Saturday, January 4, 2014

New Food for the New Year

As the title says, what better way to ring in the new year than with a new recipe? Last year, rather by accident, I came up with a new recipe for chili. I made it off-handedly for some friends while I was back in California, and ended being told by two people who self-identified as “not liking chili” than it was “actually pretty good.” I considered that to be approbation enough for me to present it in case anyone else wants to try it.

The recipe is pretty simple. Simply mix the following ingredients in the proportions listed in a large pot or skillet and heat:

1 can chile con carne with cheese
1 can corned beef hash
2 cans diced tomatoes of whatever kind you like

Let it simmer on medium heat for about 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a consistency you like. Let it sit longer if you want it less watery (you could also try draining one of the cans of diced tomatoes before adding them to cut the amount of liquid). Feel free to add anything else you like, such as minced garlic or spices. Serve with sour cream or cheese. The basic recipe should provide about 4 to 6 servings.

I came upon this recipe through a process of trial and error. It came about (as most of my impromptu culinary experiments do) with me standing in the grocery store aisle and wondering how corned beef hash and chile con carne with cheese would taste mixed together (shouldn't it really be “chile con carne con queso” for consistency?).

The first test was alright (good enough for me to continue iterating on it, at any rate). I really like corned beef hash but it's very dry, so I thought mixing it with the chile would add some moisture. Not quite enough for my taste, though, so I added a can of diced tomatoes the second time around. This was better, but still not quite enough. Adding a second can of tomatoes (I do love tomatoes) brought the ratio to an acceptable place in my mind, and I've made it several times in the past few months. At this point I consider it a stable base recipe and after successfully testing it upon family and friends I figured I'd put it up here. Just today I had an idea to make the next batch with some peas, chopped carrots, and minced garlic added, so we'll see how that turns out.

If you do try this recipe and enjoy it, let me know in the comments! It's always nice to know you've shared something nice with someone. A hui hou!

2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. That was my other thought, and sounds like better Spanish, but it says "with cheese" in English so I went for a more literal translation. Good catch though. =)

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