Chili will keep you warm on a cold winter day. Making your own chili at home allows you to customize it to your tastes. Chili can have a thick or a thin texture, depending on how much liquid you add to the recipe. If you add too much liquid, the chili can have too thin of a consistency. Adding a slurry mixture made from cornstarch will help to thicken the chili to your desired consistency. Does this Spark an idea?

• Combine 1 tbsp. of cornstarch and 1 tbsp. of cold water in a sauce pan for each cup of chili.


• Combine the mixture with a whisk to dissolve the cornstarch into the water. Remove the lumps from the mixture by crushing them with a spoon.


• Place the sauce pan over medium-heat on the stove top. Stir the mixture until it becomes thick and bubbles.


• Add the cornstarch mixture to the crock-pot chili. Simmer the chili for five minutes on low heat in the crock-pot to thicken it.

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Have a great recipe for chili? One that curls the toes and makes grown men cry? Do family and friends encourage the next step to enter a chili cook-off? Chili cook-offs are a great way to have fun, prove a great recipe and in some cases, raise funds for charity. To compete in a chili cook-off, use these steps. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Refine the recipe. Many chili recipes appear online and in cookbooks. Start with those as a beginning and develop an individual spin on it. Try variations and test the recipe on family, friends and co-workers.


• Attend cook-offs. Cook-offs are fun, but for a future contestant, attending chili cook-offs is a form of homework. Taste other chili recipes; compare them to a possible competition recipe. Learn how a cook-off is run and what makes a winner win.


• Join if necessary. The two major associations for chili chefs are the Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI) and the International Chili Society (ICS). ICS requires membership to compete in any of its sanctioned events.


• Check for area cook-offs. Both ICS and CASI list upcoming cook-offs that are sanctioned by their associations. Look for one nearby and contact the cook-off organizers for rules and registration information.


• Register and read the rules. Complete registration forms and fees should by a set deadline. Read the cook-off rules regarding arrival, the schedule and definitions.


• Review the judging criteria. While the criteria may vary from cook-off to cook-off, generally the judges look at flavor, consistency, meat texture, spices, smell and appearance. Make sure the chili recipe succeeds in all those areas.

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Hot spice can either make or break your dish. Without spice, the dish lacks in flavor; with too much, the dish is uncomfortably hot and inedible. The easiest way to prevent over-spicing is to add peppers and spice slowly, tasting after each addition. If, however, too much spice has been added, there are a few tricks you can implement before and after serving to help tone down the spiciness and help salvage the meal. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• The easiest way to tone down hot spices during or after cooking is to add a dairy product to it. To cool an item before serving, stir the dairy product directly into dishes including curry or chili. Add plain yogurt, milk, coconut milk or sour cream and stir. Dairy also can be used after serving as a cooling condiment. Cucumber raita made from plain yogurt and cucumbers is a typical condiment used for cooling spicy Indian or Asian foods. Adding sour cream to hot chili or other Mexican food items will help dull the spice.


• Mix sugar or honey into the dish. As a flavor, sweet counterbalances spice, so adding a small amount of something sweet such as sugar, honey or agave nectar can help to balance out the heat. Adding sugar or honey, however, does change the flavor, which should be kept in mind. Add only 1 tsp. at a time, and taste until properly balanced.


• Add more nonspice ingredients to spread the spice out. The common-sense solution to toning down spiciness is to simply add more bulk ingredients in order to dilute the spice. If you are making chili, add more beans, canned tomatoes, vegetables and meat. If you are making a curry, add potatoes and extra vegetables. If the spice is extreme, make an entire new batch minus the spices, and mix the two together.


• Stir in ½ tsp of baking soda to balance the pH. Baking soda can be added to a recipe to help neutralize the spice. Only add ½ tsp at a time, increasing until the right level of spiciness is reached.


• Squeeze a lemon or lime into the dish. Similar to baking soda, citric acid helps to combat the alkaline present in capsicum, which produces the burning spiciness of peppers. Squeeze whole lemons into the dish, and offer wedges on the table for guests to squeeze onto their own portions.


• Serve the spicy dish over potatoes or rice. If nothing can be done to tone down the spiciness of the dish during its preparation, serve it along with plenty of rice, pasta, potatoes or any other starchy food to spread out the spice so that less is consumed with each bite.

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You can can your own chili at home if you're tired of store bought or take-out brands. Before you start cooking, make sure you get a pressure canner with more than 12 quart capacity. You will also need canning jars, lids, a jar lifter and a canning funnel. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Find a large stockpot and begin to brown the onions, beef, and garlic. Drain the fat; canned chili won't keep as well if it has a high fat content. Add the other ingredients and reduce the heat on the stove to simmer. Cook your chili for approximately 20-25 minutes, and then skim the fat again.


