broth, so make sure it has a good rich chili taco flavor, and the soup will be good. Serve with sour cream and tortilla chips.


14. Mexican Lasagna

Layer Flour tortillas, chili, cheese (shredded, or cottage cheese) in a baking dish, end with shredded cheese on the top. Bake and serve like lasagna. Serve with sour cream, olives, diced tomatoes, etc.


15. Sloppy Jose

Pile hot chili onto hot hamburger buns, open face. Add some guacamole or sour cream, or cheese, etc.


16. Chili Omelet

Pour your beaten eggs into the skillet, and add chili over the top, along with Diced tomatoes and a little green onion. Fold over when eggs are barely set, top with cheese, and serve up with salsa or taco sauce.


17. Chili Spaghetti

There are a lot of ways to do this, and a nice saucy chili works best. If your chili is a bit thick, add a little broth, water, or tomato sauce. Heat it up and serve it over spaghetti or linguini noodles.


18. Chili Salad

Dice tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, and add in black olives. Toss, top with warm chili and ranch dressing.


19. Chili Fajitas

Cook your fajita meat, and vegetables. Assemble fajitas as usual, with a few spoonfuls of chili over the filling.


20. Chili Pizza

With or without the doggies! Chili pizza uses a saucy chili (but not soupy), in place of the pizza sauce. Build up from there!

Lots of cheese, any kind you like. Sauteed onion, green pepper, sauteed mushrooms, jalapenos, raw onion, kraut, chopped tomato. Just lay it on the chili instead of on pizza sauce, and pile the goodies on according to your preferences.

Fast Yeast Pizza Crust

1 cup warm water
1TBSP yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP butter
2-3 cups flour

Put the ingredients into a large bowl (or your mixer bowl) in order, stirring between each, until you get to the flour. If you have a mixer, dump in about 2 1/2 cups, and let it run - adjust with more water or flour if necessary. If you are mixing by hand, put in 1 cup, stir and stir and stir, and then add another cup and stir and stir and stir until it is too hard to stir. Knead it by hand once it gets too hard to stir, you can do this in the bowl if you want, or turn it out to knead. Add as much of the third cup of flour as you need, in order to get a soft workable dough. It should be TACKY to the touch, but not STICKY. Kneading is the key here to a soft end product, so knead it for a while after it is well blended.

This dough behaves better if you let it rise once, but if you don't have time, you CAN skip that step.

Press out the dough onto a greased pan (or scatter cornmeal on it). PREBAKE, for 10 minutes, at 400 degrees. This gives you a crispier crust.

Pile it on, and bake it again at the same temp, for about 10-15 minutes, depending on how much you put on, and how wet the ingredients are.

21. Breakfast Burrito

Cook up some taters - hashbrowns, or tots. Scramble some eggs. Shred up some cheese. Heat up that chili. Layer into your burritos. Serve with salsa.


22. Smothered Tamales

Any kind of tamales work for this, but home canned are the bomb!

Take 2 cans of tomato sauce (the little ones), put them in a pot, and add 2 tsp chili powder and 1/4 tsp cumin. Salt to taste after you've simmered it for about 3 minutes. Pour that sauce into a baking dish that is the right size for about 6-8 tamales (we hope you have that many!). Pour 1 pint of chili over the tamales, and top with cheese. Bake until cheese is melty and browned. Top with all the good stuff.


23. Smothered Burritos

There are all sorts of ways to do this one, but if you make burritos ahead and freeze them, this is easy! Thaw the burritos, or make fresh ones if you must. Brush the burritos with oil (any kind will do, though motor oil is not recommended). Lay into a baking dish. Top with chili - don't worry about any exposed areas of the burrito, this is why we brush it with oil, so it gets crisp instead of hard, so you can make it look pretty if you want. Top with cheese. Bake the whole thing until everything is hot and melty and crispy and browned and the smell drives you crazy.


24. Piggie Chili Bake

There are a gazillion types of pigs in a blanket, the easiest are just refrigerator biscuits (very good with croissants), but we applaud homemade biscuits or homemade roll dough in these.

