Venison Chili

Venison Chili

I've always been a lover of comfort foods. Casseroles, potpies, chicken 'n dumplings, stews, chowders, cheesy macaroni and cheese, you name it. I'm sure I love it. But, for the life of me, I cannot remember eating chili when I was growing up - and the same goes for the husband. So it's a little strange that he and I have recently morphed into these people who eat chili - all sorts of chili - all the time. 

We've tried white chili, black bean chili, turkey chili and vegetarian chili, to name a few. So using the leftover ground venison from the husband's birthday venison burger birthday dinner to make venison chili just seemed natural. 

Venison Chili Topped With Baked Corn Tortillas

Venison Chili

Serves 6, 1 1/2 cups per serving

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 lb. ground venison

1/4 tablespoon chili pepper flakes

2 cups water

1/2 tablespoon chili powder (or to taste)

1 (16 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 (16 ounce) can medium salsa

corn tortillas, toasted and cut for topping, optional

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the venison in the heated oil. 

Rinse and drain the beans. Mash one of the cans of beans. Stir the chili pepper flakes, water, beans, chili powder and salsa into the cooked venison. (We actually found the last of last year's homemade salsa in the fridge and threw that in, too.)

Looking forward to more fresh tomatoes so we can refresh the salsa supply!

Venison chili in the making

Cover the chili and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and let the chili simmer until it has thickened to your liking. (We let our batch simmer for about 30 or 40 minutes; it was perfect. You can serve yours as soon as it has boiled, though. If you don't want to let it set and simmer, no worries!)