My childhood in Hawaii consisted of many bowls of chili and rice from Zippy’s. So after moving to Washington, perfecting a Zippy’s copycat chili was key for my well-being.
Cooking chili is like setting legal department goals—hear me out. Following the goal framework shared during the In-House Connect webinar on January 12, 2023:
- Goal: Delicious chili
- The why: Feed our family delicious food that meets their allergy restrictions
- Owner: Jessica
- Reviewers and Stakeholders: Jessica’s family
- Do-ers: Jessica for the chopping, browning of beef, and opening of cans; kids help with measuring dry ingredients, stirring, and pureeing the pinto beans.
- Dependencies: Having all of the ingredients on hand
- Deadline: 6pm dinner once per week
- Metrics of success: Volume of chili consumed by children, Speed of consumption
As a a thanks for attending the webinar, here's my recipe that reminds me of Hawaii.
Jessica's Hawaiian chili recipe
Zippy’s Copycat Chili
Jessica Nguyen
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 2 pound lean ground beef (71% beef or more)
- 1 onion very finely chopped
- 2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, pureed with liquid but make sure the consistency is creamy and somewhat thick
- 2 (15-ounce) cans red kidney beans with liquid
- 4 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoon beef base (Minor's Better Than Bouillon)
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions:
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and brown the ground beef; break up beef into its smallest components. Pour into a bowl and reserve.
- Heat remaining vegetable oil and fry onion over medium heat until limp and golden.
- Transfer beef to pot, along with tomato sauce, pinto beans, red kidney beans (with liquid), chili powder, beef base, brown sugar, and garlic salt.
- Puree pinto beans and then add to pot.
- Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to medium-low and simmer (uncovered) for about 15-20 minutes until the chili is creamy and the pureed pinto beans have fully integrated.
- Serve over rice.
