Carroll Shelby's Original Texas Chili, 4-Ounce Bags (Pack of 12)

My wife and I LOVE this chili seasoning. We only use the large season pack and about half the cayenne pepper. We toss the flour and salt (though some may like salt). Anyway, we cube about 4-6 chicken breasts and fry them in the bottom of a large chili pot over some heated olive oil...once they're half white, I add a beer (usually one for me too). Let the chicken simmer/bubble for a minute in the beer, then add two large cans of diced tomatoes, 2-3 cans of chili or kidney beans of your liking, two cans of corn, one can of rinsed black beans and then the seasoning. Cook for a few hours and its AWESOME!

I'm on the website today to order a second twelve-pack of this mix. I haven't shopped around a lot; Carroll Shelby's is the first and only mix I've tried, and I'm very happy with it. I found it on Amazon earlier this year after being unable to find it in local stores, and I've just recently gone through the first twelve-pack (okay, I gave one pack to my mother-in-law).

I've converted my daughter and my mother-in-law to it, as well; they're both chili lovers and we use this recipe together with dark red kidney beans, diced tomatoes, a small can of tomato sauce, and ground turkey (healthier, and cheaper, and there's a small difference in texture and none in taste from ground beef). We recommend going with the recipe option that calls for a large can of diced tomatoes, and about half the cayenne packet, and about 32 oz of canned dark red kidney beans, drained (the recipe only recommends 16 oz), and between 2 and 3 lbs of ground whatever.

Ground beef, not too lean, or chopped chuck, or cubed pot roast are all good candidates for the meat. As the package used to say, fifteen years ago, don't waste your money on expensive cuts of beef here.

The directions are pretty basic and perfectly adequate to produce a good hearty meal. Use a _big_ frying pan, 13" if you've got one, and have a larger stew pot/saucepan of some kind standing by in case your ingredients are too much for the pan. Do stir frequently once you've added the spices and flour, because there's some tendency for the mix to thicken up and form a skin on the bottom of the pot, and you'll lose good flavor that way (not to mention the bottom might get burned and ruin the whole recipe).

With 2-3 lbs of meat, two cans of beans and a large (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes in tomato juice, the whole thing makes six or seven _really_ generous portions (12-14 oz each). I make it and freeze most of it in individual portions, taking it in to work and microwaving it at lunch.

I have used this product for years and find it difficult to buy in regular grocery stores. I first started using it because I found out that Carroll Shelby donated the profits to benefit the Teralingua (SP?) Orphan Children's Home.

My wife and I love this product. Carroll Shelby's Chili Kit is the bestwe have tried. You are able to make your chili as hot (my wife's preference) or mild as you like. Carroll Shelby's Chili kits are getting a little hard to find in Omaha, so getting a box of 12 from Amazon was great...and the price was quite low compared to what we pay in the store...plus free shipping as we purchased another item to get to $25. Excellent deal...we will look for more food items as they are available on Amazon.

This dandy chili mix makes great chili. It is one of the best things I have tasted in a long time. It has a clever concept, which explains why it is a `kit'. The bag has 4 separate packets: a main chile packet (the chili powder has almost no heat, but lots of flavor), a small packet of cayenne, a small packet of salt, and a larger one with masa harina. This way, you adjust the heat, salt, and thickness to your liking; some chile mixes has everything combined, and you cannot change it. One kit is enough for 2 pounds of meat, so larger batches will require more kits.

Course, I did not follow the included recipe. I tossed the salt (I used sea salt instead) and masa flour (it was plenty thick without it) packets, used beef chuck cut into 1 ½ inch cubes instead of ground beef (course, it took that much longer to cook, but so what?), and all of the cayenne packet. Boy was it good.