I can’t believe that it is November already! Fall seemed to come and go really fast here in the Midwest with a section of it getting an early start on winter and having snow on Halloween. Snow!! I have definitely been seeing a lot of posts about people winterizing their RV’s and I personally am so jealous of those of you that get to camp year round. When the weather gets to be to cold or snowy for camping (I am not a winter camping girl, but kudos to those of you brave souls that are!) I just want to curl up under a blanket with a good book and some hot coffee. Another cold weather favorite for me is my dad’s chili!
When I was a kid my family did chili cookoffs. Saturday mornings in the summer we would get up early, pack up our gear and head out to the cookoff. It was so much fun, the creativity in decorating booths, the aromas of chili spices in the air all morning, and finally the anticipation as you wait to see what the judges think. We started doing these cookoffs spur of the moment after visiting a competition. After talking, tasting, talking and tasting some more, we were invited to try our hand at it the following day, (yes…two chili cook-offs in two days!) and so we did! It took several cookoffs for my parents to develop their chili recipe with the right blend of spices and seasonings. One year, my dad even placed 1st in the State Chili Cook-Off which was definitely a highlight for us.
Today we don’t do chili cookoffs anymore but we sure love to make a pot over the campfire when we’re camping in the fall. To me, there is nothing like the smell of a slow cooked batch of chili. We’ve adapted our competition chili recipe to be a more “everyday chili” (as in we made it less spicy, simpler spices and more flexibility on other ingredients). It is easily adaptable to your like of “heat” in a chili though.
What You’ll Need
- Chicken or Beef Broth
- Crushed Tomatoes
- Diced Tomatoes
- Black Beans
- Onion
- Oil
- Spice mix
To Make the Chili
Start by browning ground beef with chopped onions.
Once the meat is fully cooked add broth to the pot. I love using Bonafide Provisions bone broth for this to get those extra nutrients in, but your favorite broth will work great.
Then add the tomatoes. We love using Red Gold tomatoes in ours because they are grown here in the U.S and have BPA free cans. I met some of the people from Red Gold when I attended the Made in America convention and it was great to learn more about their company and the products that I already loved!
You’ll also want to add a can of beans, black or kidney are perfect for this. If you’re paleo or low carb you can leave the beans out but personally, I love beans in my chili.
Flavorful Spices
This is also when you’ll want to add the spices. Before I list them, I’d like to talk a little bit about spices in general. I don’t list what brands I use typically because there are so many fabulous brands out there. It is easy to buy gourmet specialty spices that are fabulous or less expensive generic or store brands that totally live up to their flavor. This choice is up to you and your budget. I do know there is a never ending list of available “chili powder” blends on the market. We have used many and honestly do not have a true favorite. In a future post I will write about a company we do love to order our chili spices from. You’ll need:
- Paprika
- Chili Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Salt & Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper (optional)
Once you’ve added the above ingredients, you’ll want to leave it to simmer. The longer it simmers the better but usually I can’t wait very long. Make sure you stir occasionally to prevent it from sticking.
My next addition is totally optional and the chili is every bit as delicious without it, but it does add a slight touch of sweet to the pot. When you’re almost ready to eat add a bag of frozen sweet corn (Tip: drained canned corn would work great too and doesn’t need to be kept cold!) After you add the corn, bring the chili back to a simmer to heat the corn thoroughly.
Make This Chili Your Own
Now lets talk about toppings! I love chili with a small scoop of sour cream and a little cheese but it’s delicious as is. I also like to make up a batch of cornbread. Here I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread.
Chili and cornbread is the perfect combination and this gluten free mix made it super easy to make at the campground. Normally I’d make something like this from scratch but having a mix while camping was really convenient.
This chili is really simple to make but it packs a lot of flavor. Since many of the ingredients are canned it’s also a great food to make if you don’t have a lot of fridge or cooler space.
What is your favorite cold weather food? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Camping,
-Jess
Campfire Chili
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Ground Beef
- 2 Medium Onions
- 1 28 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes,
- 1 15 oz Can Diced Tomatoes
- 24 oz Chicken or Beef Broth
- 1 Can Black or Kidney Beans
- 8 oz Bag of Frozen Sweet Corn
- 3 Tbsp Avocado Oil (for the pan)
Spices
- 1 Tbsp Paprika
- 3 Tbsp Cumin
- 6 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tbsp Salt
- ½ Tbsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Chop onion into ½ inch pieces. Heat dutch oven over fire or grill with avocado oil in the bottom. Once hot, add ground beef and onion.
- When ground beef is cook thoroughly, add all ingredients except corn.
- Cook chili for at least one hour. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.
- When chili has been heated thoroughly and you are almost ready to serve, add the sweet corn and bring back to a boil.
- Serve chili hot with side of corn bread and toppings
Notes
If you loved this recipe be sure to check out these other camping favorites
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