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Selecting The Right Chilli Recipes For Certain Crowds

By Stella Gay


Many families need meals that will stretch the household budget and this is ever so true when there are lots of hungry people to feed at one time. When settlers headed West in wagon trains, stews were popular. As time passed, the cooks began to combine all sorts of ingredients. These chilli recipes were handed down to kin through the years.

People choose to add ingredients to these trail stews that certain people at a gathering will like. Some visitors are known to prefer foods that are livened up by spices that will burn the recesses of the mouth. Other people choose to prepare this type of recipe just to enjoy the rich sauce that seems to surround any other ingredient that is placed in the pot during the cooking cycle.

The availability of cooking ingredients changed along the route. Settlers always had a supply of rice on hand, but could fix these stews using beans like the kidney bean or Navy bean. People that had lived in colder climates were used to eating Northern beans. Today, most people make bean selection after the meat has been chosen.

The appearance and taste of the dish can change dramatically based on how it is cooked. The stews can be slow cooked on a stove top using various fuel sources. A slow cooker and a crock pot will allow the dish to steep in its own juices without fear of losing moisture that is full of flavor gained from the ingredients. Some flavors found in stews cooked on the open range originated from old coffee and an open fire.

Many cooks choose to use a variety of tomatoes to control the flavor. Tomatoes can be steamed and canned for many years. Fresh tomatoes can be diced and added to the mixture, or chunks of the fresh tomato can be added to thicken the mixture. Some people will add canned green peppers and tomatoes into the mixture for added flavor.

Fresh vegetables provide the cooks with the opportunity to create a signature dish. Southern cooks like to add sweet onions to the pot. Fresh red onions can add color, and white onions offer a more pronounced flavor. For variety, some cooks will squeeze lemon juice into the mass, and add chopped scallions for contrast. A sprinkle of parsley, and a handful of celery will give the mixture some body.

Caution should be used when adding water to the cooking vessel because the mixture will have the tendency to resemble soup if too much water is added. If the recipe was initially created using a stove top burner, then water should be added at different times during cooking. Slow cookers do not allow moisture to evaporate so water should be used conservatively.

The dry ingredients for these stews will create the flavor base, and many cooks will add spices that are compatible to the meat that will be used. Any combination of pork, beef and turkey can be used based on personal preferences or crowd appeal. The fat content for these stews is monitored to ensure that every spoonful is free of grease.




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