Homemade Mild Chilli Seasoning

I know that chilli mix isn’t exactly a “Mother Earth Monday” topic, so I am not putting that in the title, but bear with me on this. Making your own seasoning mixes does actually stay pretty true to the spirit of my normal Monday postings. How is that you ask?

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There are two primary concerns seem to bother people about the various instant mixes out there. The eat-healthy crowd absolutely hates MSG. Almost every instant anything has the stuff in it, so making your own is about the only way to avoid those three little letters. The other concern is price. It is really hard to deal with spending a dollar and a half or more for thirty cents worth of seasoning. This instant chilli mix is right up there with McCormick in terms of flavor, but will cost you far less and you have complete control of the ingredients.

The basic mix is only seasoning and blissfully simple. Mix all of the ingredients below well and then divide into two parts. How you make your chilli, will have a lot of influence on if you need to thicken it or adjust the salt levels. This is generally good when paired with a pound of beef, an onion, a cup of beans (soaked overnight), a can of tomato sauce, a can of tomatoes (or fresh if you know how to work with that), and perhaps a few other items like a green pepper. I tend to dice the onion and pepper, cooking them with the beef and draining after the meet is fully cooked. While that is going, I pressure-cook the beans for about 30 minutes or until soft (it varies by the bean type). Kidney beans are a great choice, but won’t thicken the soup on their own.

I drain the beans and replace the water, adding all of the other ingredients and the seasoning. This is then cooked for about fifteen minutes to decide if I need a thickener. If I do, I pull hot liquid into a bowl and mix with the thickener until well blended. This is then poured into the main and mixed well. Cook for another half an hour at a low simmer to let the chilli thicken and flavors mingle. The longer you cook it, the better it tends to be in my opinion.

Main Ingredients
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon dehydrated onion (powdered is best)
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1-2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dehydrated garlic (powdered is best)

Thickener (depends on the type of bean used)
2 tablespoons of starch (corn starch, potato starch, etc)

What are your thoughts?

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