VLC Chili....

[barbie]

So I made a TON of the VLC Chili last night and brought some with me to work today for lunch. I made so much of it and froze some to pull out for the week, I was all pumped for this week to be great, and then I had some of it at lunch and.....it was disgusting!!!! I ate maybe two bites of it and I could barely swallow it...

Now what can I do.. I feel very defeated with my attempt to be on plan this week and now I've wasted so much food...

[Dottie]

What didn't you like about it? Maybe adding some beef broth or spices would help?

[swella73]

Really?? That is my absolute favorite!! You can add spices and chili powder as well. Did you do that? I ate chili every day last week for lunch, it was GREAT!!

Sorry it wasn't appealing to you....Tell us what you put in it, maybe we can help you tweak it!

[BigBravesGirl]

I have loved the P2 chili since the beginning. On my last round, I bought some canned tomatoes that were evidently bad. I made a huge batch only to throw the entire thing away. So it may have been your tomatoes.

[debkeversole]

Originally Posted by barbie

So I made a TON of the VLC Chili last night and brought some with me to work today for lunch. I made so much of it and froze some to pull out for the week, I was all pumped for this week to be great, and then I had some of it at lunch and.....it was disgusting!!!! I ate maybe two bites of it and I could barely swallow it...

Now what can I do.. I feel very defeated with my attempt to be on plan this week and now I've wasted so much food...

add a bit of hot sauce(franks or Tabasco) to the rest of the batch and then see if you like it better

[Dreamchaser]

Barbie, what recipe did you use? I would never have survived P2 without my beloved chili. It was my saving grace!

[LilacBruze]

Originally Posted by Dreamchaser

Barbie, what recipe did you use? I would never have survived P2 without my beloved chili. It was my saving grace!

My gosh. Me too. Even now in P3 I have been eating it, and plan to continue eating it.

What do you find blech-y about it?

[emel]

I like P2 chili but sometimes the tomato part tastes a little overdone and acidic to me.
If that happens, I steam some cabbage and add to it. Mixing veggies like that might not work with your plan but I'm okay with it.

[verbqueen]

I love the P2 chili because it's exactly what chili is SUPPOSED to be--spicy, meaty and free of beans! (And I'm speaking as a native Texan, here...)

[kimmiecue]

after hearing people having trouble with Beef I made this today with chicken instead. First I roasted my tomatoes in the oven with lots of garlic and some lemon juice and spices and then mashed them when they were cooked. I used this for my chilli..it turned out amazing.

I made it pretty spicy
onion powder
garlic
chilli powder
chilli peppers
franks hot sauce
Jamaican spice and paprika
1 packet of stevia

sautéed the onion and garlic in a bit of chicken stock, added chopped up chicken, added the tomato and spices.. viola, my new favourite meal I think

[verbqueen]

Yum, sounds delish! But no cumin? Chili needs lots of cumin!

[kimmiecue]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh forgot I better go add some hahaha

[Nicole T]

I didn't like the chili recipe that everyone else raves about either so I just made another batch using my mom's recipe (minus the beans of course) and I LOVE it!! Really easy..., 1 onion, a green pepper (I don't like them cooked but I like the flavor it gives it), a few cloves of garlic, 2 lbs ground beef (I use 99% fat free ground turkey), 1 small can of tomato paste and 2-3 tablespoons of chili powder (I found the other recipe didn't taste like chili because it didn't call for enough chili powder) and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

Saute the onions, green pepper and garlic, add the beef/turkey and then the can of tomato paste. Fill the small, empty can of tomato paste with water and add that in. Cook to blend.

[LaraSuzz]

I didnt like it either and the shreded beef I made wasnt that great. I wasted a whole london broil on it and went backto my top round roast beef.

[Violet_Dream]

Originally Posted by verbqueen

I love the P2 chili because it's exactly what chili is SUPPOSED to be--spicy, meaty and free of beans! (And I'm speaking as a native Texan, here...)

Amen to that! I love the P2 chili and since I'm not a huge fan of beans (except black ones) - I don't miss them and it's absolutely delish.

[julieboolie]

I am usually a bit heavy handed w. my seasoning and will only use rotel to make mine, but I love it!! Added some beef broth and cooked onions in it first, ground beef, chipoltle pwd, garlic, cumin, chili pwd, salt, paprika, pepper - yummy! I'm looking forward to finishing some up tomorrow in P3.

[barbie]

It tasted like beef flavored bubble gum to me. ugh. I just didn't like it, just thinking about it is giving me a tummy ache.. yuck. I made it with cumin, onion powder, chili powder, garlic, paprika, beef, beef broth, and tomatoes. It was dry and gross.. I guess I'm not creative enough to experiment with different recipes. Trust me, I wish I liked it, but I didn.t

[verbqueen]

I put lots of water (or broth, if I have some handy) in mine, then let cook it down for a nice long time so the flavors blend. Chili needs oregano, too--chili powder, onion, garlic, cumin and oregano are the classic flavors that make up chili seasoning. Maybe get yours back out, put it on the stove, add more seasoning and some water and let it cook down and it'll get better?

[RedsSkinnyJeans]

Okay, so there are different recipes for this?

The one is have is toward the beginning of the P2 sticky. Is that the one most of ya'll are using?

[verbqueen]

I use 7 oz of ground sirloin and 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes, as per the recipe, but I do my seasoning freehand, until I get it where I want it. Then I add some water and let it do a long simmer to reduce.

[LilacBruze]

I don't add a lot to my ground beef (never made it with any other kind of meat). Fire roasted tomatoes, fresh minced garlic, a bit of reduced sodium fat free broth, fresh ground pepper, chili powder and Frank's hot sauce. Definitely NOT dry, almost soup-y! Your post didn't mention any hot sauce. I think it really needs the hot sauce for the tang factor, doesn't have to be a lot if you don't like spicy.

[metqa]

Originally Posted by barbie

It tasted like beef flavored bubble gum to me. ugh. I just didn't like it, just thinking about it is giving me a tummy ache.. yuck. I made it with cumin, onion powder, chili powder, garlic, paprika, beef, beef broth, and tomatoes. It was dry and gross.. I guess I'm not creative enough to experiment with different recipes. Trust me, I wish I liked it, but I didn.t

I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, but that's is such a great description!!!

Have you ever cooked with superlean beef before? I can understand the bubblegum texture complaint. What kind of meat did you use and did you rinse it?

You need a tiny bit of fat that teh 96% has to give it a non dry mouthfeel to make it palatable.

Another thing is not to overcook this lean meat. Seriously One Minute is enough. This doesn't need the long crock pot cooking times like ground chuck. it's done in an instant. longer cooking makes it more rubbery. Same with chicken breast.I just cook till the surface is cooked and let residual heat cook the rest.

If it's too darn dry, I'd take a chance and add a half teaspoon of fat to the serving just to make it palatable. Or if you have any gum thickeners, like guar, xanthan or glucomannon, add a bit of that to help it taste like it has fat in it.

Flavor. Did it 'taste' like chili or was it weak? That can be salvaged by adding a bit more chili powder and a touch of smoke and cocoa. yes, smoke seasoning liquid and unsweetened cocoa powder. it makes it taste more rich and even though cocoa seems to cut the sharpness of the tomato a bit. It also adds a smoother mouthfeel to the stew.

Sorry you made so much and didn't like it, next time be sure to taste it as you go, or do like I do and only make one or two servings at a time, until you are sure you have the perfect recipe. Not everyone likes the same chili recipes. Some are thinner, some are stronger. it's fun to experiment, but only when it ends up tasting good!