The sweet chili sauce mixed with the spicy beans and chili powder make for a hearty sweet & spicy wintery dinner.
Do you feel bad about not using up your pantry items before making your next grocery visit? Although I am 99.9% sure that no one completely empties out their pantry, I always feel guilty when I’m heading to the store and there is food in my pantry that I could probably use to whip up a quick dinner.
The other day our pantry was low and I wasn’t sure what to serve for dinner. I didn’t want to go to the store because I knew I had at least enough food to make something, so I decided to just figure it out.
And this chili happened.
Turns out, Ben claimed this as his favorite chili I’ve ever made. He loved the sweetness with the spicy notes left behind. It wasn’t too terribly spicy, though, because Judah also ate it with no problem. We both said that this isn’t the type of chili to serve with cheese and toppings, but would pair wonderfully with sweet cornbread.
It’s been a cold winter for Mississippi, so yes, we even eat chili down here. I’m thinking of serving it up for the Super Bowl, too.
I have yet to go grocery shopping… but that’s not entirely because I’m feeling guilty about having food to use up, as so much that I have two young kids that don’t do well there …and I hate Walmart. 😉
Sweet & Spicy Chili
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 yellow onion , chopped
- 16 oz . can light red kidney beans
- 15 oz . can Ranch-Style beans with jalapenos
- 28 oz . can crushed tomatoes
- 1 oz . package dry Ranch dip mix
- 12 oz . bottle chili sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
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Cook beef and onions in a large pot or Dutch oven, over medium heat, until beef is browned. Crumble the beef as it cooks. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 1 hour. Serve with sweet cornbread.
I’ve never thought of using chili sauce in chili! I just made some last night. Maybe I’ll transform the leftover with a bit of chili sauce tonight.
Help! What are ” Ranch style beans”? Probably sounds like a dumb question but none of our local stores ( Nova Scotia) have any beans labelled ” ranch style”! Thx.
Hi Faye,
Here is a link to what I’m referring to when I list “Ranch-Style Beans”. I believe there are homemade recipes available if you do a quick Google search. I’ve never tried a homemade version, though, as these are available to me at my grocery store. I believe they are a little harder to find if not in the Southern part of the U.S. Hope this helps! 🙂
http://www.conagrafoods.com/our-food/brands/ranch-style-beans