Alternatives to Chili

[atrib]

My wife and I have been making a lot of chili in the past 6 months. Usually we'll make a pretty large pot, split it in two, freeze it, and take it out of the freezer periodically. This has the advantage of quick meals that are filling, easy to re-heat, and actually pretty healthy.

But after 6 months of making the same recipe over and over again I'm interested in branching out and trying something different but with similar advantages to chili:

- can make in bulk
- acts as a complete meal
- easily frozen
- filling
- hits the important food groups / lots of healthy vegetables
- is somewhat easy to make

The obvious ones that come to mind are soups or stews, but soup doesn't seem to check the complete meal box, and stew doesn't seem to check the nutritious box.

Finding a good, but similar alternative seems like a tall order, so far I've come up short.

Mutton Keema. We eat this a lot, especially in winter. Easy to make, and can be cooked in a pressure cooker if you are in a hurry, or want to substitute beef for mutton. Goes well with bread (naan or chapatti, available frozen/precooked at India stores). And you can customize with vegetables you want.

 

[rousseau]

We've ended up going with the Curry idea fairly regularly. We make it similarly to our chili, but I simplify the recipe a bit and use Masala and Stewing Beef instead of Chili Powder and Ground Beef. A bit less of a slog to cook than the chili, and basically the same results (we have something to eat).

I plan to make other ideas in this thread, too, but right now simplicity and re-use is winning the day.

 

[rousseau]

I came up with another simple dish this week, a very basic stew. It finally dawned on me that I can buy diced tomatoes rather than crushed. So I bought a couple cans of diced tomatoes 'with herbs', dumped them in a pot, scattered in 5 minced cloves of garlic without cooking it at all, red pepper flakes, and salt. I simmered that mixture for ten minutes to get the garlic started, then added in pre-cooked stewing beef and simmered for another ten minutes. Very simple but it tastes great alone or over rice.

 

[steve_bank]

I came up with another simple dish this week, a very basic stew. It finally dawned on me that I can buy diced tomatoes rather than crushed. So I bought a couple cans of diced tomatoes 'with herbs', dumped them in a pot, scattered in 5 minced cloves of garlic without cooking it at all, red pepper flakes, and salt. I simmered that mixture for ten minutes to get the garlic started, then added in pre-cooked stewing beef and simmered for another ten minutes. Very simple but it tastes great alone or over rice.

No beans?????

 

[rousseau]

I came up with another simple dish this week, a very basic stew. It finally dawned on me that I can buy diced tomatoes rather than crushed. So I bought a couple cans of diced tomatoes 'with herbs', dumped them in a pot, scattered in 5 minced cloves of garlic without cooking it at all, red pepper flakes, and salt. I simmered that mixture for ten minutes to get the garlic started, then added in pre-cooked stewing beef and simmered for another ten minutes. Very simple but it tastes great alone or over rice.

No beans?????

Yea, that would be an easy addition. I intentionally left it simple to bring out the tomato and seasoning, and it actually worked out well. Lessons from Marcella Hazan's Italian cookbook.. sometimes less is more.

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[steve_bank]

I came up with another simple dish this week, a very basic stew. It finally dawned on me that I can buy diced tomatoes rather than crushed. So I bought a couple cans of diced tomatoes 'with herbs', dumped them in a pot, scattered in 5 minced cloves of garlic without cooking it at all, red pepper flakes, and salt. I simmered that mixture for ten minutes to get the garlic started, then added in pre-cooked stewing beef and simmered for another ten minutes. Very simple but it tastes great alone or over rice.

No beans?????

Yea, that would be an easy addition. I intentionally left it simple to bring out the tomato and seasoning, and it actually worked out well. Lessons from Marcella Hazan's Italian cookbook.. sometimes less is more.

Sent from my SM-A520W using Tapatalk

Tomato sauces are a staple for me.