[ohhhnc]

I didn't know for sure if this should go here, sorry if it's the wrong place!

I made chili for the first time ever last night in order to bring it in for a little chili cook-off we had going at work. I'm usually a pretty good cook, but man...this chili isn't very tasty haha. It's greasy and the meat pretty much disintergrated. Due to this, I still have a half crock pot full of it, and I really don't want to just toss it. I mean, oh well, you make mistakes and you learn .

Any ideas on what I could use this in or what I could possibly do to it so that I'm not tossing out food? It's seasoned well, the texture is just dreadful. Thanks!!

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Chili dogs? Finer texture ground beef actually works better for this. Some people like it over baked potatoes. Also a chili-mac casserole might appeal.

You say it isn't tasty.... but also that it is seasoned well. I'm not sure I understand.

I messed up a chili last year, too much salt. Ended up straining it and taking half the liquid and freezing it as "chili starter", then making up the difference with fresh unseasoned tomato sauce.

If it is greasy, put it in the fridge overnight, undisturbed and the fat should solidify in pools on top. Then it is easy to pick off. If you need too, add some water so there is a nice layer of grease and liquid at the top. You can always cook it down a bit later.

 

[ohhhnc]

Chili dogs? Finer texture ground beef actually works better for this. Some people like it over baked potatoes. Also a chili-mac casserole might appeal.

You say it isn't tasty.... but also that it is seasoned well. I'm not sure I understand.

I messed up a chili last year, too much salt. Ended up straining it and taking half the liquid and freezing it as "chili starter", then making up the difference with fresh unseasoned tomato sauce.

If it is greasy, put it in the fridge overnight, undisturbed and the fat should solidify in pools on top. Then it is easy to pick off. If you need too, add some water so there is a nice layer of grease and liquid at the top. You can always cook it down a bit later.

It's not tasty because of the texture and overall greasiness of it, not because of the seasoning . I got raves on the flavor, but a few close friends admitted what I had thought myself -- greasy and my meat was basically mush even though I browned it first. I think I just left it in the slow cooker waaaaay too long or something. Oh well, again, a learning experience.

Thanks for the idea about baked potatoes, that actually would probably work well considering I have a bunch of potatoes at home to use up soon as well. In fact I have some other things that would go well on top of potatoes so I may do a "load your own potato" thing for the family for dinner tonight. Perfect, thanks again!

 

[wjcalderon]

Does your chili have beans? If not, add some.
Or you can serve it over rice.
One idea I've seen but haven't tried, is to make cornbread waffles and serve the chili over those.

 

[MsBookWorm]

Meatloaf! First I'd do the overnight fridge thing to get rid of some grease as suggested above. Then you could add it into a meatloaf recipe to thicken it so it'll be moldable and voila. You could probably go with meatballs as well.

 

[NikoSan999]

One reason it may have had so much grease and was mushy is you bought/used lower than 80/20 percent meat/fat ratio. Anytime you go lower than 80% lean it tends to be that way. Made that mistake a couple times. It's not cheaper because you're throwing or draining about a bunch of weight in grease. Hope this helps you for the next time

 

[KmmCo]

Chili dogs and nachos are my go to items with leftover chili....

Chili really freezes well for use in the future. I make extra every time and freeze for later use.

 

[zakity]

Chili rice casserole

Cook up some rice. grab some shredded cheese, and slice up some black olives. Mix the leftover chili, the rice, and the black olives with some cheese. You can cook it on top the stove (doesn't look the most attractive, but it is a quick dinner) or bake it in the oven (350F, how long depends on the size of container, sprinkle some cheese over the top a few before serving to make it look yummier). You can add in a can of diced tomatoes or some corn if you want.

 

[MsMarieH]

Chili enchilada casserole - chili layered with cheese and tortillas and salsa, baked

Cincinnati Chili - Add more chili powder and some garlic, if it is really soupy you don't need to add more liquid but if it thickened up overnight in the fridge, thin it down with a little V8 or tomato juice, serve it warmed up over spaghetti with a LOT (big handful!) of cheddar cheese and chopped onions (if you like onions, I don't and it's awesome without them too).

Mixed in with refried beans in tortillas for burritos