Chili Cook Off: 3 Recipes to Spice Up Your Life

3 awesomely diverse takes on chili to guarantee a win at any cook off. Just looking for dinner? These bowls will deliver.

Instructable includes:

Black Bean Lamb Chili with Red Wine
White Chicken Chili with Lime
Vegetarian Chili with Dark Chocolate

3 hot spicy bowls of chili, comin right up! Yeah, you want more? No problem!

For a limited time only, you get a dessert recipe free. Free? I'll give it you for free. You can't beat that!

Step 1: Lamb Chili With Black Beans and Red Wine

This deliciously low fat chili delivers a rich flavor without being too heavy. Lamb slow cooked in red wine with black beans, how very different from your average boring chili. This will kick all the chili judges on their butt! My family has been making this recipe for years. Low fat: yes, easy to make: yes, tastes funching great. Lets get to it:

Lamb chili with Black Beans and Red Wine

• 1 1/2 lb ground lamb
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
• 1 c. dry red wine
• 1 Tbs chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 15 oz. cans black beans, drained
• salt to taste
• hot sauce to taste

Here are the full directions

Step 2: White Chicken Chili With Lime

This chili recipe is based off the Thai Tom Kah soup recipe. Grilled vegetables and chicken breast are stewed with rice in a coconut milk broth and spiked with the tart flavor of fresh lime juice. This unique chili tingles all corners of the tongue. Its spicy, sweet, tart and salty.

White Chicken Chili with Lime

• 1 large chicken breast, sliced
• 1 large red pepper, sliced
• 1 large green pepper, sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced into wedges
• 4-5 limes juiced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1-2 tsp chili powder (depending on taste)
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 can white beans
• 3/4 c. frozen corn
• 1 Tbs honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Here are the full directions.

Step 3: Vegetarian Chili With Dark Chocolate

While meat may be a treat for some, for others its just plain icky yuk gross. When making a more traditional tomato based chili, who needs meat when you've got all the beans and veggies and deliciousness to fill up the bowl. So all you cows and chicken out there can breath a sigh of relief cause you've earned another week on the farm. Today we're directing our butcher knives the poblano pepper way. Watch out veggies, you're about to get cooked.

Vegetarian Chili with TVP

• 1 c. tvp
• 1/4 c. nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 onion chopped
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers chopped
• 1 Tbs lime juice
• 1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
• 1 12 oz. can of tomato sauce
• 2 large poblano peppers, roasted
• 1/4 raisins or dried cranberries
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 c. corn, fresh if possible, but frozen will do
• 1-2 oz of dark chocolate
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• salt and pepper to taste

Ingredient notes: Tvp or textured vegetable protein and nutritional yeast can be bought in the bulk dried foods section at your local health food store or at Whole Paycheck ahem, I mean our evil friend, the Walmart of green living, Whole Foods. I like to use Tvp in my chili because its cheap, easy to make and adds just a bit more texture and protein (especially good for vegans). The only problem with Tvp is, it doesn't taste like anything, so we have to spice it up.
I use nutritional yeast as well as other spices to infuse some flavor into the tvp. Nutritional yeast , a staple for any vegan pantry, comes in handy for making a lot of dishes like vegan mac and cheese. If you don't have nutritional yeast, you can use salt, but the nutritional yeast also supplies a nice nutty flavor.

Check out the full directions.

Step 4: Dessert! Bizcocho Tres Leche With Mango Salsa Sorbet

What? Bizcocho Tres Leche and Mango Salsa sorbet. What kinda gourmet shit is this?

Well, it's simply three milk cake with some mango salsa frozen. Easy!

Here's the recipe for the cake:

Bizcocho Tres Leche

Milk Mixture

• 1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 12oz can evaporated milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

Cake

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tbs corn syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Pour condensed milk into large microwave safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on low power, stirring every 3-5 minutes until slightly darkened and thickened, 9-15 minutes. Remove from microwave and add the rest of the milk mixture ingredients and allow to cool to room temp.

2) Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 325. Grease and flour 13x9in baking pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in bowl. Heat butter and milk in small sauce pan over low heat until butter is melted; set aside off heat.

3) With electric mixer on med speed, beat eggsin large bowlfor about 30 seconds, then slowly add sugar until incorporated. Increase to med-hi speed until egg mixture very thick and glossy, 5-7 min. Reduce to slow speed and mix in the melted butter and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in three additions, scraping down bowl as necessary, then mix at med speed until fully incorporated. scoop into pan and bake 30-35 mintutes. test with toothpick. Let cool on wire rack for 10 min.

4) Using skewer, poke holes at 1/2 in. intervals in cake and pour milk mixture over top until fully absorbed. Let sit for 15 min, then cool uncovered 3-24 hours in fridge.

5) Remove cake from fridge 30 min before serving. With mixer on med speed beat cream, corn syrup, and vanilla to soft peaks. Frost and serve in 3in squares.

For the Mango Salsa Sorbet, I made up a mango salsa of mangos, kiwi, green onion, jalapenos, lime juice, salt and chopped cilantro. I pureed it and then following a general sorbet recipe, put that stuff in an ice cream maker.

General Sorbet Recipe

• 3 parts fruit puree
• 1 part simple syrup, chilled

For more info on the ingredients and the simple syrup, check out my Mango Salsa Sorbe blog post.