Bama Chili, served Cincinnati Style :)
First of all, let me say a few things about Cincinnati style chili and I want to apologize to all Cincinnati folks for not making it exactly like yours is, but I needed to adapt it for us non-native peeps so everyone could see how brilliant your serving method is.
True Cincinnati chili (which this isn’t) is a very unique flavor and unlike anything I have ever tasted before. I can fully see how, if you were raised on this stuff, you’d be left with a craving that only Cincinnati chili would fill. If you weren’t raised on it, though, you may need time to acquire a taste for it. This is what I experienced when I first took my family to Mullin’s Drive In in my hometown of Huntsville. I sat there with my hamburger and grits happy as a lark and the three of them forced down their meals while looking at me like I was crazy. Sometimes you just gotta be born there to appreciate it :).
But I guess I’ll start this post with how I ended up getting to try Cincinnati Chili. You see, it all began with my husband and myself agonizing over what to do for a family vacation and my son chiming in with “I know! Why don’t we go to Kentucky?”. We ended up heading out in that general direction with no particular destination in mind and came home having spent four of the most wonderful days together as a family. I am publishing a scrapbook of sorts on our Kentucky trip at the same time I’m publishing this recipe so be sure and click here to go visit that post and check out all of our Kentucky adventures.
Now, lets go back to the chili…
Although I’m gonna stick with the flavors of the chili I grew up with, the manner of serving this chili is absolutely brilliant and I couldn’t wait to make it at home with plain old Bama chili.
You’ll need: Tomato Sauce, Cumin, Chili Powder, and some ground beef, which we’ll see in the next photo.
I brown my beef all at once so it is sitting happily in the freezer just waiting on me whenever I need it.
Place all of your ingredients into a pot.
Fill up your tomato sauce can with water and add that as well.
Now give all of this a good stir and bring to a very light boil before reducing the heat and cooking, stirring every now and then, for about an hour, or until nice and thick.
Like this.
Serve over freshly cooked spaghetti noodles with toppings of your choice. Some suggestions are chopped onions, crackers, or…
A whole lot of cheese!
I LOVE how the noodles seem to take to the chili sauce perfectly and they are great for balancing out the chili spices. I can’t wait until fall gets here so I can have a big chili dinner for some friends!
Okay and to make this even easier…I had an idea of just going and buying a few cartons of 99 cents chili from Wendy’s and then making spaghetti. ~giggle~ Ain’t no shame in my game!
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:232]
“Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.”
– Francesca Reigler, artist
Submitted by Jenny. Click here to submit your quote. Don’t worry if you think your quote may have been submitted before, that just means it bears repeating!
This was delicious! I served it with hot pepper cheese and diced onions.
Yummy!!! I am so glad to hear that you liked it Ev!!
I have some leftover chili in the fridge, I’m gonna have to try this. We usually put our chili over rice with cheese on top.
So I tried this recipe but added a can of chili beans to the mix while it was cooking. Also, I love Steak n Shake’s Chili Mac and I found a recipe for the sauce they put on top of it. You use 1 cup of Catsup and 4 TBSP of Worcstershire sauce and mix it up and pour it on top of the chili and spaghetti. It is delicious and I definitely recommend trying this 🙂
I made cincinatti venison chili last weekend – my husband is a little weird about allspice and cloves, so I just used cocoa powder and cinnamon. NO BEANS. It was delicious!
Hey Christy! I discovered your website a few days ago while searching for a Twinkie Cake recipe. I subscribed right away & have been reading your recipes & enjoying your stories as I save the ones I want to try, in “Save Recipe”. It has quickly become my favorite recipe page. Well, last night, I made your Bama Chili, Cincinnati Style, for my husband, mother-in-law & her friend. We all enjoyed it immensely!!! I even made your Holiday Fruit Salad for dessert, but the results aren’t in yet, cause they are still on a date. LOL Will post comments under that heading later tonight. Thank you for your page! Your witty writing makes me feel right at home like we have been friends forever. Blessings to you & yours from a fellow Alabamian.
Welcome to SouthernPlate DeLaina!!! I am so tickled you found me and I can’t wait to hear what all you are cooking!!
I loved this recipe!!! My mom ALWAYS has a nice home cooked meal ready for us when we return home from vacations. Well….mom and dad were returning home from the beach and I thought what can I fix that is quick on a weekday night? I made the Bama chili and everyone LOVED it!!! We live in WV so coming home from a beach vacation is about a ten hour drive and I knew my parents would be exhausted. It felt really good to have everything ready for them and boy were they surprised! There is nothing like family and the joy that comes from the little things that you do for each other.
That is so wonderful that yall do that for each other! I love the idea and after being gone and eating out it is so nice to have a home cooked meal.
Finally! A place to send all the people who STILL look at me crazy when I mention that I put spaghetti in my chili. Before I left KY I thought this was how all ‘normal’ people ate chili. Boy was I wrong! And don’t even try go to a restaurant and order chili, thinking you’re getting spaghetti with it. This is one recipe that I will handing down for the next generation. Be it beyond me to break a perfectly luscious tradition. Thank you Christy; I’m loving your site…started with the homemade banana pudding and ended up here!