The Office Chili

Made a batch of The Office Chili.

I used turkey rather than beef because the ground turkey came in exactly one pound extruded slabs so it was easy to get exactly two pounds :-). The turkey starts out more like meat paste, but eventually seems more like ground meat once it gets cooked and broken up.

This is one of the least messy recipes I've ever made. Basically the only major thing that needs cleaning is the big pot I used (and it needs to be the big pot, wouldn't have fit in the next smaller one).

The amount of chili it made nicely filled the five glass storage containers I have. (Glass is good for tomato heavy things that would stain plastic.)

I don't like spicy hot food, and this is definitely not very spicy. In fact even I might think it needs a bit more spice, but the flavor is really good. I'm thinking I'll add a teaspoon of the chili crisp I got (for another recipe) to the next serving.

I also bought some Fritos to top the next serving to add some crunch.

Might want to add cumin the next time I make it and perhaps a minced jalapeno or something to up the spice a bit (without going too far). Maybe use the beans in medium sauce rather than mild sauce?

Made this again and used one can of medium beans and one can of spicy (couldn't find two cans of medium). Hopefully it won't be too spicy overall (didn't seem bad when I tasted it).

Having some now after letting flavors meld in the fridge. I think this is about perfect for the level of heat I like (which isn't much at all). I'll probably stick with this variation when I make it again.

New plan: This always seems like too much chili, so I got some Souper Cubes and I'm gonna freeze the batch of chili I just made in 2 cup chunks. I've got 4 in the freezer now, and should be able to freeze the rest tomorrow (might not be enough left for 4 more, but two for sure). Yep got two more (one slightly less than 2 cups, but pretty close).

I'm defrosting a chunk in the microwave now, and it is convenient that the frozen chunks fit nicely into the glass containers I used to use when storing servings in the fridge instead of freezing. Using the 1 pound defrost button didn't do the job, I chipped the thawed edges off and turned over the center chunk and put it back in for another round of defrosting. Second round seemed to do it, I was able to stir and break up frozen chunks and it is now pretty much the consistency it came out of the fridge before, so time to try the normal 8 minutes at 50% I always use.

Verdict: Frozen and re-heated seems just as tasty as the original, and I don't need to eat it every day to use it up.