Cincinnati Chili Pizza

I'm thinking you can put just about anything on pizza crust....

I'm on a canned tomato kick of sorts this week (thanks to the Red Gold peeps who sent me that six-pack of tomato goodness).

As someone who is struggling to come up with vegetarian meals, this stuff is a godsend. Not only did I throw together that Tomato, Corn, and Black Bean Soup on Sunday, but I also made a quick pizza with a can of the tomato sauce. You are probably thinking that I added some spices to make a pizza sauce (not that that's a bad idea), but if you are, you are very mistaken. You see, the Red Gold Tomato Sauce made a very quick, but lovely Cincinnati Chili Sauce that was awesome on a pizza!

I totally admit to making a shortcut version of Cincinnati Chili. It works, but this tastes even better the next day.

Just spread it on your favorite pizza dough, top with cheese (I left off the beans this time) and you are good to go!

I opened up the can of Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies to use in another recipe and used some on top of the pizza with some more cheese and some diced onions.



Cincinnati Chili Pizza

Printable Recipe

1 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1 clove crushed garlic

1 pound ground chuck*

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

½ cup water

1 tablespoon chili powder

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce   

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 bay leaf

2 lbs pizza dough (make your own or buy premade)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat pizza stone in oven to 450 degrees  F.

Cook the onion, garlic, and ground chuck in a medium saucepan over medium/high heat until the beef is browned and the onion is soft. Drain the grease. Add the remaining ingredients, stir to combine and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Set aside to cool slightly.

Divide the dough in half. Spread one half of the dough into a 10-12 inch circle. Put a generous handful of cornmeal on a pizza peel and place the dough on top of the cornmeal. Spread about 1 cup of the chili on top of the dough. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese evenly over the top of the chili. Slide the pizza onto the pre-heated stone and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden.

*Sub the ground chuck for 1 (12 oz) package of veggie crumbles, if desired. If using the crumbles, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, saute the onions for 5 minutes and then add the crumbles and the garlic.

Disclaimer: I was provided with free products from Red Gold Tomatoes in order to write a review.  As always, all opinions are my own.

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Tomato, Corn, and Black Bean Soup

Look at what I got in the mail:

A six pack!

Of tomatoes!

Red Gold Tomatoes sent me such a cute little sampler of their tomato products to try that I wasn’t quite sure what to make with them first, but a quick glance out the window helped me to decide.

Soup! It’s downright wintery out there!  Unbeknownst to the Red Gold peeps, I actually had a can of their tasty tomatoes in my cupboard, so I’m saving the sampler pack for some other quick tomato meals. Stay tuned for those. In the mean time, let’s cook some soup.

I am not a fan of most canned soup, I’ll have you know. Frankly, I’m not quite sure of what’s in it. Usually, there’s too much salt. Sometimes, there’s stuff like corn syrup and fillers. And if your argument to me is that canned soup is convenient, then I will counter that with the fact that making your own soup is almost as easy.  Check it out—I did this on the fly, with some things I had in the cupboard (and the freezer).

Tomato, Black Bean, and Corn Soup
Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ large, sweet onion, chopped

2 cups frozen corn (fire-roasted, if available)

1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, chopped, with liquid

1 (15-19 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic, onions and corn. Sauté until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, beans vegetable stock, chili powder and Italian seasoning. Stir well and bring mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer soup for 20 to 25 minutes.  Serve the soup hot; garnish with crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheese, if desired.

I chose to use some fire-roasted frozen corn that I had in the freezer. It added just a hint of smokey flavor.

Canned tomatoes make easy work out of soup—of this I am a great fan. Good, fresh tomatoes are hard to find this time of year (not to mention, pricey), so canned tomatoes are a must. The thing is, they work in so many things. Besides soup, you can sub canned tomatoes for fresh in spaghetti sauce, on pizzas, and in casseroles. My mother-in-law likes to take a can of stewed tomatoes and use them as gravy over mashed potatoes.

So why Red Gold brand tomatoes? It really wasn't a fluke that that was the brand in my cupboard. The Red Gold company is a third generation family owned company out of Indiana. They started in 1942 and all they do are tomatoes. They know their stuff! Red Gold is located right in the middle of tomato country and I've found all of their tomato products to be of stellar quality. But, I digress. Let's get back to my soup.

This was tasty just the way it was, but I felt it needed just a little something.

How about using all of those crushed tortilla chips at the bottom of the bag? It's a shame to waste them, even if they aren't so good at scooping anymore.

Now, just add some shredded cheese and you are good to go.

See? Wasn't that easy? And now that all of my soup is gone, I've got some ideas for the rest of those cans. Next up on the menu: Cincinnati Chili Pizza. 

Is there something special you make with canned tomatoes?

Disclaimer: I received free product from Red Gold Tomatoes in order to do this review. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

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Cincinnati Chili Dogs

 

 I haven't had much time to post lately, but I just had to share the Cincinnati Chili Dogs I made on Sunday. Cincinnati Chili was a favorite of ours when we lived in Indiana (and had access to a Skyline Chili restaurant), but there isn't anything like it in Minnesota. Luckily, allrecipes.com has a very good recipe--supposedly the original Skyline Chili recipe. You can find the recipe here: Authentic Cincinnati Chili

The great thing about this chili is all the spices---cinnamon, allspice, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, cloves, chili powder....and a "secret" ingredient....

It's true...chocolate makes everything better!

We decided on chili dogs after we found these Angus dogs at the store. No nitrates means no swollen sausage fingers for Pete....

Cincinnati Chili is usually served over spaghetti, with a few variants on the toppings. Here is a breakdown of how Cincinnati Chili is most often served:

• two-way: spaghetti and chili
• three-way: spaghetti, chili, and shredded cheese
• four-way: spaghetti, chili, shredded cheese, and either diced onions or beans
• five-way: spaghetti, chili, shredded cheese, diced onions, and beans
• cheese coney: hot dog topped with chili, shredded cheese, diced onions, and mustard
• chili cheese fries: French fries topped with chili and shredded cheese

Oyster crackers are a must for authentic Cincinnati Chili, but, alas, I forgot to buy some. Another reason we decided on the dogs.

My mother-in-law, who lived most of her life in Ohio, never heard of Cincinnati Chili. It was an instant hit with her.

How do you like your chili?