Frugal Feasts: The Jones’ Hearty Chili

In Frugal Feasts, our culinary creators will be sharing their favorite affordable and fulfilling meals from their own family cookbooks and home kitchens. These recipes will use SNAP-friendly ingredients and use dependable culinary tips and tricks so you can adopt and adapt a new staple into your weekly meals!

View fullsize

We wanted to kick this column off with a meal that’s both versatile and incredibly easy to tweak and adapt. (Not to mention one that keeps well, and can be made in larger batches) Enter: Chili—a meal that’s as perfect for a cold, relaxing winter’s night as it is for the post-school or post-work scramble. My husband and I both grew up with different versions of chili from our families, so when we got married almost eleven years ago, we combined our personal tastes and flairs into our very own chili, which has now become a staple in our house.

Okay—I’ll admit, my husband might prefer a little more spice, but my tolerance level for it is somewhere around “is that spicier than ketchup?”

For those of you with heartier palates, you can certainly adjust the spice level to suit your tolerance. I hope you enjoy this recipe, make it your own, , and are able to add a fun, easy, affordable, and infinitely adaptable meal to your repertoire!

The Jones’ Hearty Chili

• 1 package ground beef (or ground turkey)

• 1 small can diced tomatoes

• 1 6oz can tomato paste

• 1 16oz can red kidney beans, drained.

• 1 sweet yellow onion, diced

• 1 -2 cloves of garlic, minced

• Seasoned Salt

• Pepper

• Worcestershire sauce

• Crushed Red Pepper (optional)

• Toppings (Optional)

  • Shredded Cheese

  • Avocado

  • Sour Cream

1. Dice ½ yellow onion. Mince Garlic.

2. Add 1 to 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil to a pot. Let warm

3. Add diced onion & minced garlic to warm oil. Cook until translucent.

4. Once cooked, add meat of choice (ground turkey or ground beef). While cooking meat, add 1 ½ tablespoons of seasoned salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper, & a few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce. (Here, you can add ½ to 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper, depending on your desired level of spice!) Stir all seasonings in with the meat and continue cooking. Once cooked, add 1 can of diced tomatoes and the juice, along with 1 can of red kidney beans (do yourself a favor and drain the liquid from the red kidney beans!) 

5. If you prefer a thick, hearty chili – I make a tomato paste slurry. To do this, simply add 1 small 6oz can of tomato paste in a medium mixing bowl with enough warm water to remove the large clumps of paste. Add this to your chili, cover and let simmer on low for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Feel free to taste your chili at this point and add any additional seasonings you feel you may need. Sometimes I just add a few pinches of salt, but its up to your taste buds!! 

7. You can dress your chili with shredded cheese, avocado and sour cream. Enjoy!