• Use your pressure canner and keep simmering water. Place these clean jars in the simmering water for sanitization. If you have a dishwasher, you can use it as well. Put your jar lids in a bowl of hot water until you use them.


• Spoon the hot chili into each jar and leave about 1 inch of space from the top. Make sure each chili jar is clean and that it seals. Place your lids on and tighten the lids until you feel resistance. Place the jars into the simmering water to seal.


• Place the lids on the canner. You must vent the pressure canner after 10 minutes so you can close the petcock. Wait until the pressure hits 10 lbs. Place the lid on the canner but leave the petcock open. Process each jar for about an hour and a half.


• After you have completed the process, let the pressure canner cool for 30 minutes. Let any steam remove from the pressure canner, and then use a jar lifter to take out the jars.


• Let your jars sit for 24 hours. Tap the lids. If you hear a dull sound, serve that jar of chili in the next day or so. The lids should give off a ringing when tapped with a metal spoon.

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Pinto beans are the standard beans used in chili recipes. Cooking pinto beans for chili is simple. If you have a pressure cooker the total time for cooking can be cut to less than an hour, but even the traditional method only takes three to four hours and requires very little work. If you soak the beans overnight, the time required to cook the beans can be even less. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Sort the beans by placing a small amount of beans in your hand and making sure that there are no foreign objects, such as small pebbles or bean plant stems in the package. While this doesn't happen often, this should be done just to make sure that you are cooking nothing but beans.


• Place the beans into a stockpot or the base of your pressure cooker.


• Fill the pot with water, cover and let the beans soak overnight or for at least six hours.


• Drain the water from the beans. You will see that the beans have plumped to about twice the size of the original dried beans.


• Place the beans back into the stockpot and cover the beans with enough water so that the water level is 3 to 4 inches above the beans.


• Add in any chili seasonings you desire. This could be several tbsps. of chili powder, a tsp. of cumin and hot pepper flakes to taste. These flavors will be absorbed into the beans as they cook.


• Bring the water in the beans to a boil and then turn the heat down to where the water is simmering a slow boil.


• Let the beans cooks until soft, stirring occasionally to make sure that the beans are not sticking to the bottom of the pan.


• Drain the beans and add the remainder of the chili ingredients and cook according to the chili recipe.


• Place the beans in the pot of the pressure cooker.


• Add any desired seasonings to the beans.


• Fill the pressure cooker with water to the fill line marked inside the cooker pot.


• Lock the lid of the pressure cooker in place.


• Cook the beans over medium heat until the pressure gauge begins to jiggle.


• Turn the heat to medium low and continue to cook for 45 to 50 minutes.


• Remove the pressure cooker from the heat and allow the cooker to cool.


• Unlock the lid of the cooker and use the cooked pinto beans in any chili recipe.

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A "delicious" chili for a hot dog is, of course, up to the taste buds of the individual. The best way to make it delicious is to make a chili that will meet your personal standards. This basic recipe can stretch into other meals. It can serve as a dip, be spread over spaghetti, or used in burritos. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Brown 1 lb. of ground beef and add 5 tbsp. of chili powder. Use a spatula to break up the meat until it is as fine as possible. Drain the finished meat and transfer it into a sauce pan.


• Add 1/2 a cup of ketchup and 1/4 of a cup of mustard and stir until they are well mixed in the sauce. Add some black ground pepper to taste, and add onions, cheese and beans if you choose to use them.


• Add 1/3 cup of brown sugar, then give the chili a taste test. Add more or less of any ingredient until the chili tastes exactly the way you want. Let the finished chili simmer for about 10 minutes before using it on the hot dogs.

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Jalapenos can add a nice, spicy bite to any chili recipe. Fresh jalapenos have a milder taste than spicier chilies, such as serranos, especially when the seeds, which carry the hot oils, are removed. Cutting the jalapeno into small pieces will allow the flavor to distribute evenly throughout the chili. Chopping a jalapeno isn't a difficult task, as long as you remember to keep your fingers away from the oils in the seeds. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Put on kitchen gloves to avoid a burning sensation in your hands when touching jalapeno peppers.


• Wash the jalapeno peppers in water and scrub lightly to remove any grime or pesticide residue.


• Cut off the top, and cut the jalapeno pepper lengthwise. Remove the seeds and ribs with the edge of your knife from inside the jalapeno to cut down on the heat. Alternately, you can cut lengthwise along each side of the jalapeno until only the middle, with the seeds, remains.