Basically, get some biscuit dough, however you intend to do it. Wrap some really good hotdogs in the biscuit dough. Heck, if you wanted to, you could remove the sticks from corndogs and use those!

Cover the bottom of a baking dish (you pick the size, depending on how many piggies you have, and how big they are) with at least an inch of chili. Make sure you have at least an inch of clearance on the pan though, the piggies will sink in, and overfilling this will not be pretty! Lay the piggies into the chili. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30-40 minutes. You may need to check at about 25 minutes, and lay a sheet of foil over it to keep the piggies from browning too much. To check, pull two of the piggies apart, and make sure they are not sticky inside.


25. Frito Pie

There are many versions of this, but at its simplest, it is just chili, Fritos, and cheese, with maybe some green onion or chopped cilantro thrown on top to make it look like you really worked at it. There's the microwave version, with a pile of chips on a plate, covered with chili and sprinkled with shredded cheese, and nuked until it is hot. There's the baked version, where you crush Fritos under it, Pour on the chili, top with whole Fritos, and cheese and bake the daylights out of it so the bottom chips are soggy like baked corn tortillas. There's the bake and serve yourself version, where you heat the chili with cheese on top, in the oven, and serve it up at the table over the chips so everything stays perky. And there's a baked version without the bottom layer - just chili, lots of Fritos on top (crushed or not), and lots of cheese on that. However you do it, the flavor combination is the winning feature, and no recipe is needed. 375, folks. 375 degrees F. You can bake ANYTHING at that temp.


26. Chili Ravioli

Chili, even thick chili, is kinda a messy business as a filling, so DO start with thick chili, but also invest in one of these little things.

Dumpling and Ravioli Press

Make a simple pasta dough (water, flour, and egg). Roll it out, and let it rest for a minute so it doesn't shrink when you cut it.

Use the press to cut the dough - the back is a cutter, the top is a press.

Get that chili (don't heat it), and mix in 1 cup of cottage cheese, and 1/2 cup shredded cheese, for every 1 pint of chili.

Put a circle of dough on the press, and put a little chili filling in there (I can't tell you how much, because those presses come in different sizes). BE CAREFUL. DO NOT OVERFILL! If you do, the dough will not seal properly.

Fold the thing over and pinch it tight. Lay it on a plate or cookie sheet, and make a lot more. You can put about 1-2 dozen into a good sized pot of boiling water.

Fill a good sized pot of water, and bring it to a boil. Drop those ravioli in there, and watch them. They'll float, and then 1 will explode, oozing filling into the water. You want to take them out JUST BEFORE they start to leak! Yeah, I know. But set times don't work, there are too many tiny variables. You'll get the hang of it, or you'll just wait until one leaks and then grab them all out. Whatever. It works.

Serve with salsa or taco sauce, or more chili.

If you want a cheese filling to mix with the chili, use 1 pound carton of cottage cheese, 1 egg, , 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, 1 tsp parsley, a nice sprinkle of pepper, and mix all that together. This makes a really lovely cheese ravioli.



27. Chili Cheese Ravioli Bake

Use either Home Made or frozen ravioli. Layer the ravioli into a buttered baking dish, and put a layer of chili over it, followed by a layer of shredded cheese. Repeat 2 or three times, depending on the size of your dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes, until bubbly. Top with diced tomatoes.

NOTE: Go back up to #26 for instructions on how to make Ravioli - there's a recipe for cheese filling at the end of that recipe.


28. Chili Cheese Dip

There are several ways to make this, the simplest being to mix American cheese in with your hot chili, until the cheese melts. You can also make a white sauce and add a lot of cheese to it (don't forget the salt, it is important with this), and that makes a really good cheese sauce. Last, you can use a commercial cheese sauce. Whatever you use for the cheese, you'll need approximately equal parts chili, and cheese sauce.


29. Stuffed Acorn Squash or Small Pumpkin

Excellent with wheat berry chili, but any chili will do! Remove stem from squash, and cut in half. Fill with chili, and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes. This is best if it is baked until the squash starts to sink down. Remove foil, top with cheese and pop back into the oven for another 10 minutes to melt the cheese.


