Greetings fellow culinary enthusiasts! I have been preparing for the annual “chili cook off” at my school. You would think that after 6 years I would accept failure, but no….the coveted boot-wearing armadillo trophy is up for grabs. I will enter a room of 20 plus simmering crock pots of things that resemble chili, they are mostly “open a can” recipes or just plain, hamburger and vegetable soup. None the less, someone with the culinary skills to use a can opener will walk away with the prize and I will be mad at myself for staying up late the night before chopping, roasting and pureeing. So with a new attitude of “giving the people what they want” I attempted to develop a soupier recipe loaded with vegetables. What I ended up with something that didn’t look good or taste good but after a little tweaking, I ended up with something like Olive Garden’s pasta fagioli.

In a large soup pot, brown 1 ½ pounds of ground chuck along with 1 cup finely chopped onions, 1 cup finely chopped celery and 1 cup shredded carrots. Stir in 1 can of diced tomatoes and green chiles. When evenly heated, add 5 cups of the juice from already prepared brown beans (if you are using cheater beans add vegetable or meat stock). Stir in 1 can of tomato sauce and 1 cup of chili paste. When evenly heated, add 4 cups of brown beans or two cans of cheater beans. Add chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about 30 minutes. This is when it looks like a culinary disaster but trust me, just spoon in about 3 cups of small, already cooked pasta and it will look like something from a restaurant.

My husband, who is half Italian, sprinkled Parmesan cheese over his servings and said it was delicious. I don’t know if this will be my entry in the “chili cook off” but it was dinner on a cold winter’s day. If you don’t have chili paste, all you need to do is rehydrate dry chiles by placing them in a bowl of hot water and covering for several minutes. Remove the seeds and stems and puree. If you are entering a “chili cook off”, go ahead and put the chili in a crock pot overnight. Skim the fat off before reheating or not. Maybe the judges like extra fat, your guess is as good as mine. Good luck to all chili cookers, I understand your passion!