Pace Chili Con Carne

A few months ago I received two bottles of Pace picante sauce as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. Originally I was going to use the sauce with some chicken or fish dishes, but cold weather thought otherwise.

 

Short Cut Chili

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
10 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
2 cans red kidney beans, washed and drained
1 can peeled plum tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
1 packet chili mix
1 jar Pace picante sauce
Cumin
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

 

Heat up a large enough pot on medium heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Throw in the onions and garlic, and cook until softened.

Add the ground beef and brown, breaking up the meat as you cook. I’m sure you could crumble the raw meat as you drop it into the pot, but I’m not a fan of getting my hands meat messy. Lightly season with salt and pepper at this time.

Add the chili seasoning mix and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. I personally like to have some cripsy bits, so I do this step. You don’t really have to, and if you don’t want to, move to the next picture.

Are you a fan of chunky tomatoes? If you are, squish or mash the tomatoes to your desired chunkiness. I am not a fan, so I just hit it with the stick blender (didn’t have crushed tomatoes on hand). Add cumin… I think I put in a good pinch of it at this point.

Add a little water if it seems too thick. Let simmer for five minutes.

Add picante sauce. This jar was medium, so there was heat, but not too much. It was more on the mild side for me.

Add the beans and cover, cooking for another 5 minutes or so. Taste, and adjust seasoning.

This turned out to be some pretty good chili. I think between my sister and I, we demolished the pot. There just happened to be some hotdogs in the kitchen, so naturally we had to do this:

Chili dogs/ghetto Coneys! Didn’t top it with chopped raw onion, but I did sprinkle on the cheese. Delicious.