30. Twist on Tater Tot Casserole

Chili, cheese sauce, and tater tots. Put 2 -3 cans chili into a 9X13 baking dish, decorate it well with cheese sauce, and top with tater tots. Bake until tater tots are crispy and cheese is bubbly. Serve with additional cheese sauce, taco sauce, or sour cream.


31. Breakfast Chili Bake

2 cans chili, 6 eggs. Put chili in 9X13 baking dish. Beat eggs, pour over. Top with a layer of tater tots, bake until the tater tots are browned and the eggs are set. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake a little more to brown the cheese. Serve with salsa.


32. Butternut Squash Chili

2 cans chili, Add 1 tsp curry powder to the chili, and heat the chili completely. Stir in 1 jar of diced butternut squash (if you use fresh squash, cook it first). Serve with sour cream.


33. Chili Over Rice

2 cans chili, 8 oz Corn, mixed together. Serve over rice, and garnish with nacho toppings.


34. Chili Polenta Bake

(can sub cornmeal mush)

Make up polenta or cornmeal mush. Fill a baking dish about half full of chili, and pour a layer of polenta or cornmeal mush over the top. Bake until it is hot and bubbly. I recommend you cook this with foil crimped over the dish, or with a cover on the dish, because when polenta or cornmeal mush cooks like that, it dries out and gets hard and isn't very nice to eat. Many people chop up green chiles, or add salsa to the mush or polenta, and you can top it with cheese if you prefer.


35. Chili Pot Pie

Chili. Biscuits. Or pie crust. Depends on what Pot Pie means to you. Bake at 350 degrees until the top is done.


36. Chili Shepherd's Pie

Use chili for the filling, and mashed potatoes for the topping. You can add cooked vegetables to the chili if you want, but it doesn't take much of any of them - too many of them and you'll overpower the chili, and that would be a shame. Bake it at 375 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until well heated through. If you want to top with cheese, then do it at the end, and put it back in for another 10 minutes to get the cheese melty.


37. Seven Layer Dip

(sub chili for refried beans)
Layer 1 - chili
Layer 2 - sour cream (you can season it with taco seasoning if you want)
Layer 3 - Jack cheese
Layer 4 - Guacamole
Layer 5 - Tomatoes
Layer 6 - Onions (if you don't like raw onions, cook them before adding)
Layer 7 - Black olives

Fritos Scoops. Or tortilla chips if you must.


38. Chili Meatloaf

2 lbs ground beef, 2 eggs, 20 crushed saltines (or 1/2 cup quick oats), 1/2 cup salsa, 1 tsp chili powder, a few shakes of cumin, a little cayenne if you like heat, 1 chopped red or green bell pepper, 1 chopped onion. Mix all that together, layer half into a loaf pan. Pour 1 pint of chili into the pan, top with shredded or sliced cheese. Press out the rest of the meatloaf, and lay on top. Bake 1 hour at 375 degrees F. Serve with more chili on top of each slice, and garnish with shredded cheese and sour cream.


39. Chili Burgers

Hamburgers. Chili on top of hamburger patty. Cheese on top of chili. Bun on top of that, and it is MESSY. But good. Maybe open faced stacker is a better idea! Then you can get the tomato on, but I recommend diced, not sliced, for easier eating.


40. Chili Tortellini

Serve chili over cheese tortellini instead of pasta sauce.


41. Chili Quiche

    8 ounces milk
    3 eggs, beaten
    1 onion, chopped, and sauteed
    1 tsp chopped dried cilantro (or parsley if you are a cilantro hater)
    1/2 cup chunky salsa
    1 (15 ounce) can chili, divided

    4 ounces shredded pepperjack cheese
    4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
    8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
    Whisk evaporated milk and eggs together in a bowl, add onion, cilantro (or parsley), and salsa.
    Spread half the chili on the bottom of a casserole dish. Spread pepperjack cheese and mozzarella cheese over the chili. Spread remaining half the chili on top of the cheese. Spread Cheddar cheese over chili. Pour egg mixture over Cheddar cheese.
    Bake in the preheated oven until eggs are set and cheese is melted and bubbling, 55 to 57 minutes.


