Chili Casserole Recipe In Cincinnati Style

Chili Casserole Ingredients

1 pound ground lean beef
1 cup onion, chopped
½ jar garlic pasta sauce
½ can red kidney beans
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon semisweet chocolate pieces
½ tablespoon vinegar
½ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
½ teaspoon bouillon beef
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
½ pound cut ziti pasta
Cheddar cheese, shredded

Method:

1. Cook the onions along with the ground beef in a large skillet for 10 minutes or until light brown in color. Drain off all the excess fat from the skillet. To drain maximum fat from the meat just place the skillet tilted on one side, push the meat on the opposite side. After 10 minutes the fat will be collected on the tilted side of the skillet. Carefully remove it with the help of a spoon and discard.
2. Transfer the onion and beef mixture to a medium size slow cooker. Add kidney beans, pasta sauce, chocolate pieces, chili powder, ground cinnamon, water, allspice, bouillon granules and cayenne pepper in the cooker. Mix well and cover its lid. Cook the meat mixture on high heat setting for about 2 to 3 hours or on low heat setting for about 4 to 5 hours.
3. Cook pasta in enough boiling water according to the directions on the package. Drain when done and rinse under cool water, drain well. Add cooked pasta to the meat mixture in the slow cooker and gently toss to combine just before serving. Serve in a platter. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese if desired. This recipe makes 2 servings.

Health Tip:

• Preferably use extra lean meat for this recipe. Red meat is a concentrated source of cholesterol and saturated fats. Both these fats when taken above the recommended levels are linked with many long term health related problems like high cholesterol, obesity and heart diseases. Thus its intake in diet should be kept minimal. This recipe provides about 2 gm saturated fat and 36 mg cholesterol per serving (because lean meat is used and all the excess fat is drained off). The values for cholesterol and fat will change if fat is not drained well in step 1.
• Cincinnati-style chili casserole provides about 257 calories, 33 gm carbohydrates, 17 gm proteins and 7 gm total fat per serving.
• This recipe also provides moderate amounts of sodium that is 277 mg sodium per serving. To decrease the sodium values further use reduced sodium vinegar, salt free cheese and reduce sodium canned beans