Although I am firmly of the belief that the internet needs another recipe for chicken crockpot chili like your groggy narrator needs another morning of her mini-humans rousing her before 6 a.m., when I went to make my own one night, I was dissatisfied with what I found. It wasn’t because recipes out there weren’t good, or well-reviewed and certainly not because they hadn’t made countless other people out there content at mealtimes, but because they weren’t what I was looking for. And, well, as that’s how we got here in the first place, it seems appropriate enough to step into the year 2016, the year this website turns ten, not fighting this at all.







While I’m hardly aspiring towards the Texas Gold Standard of chile con carne — chunks of beef, lots of chiles, and ftlog, no beans — I think there’s something to a fairly straightforward, excellently-seasoned chili. I could overlook the instant tapioca, jars of salsa, cinnamon, chocolate, onion powder, garlic powder, taco seasoning mix and celery on the front page of Google’s results that might be someone’s thing, just not mine, but I kept getting stuck on one point: if we’re going to run the slow-cooker for 5 or 10 hours, or simmer a chili on the stove for 3, why start with canned beans? Dried beans are more economical, more flavorful and will plump up splendidly in either of those cooking times without any presoaking nonsense.

And so I had to fiddle up my own recipe. I made a hasty pot of chicken chili in the hazy newborn days this summer because I hadn’t then or now shaken this obsessive need to only consume meals that can be eating on or with tortillas, and everyone declared it the best dinner in a long time. I hadn’t expect this; it was food for convenience, for ease — mustn’t it then taste like compromise?

The leftovers were grand, too, and from there, I couldn’t stop. When my husband had to go to Germany for work in November and I was quietly fur-reaking out over how I was going to single parent when I am barely cut out for coparenting most days, I set up another pot and boom, two nights of wholesome dinner were set. I made it a few weeks ago when Thanksgiving pies were weighing heavily on our midsections, and I made it again yesterday when we’d finished off the weekend’s potato kugel and baked Lorraine-ish omelet and oh-god-don’t-even-find-out-how-good-these-are-they’re-just-going-to-ruin-everything sticky bun brunch and were, at last, all set on butter and cream for a while. Did you hear that? Eight times we’ve had this in two months, and we’re not even tired of it yet. I hope you find this equally worthy of repetition.

One year ago: Popcorn Party Mix and My Ultimate Chicken Noodle Soup

Two years ago: Parmesan Broth with Kale and White Beans

Three years ago: Carrot Soup with Tahini and Crisped Chickpeas

Four years ago: Scallion Meatballs with Soy-Ginger Glaze and Carrot Soup with Miso and Sesame

Five years ago: Chard and White Bean Stew

Six years ago: Parmesan Cream Crackers and Walnut Pesto

Seven years ago: Gramercy Tavern’s Gingerbread and Pizza with Broccoli Rabe and Roasted Onions

Eight years ago: Caramel Cake and 2008’s 96 Favorites

Nine years ago: Hazelnut Truffles, Gougeres and Russian Tea Cakes

And for the other side of the world:

Six Months Ago: Green Beans with Almond Pesto

1.5 Years Ago: Blue and Red Berry Ricotta Galette

2.5 Years Ago: Slow and Low Dry-Rub Oven Chicken

3.5 Years Ago: Flag Cake

4.5 Years Ago: Skirt Steak with Bloody Mary Tomato Sauce