42. Impossible Chili Pie

4 cups leftover chili
1 can (2 1/4 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
1/2 cup Original Bisquick™ mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
Sour cream, if desired
Shredded lettuce, if desired
Chopped tomatoes, if desired
Powered by Chicory
Steps

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain. Stir in cut-up tomatoes, onion and chili seasoning mix. Spread in pie plate. Sprinkle with olives and cheese.

In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk and eggs with wire whisk or fork until blended. Pour into pie plate.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve with sour cream, lettuce and chopped tomatoes.


43. Chili Pockets

Ok, so you need THICK chili for this one. If your chili is not thick enough, add some drained beans, or some cooked ground beef, whichever you like best. No need to heat the chili first. Stir in some shredded cheese - your choice how much.

You can use yeast bread dough, biscuit dough, refridgerator croissant dough, puff pastry dough, pie dough, tortilla dough, or even pasta dough. Any one of those works fine! You can even do this with wonton wraps and either boil or fry the little pockets.

These are MUCH easier to make if you have a pocket pie press, or a gadget like this Turnover Press.

You just roll out your dough, use the back of it to cut the dough, flip the dough into the center of the top, and fill it, then fold to press it closed. It helps you get the right amount, because with pockets you want to be sure you DON'T OVERFILL.

So, you fill them, cut a vent in the top, and bake. You can do the egg wash thing, to make it shiny, or to put sesame seeds on it.

If you prefer to fry them, you can do that too. Deep fry until nicely golden - make sure it is done all the way through, if it isn't, turn your oil temp down. Any time filling starts to come out, it means they are done.

If you do these out of pasta dough, you can cook them one of three ways. Either boil them, or fry them, or bake them with an egg wash on top (1 tbsp water mixed with 1 egg white).

Just remember... however you make them, DON'T overfill them, or they won't seal closed properly.


44. White Chili Chicken Skillet

Serve over rice.
Chicken tenders or sliced boneless breast filets, you want fairly large pieces (ok, you can use thighs if you want), tossed with 1 tsp chili powder and 1/4 tsp cumin, 1 tsp onion powder, and a shake or two of garlic, and a pinch of pepper, plus about 1/2 tsp salt. Put 2 tbsp butter in a skillet, add the chicken, and cook until done and golden browned on the outside. Heat the white chili separately. Put rice on the plates, top with chili, and add a serving of chicken on top of the chili. Drizzle ranch dressing over the top and garnish with sliced black olives.


45. White Chili Stacker

Fried chicken tenders or sandwich filets, heated or fried. Place on hamburger buns, open faced. Top with hot white chili, and a slice of cheese. Slide under broiler to melt the cheese. Serve with taco sauce.


46. Pork or Beef Roast Stacker

Shred cooked meat (beef or pork - canned works really well), mix with chili and heat through. Pile onto hamburger buns (open face), top with cheese, and slide under the broiler to toast the cheese. Top with tomato slices and ranch dressing.


47. Breakfast Egg Stacks with Hot Corn Salsa

English muffins, with fried egg on them, topped with hot corn salsa. Hot corn salsa - chili, corn, diced onion, diced red pepper, finely diced jalapenos (optional), cilantro (optional), chili powder (about 1/2 tsp per cup of salsa), pinch cumin. Heat all that together until the onion is translucent.


48. Chili Country Pie with White Cheese Gravy

Pie shell, 2 cans chili, 2 eggs. 2 cups white gravy (white sauce with salt and pepper, and a little cayenne to taste), with 1 cup sharp cheese or 2 cups mild or medium cheese added. Bake the pie shell for 10 minutes (400 degrees F). Fill with mixture of chili and egg. Cover lightly with foil (just lay it on top), bake for 30 minutes (375 degrees F) or until filling is lightly set all the way to the middle. Serve with cheese gravy.


