Dina’s Chili is so good any time of the year! In the winter when you want to warm up, it is plain old comfort food. Summer when the grill is warmed up and hamburgers are on the menu. All you need, is to add a little chili, cheese and maybe some BBQ sauce and you have a great chili cheeseburger.
Super Bowl parties are another great time to serve Dina’s Chili. It feeds a lot of people and it is wallet friendly. I serve it with cheese, sour cream and green onions, but sometimes, I warm up hot dogs under the broiler and we make delicious, chili dogs.
There is a new recipe coming later this week on Dina’s Diner that uses Dina’s Chili on a new appetizer called Frito Pie. Come back and take a look soon!
How to Make Dina’s Chili
1. Brown 2 pounds of ground beef. Brown this in a large soup pot. I use an 8 quart dutch oven. This soup will be on the stove for several hours on low heat. You want something with a lid that can handle the heat. You can also put this in a slow cooker on low. Use your spatula to really break up the hamburger. It makes for even bites of food later on when everything is put together.
2. Cut up the onion and cook it with the hamburger. It adds a layer of flavor when you sauté the onions with the ground hamburger. The onions pick up the flavors of the beef fat and this contributes to a better flavor than if you just throw them in with the liquids to cook.
3. Once the hamburger and onions are browned, add all the spices, tomatoes, tomato sauce and sugar. There is no typo, you need 2 Tbsp. of chili powder. I promise it will not be too hot. It might seem a lot of salt, but you need it.
The salt is needed to balance out the tomatoes and the beans. They need some help!
4. Get this boiling and lower the heat. Put the lid on and simmer for 2-4 hours. The spices, meat and tomatoes need to marry and develop the layers of flavors we are looking for. Stir every 30 minutes. If it ever looks like it is getting dry, add 2 cups of water.
5. About an hour before you serve the chili, pour in the V-8 juice. It really adds a lot of flavor. It has a subtle taste of celery that adds a big punch.
6. Add the canned beans with their juice from the can. Of course, if you like making your own beans instead of using canned beans, it all adds to the depth of flavor. I have a tutorial on how to cook beans coming soon.
7. Mix the masa flour with the water and pour it into the mixture. Masa is a corn flour you can find next to all the flours in the baking aisle. You can replace the masa with all purpose flour if you just cannot find it. Stir until everything is well mixed.
8. Bring everything to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer for another hour. Stir every 15 minutes or so.
9. Now you have the most delicious chili for any burgers, hot dogs, or Frito Pie.
Let me know on Instagram or Pinterest if you make this. Post a picture and tag me @dinasdiner. I want to know how it turns out.
Dina’s Chili
Ingredients
- 2 lb. Hamburger
- 1 Large Onion
- 32 oz. Canned Tomatoes
- 16 oz. Tomato Sauce
- 2 Tbsp. Chili Powder
- 1 Tbsp. Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Pepper
- 1 tsp. Cumin
- 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Cans 15.5 oz Kidney Beans
- 2 Cans 15.5 Chili Beans or Pinto Beans
- 2 12 oz. V-8 juice
- 1/3 Cup Masa Flour
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 1 Cup Cheddar Cheese
- 1 Cup Sour Cream
- 1/2 Cup Green Onions
Instructions
- Brown hamburger.
- Cut up the onion and cook with the hamburger.
- Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, all spices and sugar.
- Bring this to a boil with a lid on and then turn heat down and simmer for 2-4 hours. Stir every 30 minutes.
- An hour before serving and V-8 juice. Stir well.
- Mix masa flour with water until smooth. Add to the chili and mix well.
- Add beans and the juice in the cans. Bring everything to a boil with a lid and then reduce to a simmer for an hour. Stir occasionally.
- Grate the cheese.
- Place cheese, sour cream, and chopped green onions out as toppings for the chili when you serve it.
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