Dad’s Homemade Chili

Chili is a great and easy recipe to utilize batch cooking. Batch cooking is where you cook a specific food in a large quantity and then freeze and refrigerate servings for later use. It can be used in a variety of ways after being cooked. You can have it plain, with a side of cornbread/roll, stuffed in bell pepper, or on a baked potato. The ideas are endless! Chili also has a short prep time and is budget-friendly and nutritious. (can see the recipe cost breakdown in the table below). 

Cost Breakdown

Ingredient	Amount	AP Unit Cost	Recipe Ingredient Cost
Hamburger	1 lb	$3.88/lb	$3.88
Sausage	1 lb	$3.57/lb	$3.47
Tomato Sauce	2-15 oz	$0.38/8 oz	$0.76
Stewed Tomatoes	2 quarts	$0.72/14.5 oz	$1.44
Canned Black Beans	2 cans (15.5 oz)	$0.72/15.5 oz	$1.44
Canned Kidney Beans	2 cans (15.5 oz)	$0.72/15.5 oz	$1.44
Onion	1/2	$0.70/each	$0.35
Paprika	1 tsp	$0.98/2.5 oz	$0.06
Garlic powder	1 tsp	$0.98/3.4 oz	$0.05
Cumin	1/2 tsp	$1.12/2.5 oz	$0.03
Salt	1/2 tsp	$0.48/26 oz	$0.01
Pepper	1/2 tsp	$2.68/3 oz	$0.07
Chili powder	2 Tbsp	$0.98/3 oz	$0.25
Brown sugar	3/4 – 1 cup	$1.62/2 lb	$0.41/1 cup
Molasses	2 Tbsp	$3.48/12 oz	$0.29
Total Recipe Cost			$16.21
Cost per serving (11 servings)			$1.47

I had a lot of fun making this recipe and sharing it with family and friends for dinner. The process was pretty easy, the only ingredient to prep was the diced/chopped onion and the rest was from the pantry. I gathered all the ingredients and started throwing them all into a stockpot. This time I made the recipe with pinto beans instead of kidney beans because that is what I already had in the pantry. The cooking process was simple, I just had to find the right temperature so the chili wouldn’t boil and burn on the bottom.

Tips for making this budget-friendly

Some tips to make this recipe even more budget-friendly are to use more store-based/generic brands, ask roommates or family for seasonings, substitute the seasonings with a chili seasoning packet, substitute molasses with honey or maple syrup (1 to 1 ratio), access some ingredients from the USU SNAC Food Pantry or other Food Pantry in the area (e.g. canned black beans, tomato sauce, and frozen ground beef are all at the USU SNAC food pantry).

Overall, I really enjoyed making and eating this recipe. My dad has made it for years and I still haven’t mastered the touch that he has with making it yet. I like to serve it with shredded cheese, green onions, and a crescent roll on the side. When I make it again I would add a little more brown sugar and cook it for a little longer, so it has a sweeter and stronger flavor.

References: Miller, B. 2022, https://www.delightedcooking.com/what-is-batch-cooking.htm

Directions

Step 1: Cook hamburger and sausage all the way through.

Step 2: Add all ingredients, except the brown sugar and molasses, to a large stockpot on low heat and simmer for 30 minutes, occasionally stirring.

Step 3: Add brown sugar and continue to simmer for another 20-30 min.

Step 4: Add molasses for 10 min before you stop cooking the chili. 

*Note the longer you cook it, the more flavor it will have.