49. Hot Chili Corn Salad

    3 cans chili

    2 cans whole kernel corn
    1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, undrained
    1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
    1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

    2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
    3 medium tomatoes, chopped
    1 cup chopped green onions
    10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
    2 chopped avocados
    2 cups ranch dressing


Mix the corn with the chiles, cumin, oregano. Heat to blend the flavors.

Heat the chili separately.

Layer the ingredients, starting with the chili, making sure the cheese goes onto the hot corn and chili, and ending with the ranch dressing, into a 9X13 dish. Serve imediately


50. Chili Tacos

Use thick chili, or, add some additional drained beans and shredded meat to the chili. Stuff the tacos with chili instead of meat.


51. Chili Manicotti

Mix 1 carton of cottage cheese with 2 pints of chili, and 2 eggs. Fill manicotti shells with filling. Put 1 cup of red enchilada sauce (to make it, use tomato sauce, chili powder, and a little cumin and salt), OR smooth salsa into a 9X13 baking dish. Put the manicotti in, in two rows. Run some more sauce over the top. Cover the whole thing with cheese. Bake according to time on manicotti shell box.


52. Chili Stuffed Zucchini

You need 1 medium sized tender zucchini for every 2 people, or 1 larger zucchini for 4 people - the larger the zucchini, the longer it takes to bake it. Scoop out the middles, dice them up, and mix with 1/2 to 1 cup chili per zucchini half. The filling can be anything from straight chili (if you don't want to add the squash), chili and rice (add a little more chili powder and salt if you do this, the rice absorbs the flavor and makes it bland), chili and corn, or whatever you think will make it pop. You can add olives, salsa, onions, or whatever. Mix up a good filling, and heap it high. You can top this with buttered breadcrumbs instead of cheese, but cheese is just a natural for it.

Bake at 375 for about 40-50 minutes, or until the zucchini is fork tender everywhere. Top with cheese, return to the oven, and bake another 10 minutes to melt the cheese really well. Serve this with taco toppings - sour cream, ranch dressing, sliced olives, diced tomato, salsa, hot peppers, etc.


53. Chili and Prospector Dumplings

(There's GOLD in them thar dumplings!)

This makes REAL dumplings, folks! The FLUFFY kind! Add broth to your chili, until it makes a moderately thick soup. Make up a stiff drop biscuit mix, and pull off about 1 1/2" balls of batter. Put a 1/2" cheese cube into each ball of dough, cover the cheese completely. Heat the chili to boiling in a thick bottomed pot (this is important), and drop the dough balls into the soup until they cover the surface of the soup. Put the lid on for about 5-10 minutes, until dumplings are done through - if they start leaking cheese, they are cooked through. You can remove that batch of dumplings, stir the pot well, and as long as it was not already sticking to the bottom of the pot, you can make another batch of dumplings. If you don't need a second batch, then just dish up the chili soup with dumplings in each bowl.


54. Chili French Bread Pizzas

A heapin' helpin' of chili, piled onto halved French bread. Toss on pizza toppings - pepperoni, pineapple, black olives, sliced tomatoes, mushrooms, sausage slices, jalapenos, and cheese, lots of cheese. Bake until cheese is golden. It's really just a chili pizza, but you can pile it on higher with a French bread base.


55. Chili and Rice Casserole

Leftover chili, cooked rice (about half the volume of rice as what you have in chili), and any combination of the following ingredients - cooked diced potato, cooked diced squash, cheese, black olives, diced tomatoes, corn, cooked ground beef, beans, shredded cheese. Layer, top with cheese, bake until cheese is melted and golden.


56. Chili Stuffed Mushrooms

Pull out Crimini mushroom stems, chop the stems finely and add to the chili. Spoon chili into mushroom cups, top with cheese, bake at 350 until cheese is melty and chili is hot.


57. Smothered Cheese Enchiladas

Most cheese enchilada recipes are nothing more than melted cheese in the middle, and they take an enormous amount of cheese. This one is still mostly cheese, but it has a little more body and a mild flavor.

