Easy Harvest Chili: Harvest Meals
August 29, 2024
This chili is an easy meal that always earns rave reivews. It gets better the longer it cooks and freezes like a dream.
When we were first married, my wonderful mother in law was the main harvest cook. She could whip up the most delicious food seemingly out of nowhere. I was lucky to be invited into her kitchen to help and see the magic. Her kids always said that her kitchen had a “magic fridge” – it always had something good to eat whenever you opened the door.
When we first moved to the farm, our boys were 1 and 3 and I worked full time. The best way to make sure the kids saw their dad during seeding and harvest was to pack up a supper and take it to the field. They’d run through the stubble, carrying lunch kits, containers of cookies and to-go mugs of coffee, proud to be helping Dad.
It seemed like overnight they were big enough to help in the fields and suddenly I was running boys and lunches to tractors and combines after school. And while most people think that tractors run on diesel fuel, I believe they run better on a full stomach!
I’ve been running meals to the field for over 20 years now (which is impossible, because I am definitely not this old), with a large inventory of recipes that are tried and true field favorites. One of the easiest is Harvest Chili because it can be made quickly and put in the oven or slow cooker to finish. It freezes really well too!
This is a “convenience food” recipe using condensed soup and canned beans. Let’s get real here. I want to feed my family the highest quality ingredients and not rely on processed foods. But between working, gardening, and taking care of all the little things, sometimes a little condensed soup is the difference between getting a meal out the door and giving up and heating up a frozen pizza. (And there is nothing wrong with that either! A fed farmer is a happy farmer)
Easy Harvest Chili – Step by Step
To make the chili, start with dicing an onion in thin strips. Heat a couple of tablespoons of butter (or bacon fat if you’ve got it) over low heat. Cook the onions in the butter for at least 15 minutes. After about 5 minutes, sprinkle some salt on top. The onions should become translucent. It’s not long enough to carmelize but will add a ton of flavor to the chili.
Push the onions to the outside edge of the pan and add your ground beef. Scramble fry the beef and stir the onions in.
Once the ground beef is nearly cooked, with just a little pink remaining, make a well in the centre of the frying pan. Add all the spices to this hole and heat for about 30 seconds. Stir into the beef and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, about the amount of time it takes to open all the cans.
Add the soup, brown beans, kidney beans (if your family likes them) and a can of sliced mushrooms. I prefer to drain the mushrooms unless the chili looks dry. Cook on the stovetop for at least 20 minutes if you need to serve directly from the frying pan.
This chili gets better and better the longer it cooks, so the better option is to transfer the chili to a covered casserole dish and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for one to two hours. Alternatively, pour it into a slow cooker set on low and let it simmer for the day.
This chili freezes really well too. Let it cool down and transfer to a large freezer bag or freezer safe container. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for at least an hour.
We think chili is best eaten with a fresh bun, plenty of butter and a great dessert. In later posts, I’ll be sharing our family’s favorites for both.
Harvest Chili
Equipment
- Casserole dish
- Slow Cooker optional
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 0.5 cup diced onion
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 1.5 pound ground beef
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 0.5 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 0.5 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt optional or to taste
- .25 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 can condensed tomato soup
- 1 can brown beans
- 1 can sliced mushrooms
- 1 can kidney beans optional
Instructions
- Melt butter in a frying pan over low heat. Add diced onions and cook until at least translucent. Sprinkle with salt after 5 minutes. Stir occassionally.
- Add ground beef to frying pan, cook until almost no pink is left showing. Break up any larger chunks as you stir.
- Gather together all the seasonings. Make a well in the centre of the frying pan. Pour the seasonings into the centre and let it warm for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Blend together with the ground beef and cook while you add the rest of the ingredients.
- Add soup, beans and mushrooms to the frying pan. Stir to mix.
- Chili can now be transferred to a covered casserole dish and baked at 350 degrees for at least an hour. Longer is better!
- Optionally, transfer to a slow cooker and cook on low up to 8 hours.