Chili is the perfect meal for a snowy winter day.  These recipes provide two very different takes on the traditional chili and are both enormously popular at our house.  They are assembled using the layering method and are raw-packed, making it simple to create up to family dinners at one cooking session. (Or more if you canner will hold it!)

Soak the beans ahead of time and they will cook perfectly during the canning process.

Another great thing about chili is the nutritional value: it’s loaded with protein, vitamins and fiber! 

The canned chili that you get from the grocery store generally contains lower quality meats, the least expensive vegetables available and relies on artificial flavors and chemicals like MSG for its taste. This heat-and-eat meal is a far better addition to your pantry.

Feel free to take liberties with the ingredients, using whatever you are able to source healthfully.  The seasoning is the important part!

Mexican-Texican Cowboy Chili

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of ground beef/ground turkey/ground whatever
• 1 cup of diced onion
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 cups of dried pinto beans
• 1 cup of diced bell pepper
• Jalapeno peppers as desired

Liquid

• 8 cups of crushed tomatoes/tomato juice
• 1 can of beer (or water if you don’t have beer on hand)
• ½ cup of chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp parsley
• Water as needed

Directions

1. In a stockpot, bring all liquid ingredients except for water to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, layer your meat, dried beans, onions, garlic and bell pepper evenly across your sanitized jars – this will make 4 quarts of very thick chili.
3. Pour your hot liquid mixture over the layered ingredients, then top off with water, leaving an inch of headspace.
4. Process at 10 pounds of pressure for an hour and a half in your p-canner.  Be sure to adjust for altitude.

Sweet and Spicy Chili

This recipe is awesome if you happen to acquire some venison or other game.  A lot of people are uncomfortable with the unfamiliar “wild” flavor of the meat and this extremely well-seasoned chili hides that.  Minus the jalapenos (at least in my world!) this is a very kid-friendly flavor.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 pounds of stewing beef/stewing whatever
• 1 slice of bacon per jar
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 2 cups of dried red kidney beans
• 1 cup of bell pepper, diced
• Finely minced jalapeno pepper to taste

Liquid:

• 8 cups of tomato puree
• ½ cup of apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup of brown sugar or molasses
• ½ cup of chili powder
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• Water as needed

Directions:

• In a stockpot, bring all liquid ingredients except for water to a boil.
• Layer your raw meat, dried beans, bacon, onions, garlic and bell pepper evenly across your prepped jars – this will make 4 quarts of very thick chili.
• Pour your hot liquid mixture over the layered ingredients, then top off with water as needed, leaving an inch of headspace.
• Process at 10 pounds of pressure for an hour and a half in your p-canner.   Be sure to adjust for altitude.
• When serving your chili, be sure to shred the bacon with a fork and stir it in.