Pour 1 16 oz can of enchilada sauce into a 9X13 baking dish, OR, if you have a lot of chili, cover the bottom of the dish with chili.

Mix 2 16 oz containers of large curd cottage cheese (works best if it is NOT low fat), 2 eggs, 1/3 cup chunky salsa, and 3 cups shredded cheese - toss it with a fork to blend. You can use either corn, or flour tortillas, 6-8 flour, or 12 corn. Heat the tortillas, and then divide the filling between them, roll up, and place seam down in the baking dish.

Pour more chili (about another 1 can or pint jar) down the center of the enchiladas, and top the whole thing with another cup of shredded cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees F for about 40 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. Serve with sour cream and olives.


58. Chili Biscuit Pie

Line pie pan with thin layer of biscuit dough. Layer in chili, cheese, black olives, jalapenos, diced tomatoes, onions (cooked or raw, depending on what you like), sour cream, salsa, corn, black beans, and anything else you can think of that goes. Top with cheese, bake at 375 for 40 minutes or until biscuit dough is done.


59. Chili Tortilla Chip Casserole

Enough warmed chili to cover the bottom of baking dish. Cover in shredded cheese. Sautee 1 large chopped onion, 1 chopped large sweet peppers, a little garlic, and a dab of butter, until onions are clear, add 8 oz drained corn, 1/4 cup diced candied jalapenos, 1 cup salsa (get creative!), and heat that through. Layer the salsa layer onto the chili layer. Top with crushed tortilla chips, and then more cheese. Bake at 375 degrees F, until the cheese is nicely toasted.


60. Chili Cheesalicious Enchiladas

Works best with a very thick chili. Make a white sauce, and add as much shredded cheese as you can afford, and salt to taste. The salt is very important here, especially if you do not have much cheese. Dash some hot sauce in if you like (I don't), or add about half a cup of good salsa. Put 2/3 of the sauce in a 9X13 pan or baking dish. Roll the chili into warmed flour or corn tortillas (about 6 flour, or 12 corn), and arrange them in the baking dish on top of the sauce, with the seams down. Pour the remaining sauce down the middle of the enchiladas. Top with some more cheese. Bake at 375 degrees F until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.


61. Chili Frittata

2-3 cups chili, 6 eggs, 1 cup shredded cheese. Mix together eggs and chili, top with cheese. Pour into baking dish, bake at 375 until eggs are set.


62. Chili Quiche Casserole

(Taste of Home Recipe)

    3 corn tortillas (6 inches)
    2 cans (4 ounces each) whole green chilies
    1 can (15 ounces) chili con carne
    1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
    4 large eggs
    1-1/2 cups 2% milk
    1 cup biscuit/baking mix
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon pepper
    1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, optional
    1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
    2 medium tomatoes, sliced
    Sour cream, optional

Directions

In a greased 4- or 5-qt. slow cooker, layer tortillas, whole green chilies, chili con carne and 1 cup cheese.
In a small bowl, whisk eggs, milk, biscuit mix, salt, pepper and, if desired, pepper sauce until blended; pour into slow cooker. Top with chopped green chilies and tomatoes.
Cook, covered, on low 3-4 hours or until a thermometer reads 160°, sprinkling with remaining cheese during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Turn off slow cooker; remove insert. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. If desired, top with sour cream. Yield: 6 servings.


63. Chili Dog Skillet

Toss a little butter into your skillet, add in half a package of sliced hotdogs, some chopped onion, and cook until the hotdogs are browned and the onions are clear. Dump in about 2 pints (2 cans) chili, and heat through till bubbly. Serve over biscuits or buns, and top with cheese and some of those lovely lactofermented jalapenos or yellow peppers.


64. Chili Farmer's Breakfast

Cook hash browns in butter or bacon grease, until crispy (crispiness is important). Add leftover chili, or 1 can or jar of chili, stir quickly to heat the chili. Pour in 2-4 beaten eggs, and stir to distribute. Cook until eggs are set. Top with cheese, turn off burner and let cheese melt. Serve with sour cream and salsa.