• Cut the half of a jalapeno into strips lengthwise, then gather the strips together and cut crosswise into small pieces. Smaller pieces will allow the flavor of the jalapeno to distribute more evenly in the chili.


• Stir the jalapeno pieces into the chili recipe, making sure the chili has time to simmer with the jalapenos.


• Remove the gloves and wash your hands thoroughly to remove the oil from the peppers.

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Cocoa powder can bring an extra dimension to your next pot of chili. Its rich, brown color and smooth, roasted flavor appeal to the senses. With natural antioxidant power that is good for the body and enough acid to tenderize meats, this powder will be your secret to an amazing bowl of chili. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Cocoa powder can add a slow-simmered flavor to your chili. Cocoa powder is made by fermenting, drying, and roasting pods from the cacao plant. After the shell of the pod has been removed, the remaining product is ground into a pure chocolate liquor. This liquor is pressed to remove most of the cocoa butter, which leaves behind pure, unsweetened cocoa powder. This long process adds deep flavors to the powder that can be imparted to your chili.


• Adding cocoa powder to your chili can add a rich, brown color. When the cocoa powder mixes with the fats in your chili it will give the surface the oily brown sheen of dark chocolate. The powder tends to deepen the red color of the chilies and tomatoes resulting in an overall burgundy color. This color denotes a longer cooking time and mimics the color of a stew that has been cooked in a well-used cast-iron pot.


• The fruit of the cacao plant is full of antioxidants. Antioxidants are nutrients in the foods we eat that can slow or prevent the damage done by free radicals in the body. Processing the fruit into chocolate reduces some its antioxidant power. Cocoa power, which is the least-processed form of the fruit, is highest in antioxidants. Cocoa powder has almost two times the antioxidants of red wine and three times the amount found in green tea.


• In a chili cook-off, a secret ingredient like cocoa powder can be what sets your chili apart. Bring your powder to the cook-off premixed in an unmarked bag with your other spices. The cocoa will add a complexity to the chili that will be remember by the judges. When used heavily, this ingredient can win over the real chocoholics in the crowd. When used sparingly, its subtle flavors will leave them guessing and coming back for more.


• Adding natural cocoa can harness the power of acid to tenderize the meat in your chili. Natural, unsweetened cocoa powder is a strong acid. There are two kinds of unsweetened cocoa: natural and dutch-processed. Dutch-processed cocoa powder has alkali added to make it a neutral substance. Natural cocoa retains its acidity and breaks down the connective tissues of meats. Adding natural cocoa will result in a more tender pot of chili.

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A warm bowl of chili is a perfect dish for a cold fall or winter day as it is tasty and filling. Chili is traditionally cooked with ground beef, chili peppers, garlic, onions and cumin powder and simmered for several hours. Tomatoes and beans are common additions to chili but you certainly don’t have to use them. While all chili recipes are somewhat spicy, depending on your preference, you can add extra heat through spices, hot sauce or hot peppers. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Add extra spices in ground form. Ground spices have a more intense flavor than whole spices and can make your bowl of chili spicy with just a quick pinch. Chili powder or cayenne pepper are easily sprinkled on a bowl of chili while a few crushed red pepper flakes can be added to a pot of chili and simmered for another 20 minutes.


• Simmer the chili with chopped peppers such as habanero or jalapeno peppers. These peppers are very hot and are often used in extremely spicy chili recipes. One or two of these peppers will add more than enough spice if added to a chili while it cooks. Place the peppers in whole or chop them before adding to chili.


• Dash a few drops of hot sauce to a finished bowl of chili. Since the chili is done cooking, spices or peppers won’t work as well but hot sauces can add quick heat. If you’re truly brave, use a couple drops of an extreme hot sauce.

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So you made a delicious pot of chili, perfect for a cold night at home ... except for one thing. You used too much chili powder, and the chili's too spicy for comfort. Don't worry. You don't have to throw it out. There are ways to cool it down. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Adding dairy is the quickest and easiest way to cool down spicy foods. Add a big dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt to your chili or mix some in to the pot. Slices or sprinklings of cheese can also soak up some of the spice.


• If you have the time and ingredients, make a second batch of chili, but leave the chili powder out completely. When the second batch is done, mix the two batches together. The net effect will be to halve the amount of chili powder in the chili overall. This is the only way to cut down on the spice without changing the chili's flavor.


• Lemon or lime juice will help get your chili's heat under control. Adding sugar also cools down heat, though too much can change the flavor of your chili significantly. You can also dilute the chili powder by adding a can of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce.

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