Chilly Day Chili!

Mmmm. Chili. The mother of all comfort foods. This one pot dish serves it all: convenience, flavour, nutrition- and is budget-friendly as well. Not to mention, you can let it simmer all day long, upping the delicious factor and filling your home with amazing aromas. This is a frugal super-food!

Like all of those fave dishes though, your family may be looking for something a little different. Here are some variations and new ideas on an old classic.

Vegetarian Chili

I’m always preaching the budgetary benefits of swapping meat out once a week. Cutting down on meat means cutting down on costs- and it’s healthier too.

Do you have a favourite recipe? Swap out the meat and put in three cans of your choice of legumes (chickpeas and black beans are good). Up the veggie factor by dicing sweet potatoes.

And an extra secret ingredient? Dill weed! About a tsp will do. Yummy and different.

Southwestern Chili

Brown about a pound of ground beef, along with a diced onion and a green pepper and add to meat mixture.  Stir in about 2tsp of chili powder and a pinch of salt.

Add a can of tomatoes (and their liquid).Drain a can of black beans and a can of kidney beans and add to the mixture as well. Add a tsp of tabasco for a real kick.

Simmer for about a half hour until flavours are really melded. Top with cilantro and Monterey Jack Cheese.

Turkey Chili

If you have a fave chili recipe, you can swap ground turkey out for the ground beef, or give this one a whirl.

Brown a pound of ground turkey, along with a diced onion and green pepper. Chop a couple of celery stalks, a couple cloves of garlic and peel and dice a sweet potato and add that to the mix.

Once the meat is browned, add a cup of ketchup, a can of tomatoes (undrained), 3 tsp chili powder, ¼ cup brown sugar, a tsp of Worchester sauce, a tsp each of oregano, tabasco sauce and mustard.

Rinse a can of black beans and add that too. Simmer for about an hour over low heat.