65. Curry Chili

Cooked Rice (you can substitute other things for the rice if you want)

Chili - Heat the chili, and add curry powder until it smells really awesome. Add a good amount of onion powder or granules also. If you have any chutney, toss in about 1 tablespoon per pint of chili. If you don't have chutney, a teaspoon of grape jam will do.

Vegetable Topping - 1 large coarsely chopped onion, 1 coarsely chopped fennel bulb, 2 sliced celery ribs, 8 oz julienned carrots, 1 sliced red bell pepper, 1 roughly chopped apple. I chop everything in pieces about 3/8 of an inch wide, and about an inch to an inch and a half long - you want big pieces that cook fast. Toss all that into a skillet with some butter, and a little more curry powder, and a little pumpkin pie spice (less of this than curry powder), and a pinch of salt - if you want some heat, add cayenne. Cook until the onions are nicely sweet but still somewhat firm.

Serve the chili over the rice, and top with the vegetables.


66. Chili Noodle Casserole

2 cans chili
8 oz dry noodles, cooked
1 can cream of mushroom soup, or 1 cup thick white sauce with about 4 good sized crimini mushrooms chopped into it
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 cup crushed potato chips

Mix half the cheese with the chili.
Mix the noodles with the mushroom soup and the other half of the cheese.
Put the noodles into a 9X13 baking pan.
Put the chili on top of the noodles.
Top with crushed potato chips.
Bake at 376 for 25 to 35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

67. Sloppy Juan's

I wasn't even going to list this one. I mean, chili over cornbread is just how you eat chili, right? But Carla Fisher named it, and dresses it up, so it qualifies. And it doesn't get any easier than this.

Cornbread, any kind, homemade, box made, store bought, squares, rectangles, or muffins, or even that canned cornbread that I haven't tried, that slices up into neat round circles.

Chili, any kind.

Toppings, ALL kinds. Cheese, sour cream, olives, jalapenos, tomatoes, ranch dressing, etc. The taller the better!

68. Chili 'Zagna

Chili

White Sauce - Make white gravy (white sauce with pepper, or use a packet), add white cheese, and sour cream.

Red Sauce - Chunky salsa, or Red Enchilada Sauce with drained diced tomatoes added

Corn Tortillas

More cheese, white or yellow.

Layer into a baking pan, as you would Lasagna, top with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for about half an hour.

69. Enchilada Chili Soup

2 cans Chili

1/2 cup Instant potatoes PLUS 1 1/2 cup water, OR 1 1/2 cups southern hash browns

1 cup Cheese sauce (nacho cheese sauce, cheese dip, or homemade cheese sauce, ok, Velveeta if you have to!)

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1/2 cup Corn

2 cups water OR broth

Mix together in a sauce pot. Heat through and make sure the potatoes are cooked through (if applicable). If you want a more zesty flavor, add 1 TBSP chili powder - make sure you simmer it for at least 15 minutes after adding it though, to bring out the flavor.

70. Chili in a Bread Bowl with All the Stuff

2 cans chili

3 small round loaves of bread, top off, hollowed out

Olives

Shredded Cheese

Sour Cream

Diced Tomato

Jalapenos

Diced Avocado

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Crushed Corn Chips or Tortilla Chips

Heat the chili, fill the bowls, and top with your choice of toppings.

70. Chili Chowder

Leftover or canned chili
1/2 cup cooked diced potatoes for each 2 cups chili (canned potatoes work good for this)
2 TBSP Sour Cream for each 2 cups chili
1/3 cup Corn for each 2 cups chili
1/2 onion, chopped and sauteed for each 2 cups chili
1 TBSP taco sauce for each 2 cups chili

Shredded Cheese - top with cheese to serve

Stir the ingredients together (except the cheese). Add salt or more taco sauce if needed.

72. Chili Queso Corn Dip

Chili - Hot
Cheese - Stir it in
Corn - Heat and stir in
Salsa - Heat and stir in

Serve with tortilla chips.