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Easy Fall Chili Bar

Fall Chili Bar and 5 Easy Hospitality Tips

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As I have said, Fall is my favorite holiday! I simply love it! I love the fresh scent in the air, the crispy leaves falling in beautiful colors, and of course, warm meals! Don’t get me wrong, I love summer barbecues, and meals by the lake. But there is something so Fall about having a warm meal with friends and family. I of course, always enjoy the opportunity for a warm fire, the glow of candlelight, and the opportunity to decorate my home in leaves of burgundy, brown, and gold. With that in mind, I thought I would share how to have an Easy Fall Chili Bar and 5 Easy Hospitality Tips.

5 Tips to make Hospitality Easy

Cook Meals Ahead of Time

One of the things that I love most about making Chili for a meal is that you can cook it ahead of time, and then put it in a Crock Pot to heat it up when you want to serve it. You can also bake some rolls or corn bread, purchase corn chips, and prepare all the extra’s such as Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, Red Onions, Jalapeno’s, and of course loads of shredded cheddar! All these things can be put into serving bowls the day before, and then you only have to pull the wrap off and place them on the table. I have even been known to set the table or buffet with decorations and tablecloth the night before just to make things simpler the day of a get together. This way you will have no last-minute cooking to attend to, and you can welcome your family and friends.

Fall Chili Bar and 5 Easy Hospitality Tips

Plan to Serve Buffet Style

Our family has just about outgrown our table as our usual number is 13. When we put all 13 plates on the table, and more if friends are also invited, there is no room for the food. And, I have found it is very difficult to pass dishes around the table with 13+ people sharing a meal.

So, often, I set up a food bar or buffet on a different table or counter top. That way, we can say grace, everyone can go and get their plate, and then sit down and eat while their food is still hot. Um, have I mentioned that our family is very into having our hot food hot? LOL Also, everyone can start conversations and not be distracted by passing dishes. Buffet style also makes it nice because people can get up and choose a few seconds while other’s are still eating, and no one has to be passing food.

Make Accommodations for Allergies and Tastes

As I mention in this post about Easy Hospitality Ideasit is always nice to ask any invited guests about allergies and food sensitivities. And sometimes, it is not an allergy, it is just a personal preference. Of course, you can’t always cater to everyone’s desires, especially when the party is large, but you can make an effort. For instance, I always let the guest of honor choose the main protein or menu item. I want the Birthday boy to love his meal. The rest of the time, I try to make accommodations. For instance, my granddaughter does not like spicy chili. Although my chili is not very spicy, she considers all chili spicy. So, I make sure to have sour cream or cream cheese on the table, as I know she likes to mix it in for a lighter flavor.

About a third of our family is Gluten Free, so I make sure to make bread items Gluten Free when possible. In the case of Corn Bread, I typically make one of each because they are easy and inexpensive. I am pretty sure our families Birthday cakes have all been GF for the last 10 years, and I have learned to make delicious GF Cakes. With Pies, I make one of each because there is a noticeable difference in the crust. I use these as examples to share that when you are being hospitable, it is nice to try to make everyone feel welcome whenever possible. If someone has dramatic or life-threatening allergies, ask for specific details so that you can do your best to accommodate them.

Fall Chili Bar and 5 Easy Hospitality Tips

Don’t Sweat It

This basically comes down to the concept, that you can’t please all of the people all of the time. There will always be the case where you might have a cranky guest. Or, maybe someone who is super picky. Or, someone who finds fault in what you do. Don’t. Let. It. Get. You. Down! Hospitality is a gift, don’t let someone take it away from you because someone does not like your dinner, decorations, or serving style.

During different seasons of life, you might have more people or less who are not complimentary of your cooking. Well, they might just be forgetting to compliment you, or they might have bad manners, or they might just be plain rude. But regardless, find your perfect guest, and cook for them, even when they are not there.

I recently had a dinner that I cooked and for various reasons, a few of the guests were rude about it. Not, overtly rude, just rude. Instead of engaging about it, or letting it get me down, I thought about my favorite person to cook for. Now this person is not your favorite person necessarily, like a spouse or best friend, but they are your favorite person to cook for. Cook for them, even when they are not there. If someone puts down your cooking, simply smile and in your head think, “well, you might not like it, but (insert name) would love it, and they would tell me they love it”. I know it might seem silly, but the concept works and I highly recommend it.

