Oh, hello January weather! There you are! It is apparently supposed to get super-duper cold tonight (the high around here for tomorrow is 36*), and oh man do I have the perfect meal for you. My main squeeze is one heck of a chili cook, and prides himself on this particular “recipe” – he claims there is no real “recipe,” and that he wings it every time, but there is a pretty general base of ingredients and it never fails to be delish. And yes, Wuan is spelled correctly in our world… The history behind it is a bit silly, but, long story short, there are people out there who legitimately think “Juan” starts with a W. {Disclaimer – Mr. “Oh yea, Juan, I knew it started with a W,” if you’re reading this, no hard feelings! Best nickname ever).

Anyways! Back to the recipe at hand. I got such fantastic feedback from my last chili recipe (thank you!), I can’t believe it has taken me this long to post a new one. Don’t get me wrong, we have had at least 10 batches of chili in the meantime…

In all seriousness, go ahead and get these ingredients in your crock pot or dutch oven asap. It’s chili weather. Chilly weather. Hah! Oh, great – I can already see your eyes rolling. Plus, the whipped feta on top? Seals. The. Deal. I know it might sound strange, but I promise it won’t disappoint.

INGREDIENTS:

CHILI:

1 lb ground venison meat, browned with salt and pepper to taste
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes, including the liquid
1 14oz can of dark red kidney beans
1 6oz can of tomato paste
1 red onion, sliced thin
3-4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp garlic
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp Tony Chachere’s
1/2 tbsp celery salt
1 tsp chili powder or crushed red pepper
water, if needed

WHIPPED FETA TOPPING:

8oz crumbled feta
3oz whipped cream cheese, room temperature
2 tbsp sour cream

adapted from here.

STEPS:

1. Once you have browned the meat, toss it into your dutch oven or crock pot with all of the other ingredients. Seriously, it’s that simple. No more browning or steaming or caramelizing needed. Get everyone into the pool, and let it get going. If you don’t feel like there is enough liquid, you can add a touch of water. The tomatoes will give off some more liquid as they cook, so I would wait a little while before adding anything, just in case. Ultimately everything will cook down, and you’ll be left with a deliciously thick, steamy pot of delight.

See how far down it cooks?

2. While the chili is cooking, prepare the whipped feta topping in your food processor. First, pulse the feta until it is in tiny crumbs. Then add the whipped cream cheese and the sour cream, and puree until it’s fairly smooth. This will take a few minutes, and you will need to scrape down the sides a few times to make sure everything gets incorporated. I like it a little on the chunky side, but that’s entirely up to you!  If you’re making this a good while before you plan on eating the chili, store it in the fridge. Take it out 15 minutes or so before you plan to eat so it can get room temperature. It will end up all melty and tangy and incredible once you stir it in with the chili.

3. It always helps to have company in the kitchen.

How can you resist those faces?

4. Once the chili has cooked down and all of the ingredients have cooked through, it’s time to eat! If you find the bay leaf, go ahead and take it out. No one wants to get stabbed in the mouth with that sharp thing. Serve yourself a nice big bowl of chili, and top with as much whipped feta as you like… Plus a little extra. A dash of Italian seasoning

I meeeeean… Come on. How could you resist? You can’t! Just look at that. If there were any leftovers, I’d eat them right now.