Last Saturday night was a boys poker night and Jonny was off to spend the evening with the boys. Knowing that they would have bellies full of beer, I thought it was better to send them with something to eat other than pizza or another late-night takeout option.
Poker Night Chili
Jonny was surprised and happy I was sending him with food because, well, I have a confession … I have a fear of cooking for people.
I realize how ridiculous that is to hear from a food blogger but it’s the truth. I know a lot of picky eaters and I worry I don’t have the broad shoulders required to deal with the criticisms and review of my foods.
“There’s too much ___”
“It needs more___”
“Eww, I hate ____ in my ___”.
You get it. I am sure you’ve also heard it all before.
Honestly, I rarely get anything but compliments when I break down and share my cooking but it is still something I struggle with to this day. I love my cooking and I know Jonny does too but for now I still have a strange and unwarranted cooking insecurity.
I felt brave and this was me trying to break out of my shell. I made food I know well and I wouldn’t be there when they ate it to hear about how their mom makes it better :p.
When he seemed very surprised and happy I was sending him with food, I also whipped up a quick apple crumble to take too. Crumble is one of my fav go-to dessert recipes because it is so easy that I could make it in my sleep and very inexpensive to make a large batch.
This recipe is kind of a cheat. More of a how-to than a recipe because really all you do is brown some meat and empty a bunch of cans into a pot. Sometimes that is all that is needed though.
Chili is one of those foods you really don’t need to over-complicate. You can put it together on a weeknight and eat right away or make it on the weekend and let it simmer all day.
Jonny came home with an empty chili pot (yay they liked it) and still some money in his pockets. A win-win 🙂
- 3 lbs lean ground beef
- 4 slices of bacon
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 2 cans whole tomatoes
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 cans kidney beans
- 2 packs chili seasoning
- Brown the bacon, lean ground beef and onions
- Drain off any excess fat and add the chili seasoning
- Add all the tomatoes, pumpkin puree and beans and let simmer for a minimum of 20 minutes before serving
- I like it best when allowed to simmer for a couple hours but it will be delicious and ready to eat after the first 20 minutes.
This post can also be seen on: Homestead Barn Hop, Tuesdays with a Twist, Gluten Free Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Allergy Free Wednesday
Judy Charlotte says
And then you can really play poker, right?
Miz Helen says
Your Poker Night Chili is just great! Hope you will enter it in the Texas Star Chili Cook Off. Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with Full Plate Thursday and have a fabulous day!
Hope to see you soon,
Miz Helen
Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts says
Oooh, I love the ingredients in this chili! Sounds so delicious. 🙂 Thanks for sharing on Gluten-Free Wednesdays!
Shirley
Christi says
I’ve never seen a chili recipe with pumpkin puree as an ingredient — I bet it’s delicious! I can’t wait to try it!