Make an Easy Dessert

Ask for Help with Clean Up

First, about half the people in the world are the type of people that would like a job assigned, I am one of those people. I like to be able to help, and so having someone ask me to help load the dishwasher or clear the table is something I like to participate in. One thing I have also found is that there are great conversations to be had while cleaning up from dinner.

This also works in reverse. When you go to someone’s home, help them clean up. You will soon be their favorite guest! Also, some people will not jump in, but would prefer someone give them a job to do. I assign jobs all the time as an awesome delegater. For guests, I look at how they respond to a simple, quick, and easy job. If they do respond well, then I assume they want more. In fact, some people would prefer to be doing a task, then working at making small talk.

Now, on to the Chili Bar!

Easy Chili Bar Buffet

I Love making a big pot of chili! Yum! There are so many possibilities. Whenever I make Chili, I make a huge pot, that will usually serve about 30. Yes, I said a huge pot! That way, people can help themselves to as much of a warm hearty chili they want at the party. And then, I use the leftovers for Chili Dogs, Chili Nacho’s, Chili Omelets, or Chili Burritos! Also, you can freeze a portion of chili and pull it out when you now you will be having a hectic day, and cooking dinner is not in the plan.

In addition to making Chili, I love to have all the toppings, and side dishes that everyone will love to use to personalize the chili. Some of our family favorites are Sour Cream, Shredded Cheddar, Cream Cheese, Purple Onion, Jalapeno’s, Salsa, or anything else you can think of! On the side we usually have Corn Bread, Corn Chips, Rolls, Bread Bowls, or Biscuits. So many options!

I use home-soaked beans because they are so much more affordable. At first I was a little freaked out as we grew up having canned beans. I typically use Kidney or Pinto, but my family always favors a mixture of the two. It makes everyone happy. I soak them in a pan of cool water for at least 24 hours. Then I rinse the beans and bring to a boil in fresh water. After about ½ hour I turn it down to a simmer, and then cook for about 3-4 hours. We really love the beans to be soft. And you can add a bit of salt or cut onion while cooking to add a bit of flavor, but it is not necessary for this recipe.

Recipe for Chili

5 from 7 votes

Print

Easy Chili

This easy Chili makes a huge batch, with enough to give or freeze the extras. I love serving it buffet style with all of the toppings.

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword #Recipe, Chili, Dinner, Easy, Soup, Stew

Prep Time 1 day 4 hours

Cook Time 2 hours

Ingredients

• 2 TBLS Olive Oil
• 1-2 Yellow Onions Chopped
• 5 Cloves Garlic diced
• 1 Small Can Diced Green Chilies Or, 1 Large Poblano chopped
• 3 Lbs Ground Beef Can also use 1/2 ground Turkey
• 4 TBSP Chili Powder
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
• Salt and Pepper to taste.
• 2 25oz Cans Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 28oz Can Diced Tomatoes
• 3 9 oz Cans Tomato Sauce
• 1 4 oz Can Tomato Paste
• 2 LBS Kidney and/or Pinto Beans soaked, rinsed, and cooked Canned beans can also be used.
• 4 Ounces Sour Cream
• 3 Ounces Cream Cheese
• 8 Ounces Shredded Cheddar
• 1/2 Red Onion
• Tortilla Chips, Corn Bread, Rolls, or Biscuits

Instructions

1. In large thick bottomed pot saute onions olive oil until translucent. Add in garlic and continue to saute until soft. Set aside in a small dish. If you are using a fresh Poblano Pepper instead of canned chilies, saute at this point as well.

2. In the same pot that was used to saute onions and garlic, cook ground beef until fully cooked, crumbled, and fat drained.

3. Pour Onions, Garlic and Chili Peppers back into ground beef pot, and stir.

4. Add in all dry spices, and mix. Cook for 5 minutes.

5. Tomato products and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, add beans, and cook for 1 or more hours. I typically cook it on a low simmer for 2 hours to really develop the flavor. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Serve with corn bread, corn chips, biscuits, or rolls. Place on buffet with cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, peppers, chilie's, and chopped red onion.

I hope these tips and Chili Recipe help to take a little stress out of your life, and add in a little bit of easy Hospitality this Fall! I am always looking for easy ways to make help with hospitality, and easy recipes to share. Share your favorites in the comments below.

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