Baked Chili -- The Same Pot, Deeper Every Time

Back in Pilsen. Back in Room 108. The second semester begins. The kids walked in on Monday and most of them went directly to their spots — Rosa to her desk, Marcus to the communication board to try it, T. to the book basket. Some of them had changed slightly in two weeks the way kids change over holidays: taller, somehow, or more assured in a way that is hard to pinpoint. I stood at the door as they came in and said each name and meant each one. Good morning. You are here. This room is ready.

Second semester feels different from the first — I know these kids now, I know their days, I know what Rosa sounds like when the morning is hard before she can say so. The first semester was learning. The second semester is the work at full depth. I am more confident in the room. I am also tired in a specific second-semester way that I was told about in my program but could not understand until I lived it. The work is the same, the students are the same, and somehow the second semester tired is heavier because the novelty is off and it is just the actual thing.

Made chili on Sunday for the week — the same recipe, ground beef and beans and tomatoes and cumin and chili powder. Under five dollars for a week's worth of lunch. I have been making chili every January since 2017 in Sycamore and it is the right food for January: substantial, uncomplicated, cheap, warm from the inside out.

Ate it Monday night after lesson planning. The lesson planning takes ninety minutes most evenings — I am getting faster but there is a floor below which it cannot go and still be actual planning. I ate the chili and planned the week and went to sleep at nine-thirty and got up at five and drove to school in the January dark. Second semester, day one. Exactly the same as the first day, five months on, with the weight of five months in it. The same day, deeper. That is what keeping at something feels like.

This is the chili I have been making every January since 2017 — the same recipe, the same Sunday afternoon, the same sense of setting the week in order before it begins. Baked chili came into my rotation because it is forgiving and substantial and costs almost nothing, and those qualities have not gotten less true. If second semester is the work at full depth, this is the food for it: no novelty, no fuss, just ground beef and beans and tomatoes doing exactly what they are supposed to do, warm from the inside out.

Baked Chili

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 1 hr | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat and brown. Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large oven-safe Dutch oven or heavy pot, cook the ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it browns, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
2. Build the base. Add the chopped onion and bell pepper to the pot with the browned beef. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4–5 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and cook 1 minute more.
3. Add remaining ingredients. Stir in the kidney beans, pinto beans, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, salt, black pepper, and cayenne if using. Mix well to combine everything evenly.
4. Bake covered. Cover the pot with a lid or tight foil and transfer to the preheated oven. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the chili is thick and the flavors have melded together.
5. Rest and serve. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve as-is or topped with shredded cheddar, sour cream, or crackers. Stores well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 390 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 9g | Sodium: 720mg