Chili Seasoning Mix

Homemade chili is one of the easiest meals to make.  It does take a little time to cook, but a slow cooker can cook all day, or you can leave a pot on the stove until you’re ready to eat.  Longer is better.

The spices for chili are really simple, and you likely already have them in your pantry or spice cabinet.  All you need is chili powder, cumin, red pepper, salt, oregano, and garlic.  You’ll add chopped onion when you make up the rest of the chili.  This mix calls for garlic powder, but feel free to use minced or chopped garlic instead. Powdered garlic has the advantage of letting you mix the spices in advance, but you give up a little bit of flavor for that convenience.  I’ve looked up conversion methods between fresh garlic cloves, jarred minced garlic, and garlic powder.  There is no standard conversion.  I aim for a roughly equal volume in whatever form.  

Chili and taco meat taste a lot alike, but distinctly different.  Chili includes oregano and garlic, but taco seasoning has coriander and paprika instead.  And tacos have more cumin than chili.  But you can compare for yourself here:

Chili Seasoning Mix	Taco Seasoning Mix
2 tablespoons chili powder	2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin	1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper	1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon salt	1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons garlic powder
	1 ½ teaspoons paprika
	1 teaspoon ground coriander
	2 teaspoons cornstarch

Sometimes when we travel and we’re going to have a kitchen, I measure out chili seasoning mix and bring it with me so we can eat chili for dinner.  I add it to 1 ½ lbs. of ground meat, 1 medium chopped onion, 2 cans of drained beans and 2 cans of diced tomatoes (all cans are standard 14 oz.).  What kind of beans?  Red, kidney and black are all good.  But steer clear of “chili beans” since these already have seasoning.  I like more control – so I use my own seasoning.