There’s something about chili on a cold winter’s day that warms the soul and fills the belly with pure, unadulterated … heat. Some like it hot, other prefer mild and most of us will eat it either way — especially if it’s been bubbling away in a slow cooker for hours.
We hosted a Chili Cook-off contest on our facebook page last week. Eleven recipe posts and nearly 300 likes later, we determined that Lisa Smith Fannin, Steve Evanko and Livestock Post made it to the final round. We grabbed the slow cookers and started stirrin’.
Each recipe was cooked, tasted and judged. The three finalists went head-to-head in a heated (pun intended) battle for first place. All three were yummy but one pot of chili had a particularly impressive flavor. The Livestock Post entry garnered first place honors and a sizzling grand prize package of four Certified Angus Beef ® brand ribeye steaks. According to our judges, the prizewinning chili was “rich in color, had a smoky flavor and a cohesive blend of vegetables and beef.”
And at the end of the day, staff thought it was good to the last bite! Congratulations to all three finalists for their incredible recipe entries, and to Livestock Post for taking the {beef}cake! Click here for the winning recipes.
Our contest also included five staff entries (judged separately, of course). It was a tough task to decide which staff member’s savory and heartwarming recipe would take home the blue ribbon. Multiple taste tests were required.
One judge commented, “every one of the chili recipes was fantastic in its own unique way. Judging was very hard.”
At the end of the meal, though, we congratulated Jennifer Schertz, public relations communication and media manager, for her first place entry. Diane DiDonato, value-added products special projects coordinator, earned honorable mention.
Judges said Jennifer’s chili had the “perfect amount of ground beef and a touch of heat, but it wasn’t too heavy.” DiDonato’s chili was “rich in color, the steak was tender, and the green peppers gave it some great color.”
The ladies earned bragging rights until next year’s cook-off. The rest of you? Start perfecting your recipe for our Chili Cook-off Contest 2014!
For more tasty chili recipes, visit our recipe section!
I was hoping to get some great chili recipes after this! Thanks so much for sharing them!! I”ll spread the good word and get more bragging rights for Jennifer.
Thanks, Debbie! For a detailed account of the making of the facebook fan winner”s chili recipe: http://www.farmgirlfollies.com/2013/01/i-spy-with-my-burning-eye-13083.html