# Chili



## ishylynn (Jul 23, 2012)

It's getting colder, and fall is the time for soups. Plus, I'm supposed to go to this chili cookoff in a few weeks, and I want to bring one I can eat (really don't care whether I win or not).At home, I generally make a quick chili with just beef, tomatoes, water, and spices. For the cookoff, I'd like to make it a little more hearty, and I figure I can use the recipe later. So, I'm wondering what I can substitute to get more texture in the chili without using beans. Considering potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots, but I want it to feel more like normal chili.Any suggestions?


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## Korga (Sep 8, 2011)

Yum, that sounds really good. I'd vote for the addition of Potatoes.


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## whiterose1713 (Feb 4, 2012)

Yes to the carrots for sure, and sweet potato. I also like red bell pepper. What about cooked hominy, like in a Mexican pozole soup? That could be delicious.


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## ishylynn (Jul 23, 2012)

I'm not a big fan of hominy, but I'm sure that would be a great texture addition for people that like it.I was thinking of getting frozen diced carrots, so they're small and mix in better. I will probably put potato in it, but not sure whether I'll use regular or sweet.


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## whiterose1713 (Feb 4, 2012)

ishylynn said:


> I'm not a big fan of hominy, but I'm sure that would be a great texture addition for people that like it.I was thinking of getting frozen diced carrots, so they're small and mix in better. I will probably put potato in it, but not sure whether I'll use regular or sweet.


Something that could add a lot of dimension to the chili would be to roast all the veggies together before adding them to the chili. I know it adds an extra step, but if you toss the chopped veggies in olive oil and the chili spices and roast at 425 until they're beginning to caramelize (use parchment paper on the pan bottom to keep from sticking), it will add even more smokiness and richness to the chili. I also like to take some of the finished chili(about 1/3 of the batch usually) and put it in the food processor to puree it. I add it back to the big pot with the non-pureed chili and it thickens everything up nicely without using beans.The roasting wouldn't work as well with frozen carrots. In fact, I wouldn't use the frozen carrots at all since they will probably get very overcooked while all the other items are cooking, unless your frozen carrots have quite large pieces then it wouldn't be a problem.


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## ishylynn (Jul 23, 2012)

Ohh, that would be good. For carrots, you could just add them a bit later, but red/orange peppers could work well instead. I like the idea of blending some of it.


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