Cheater's Cincinnati Chili --The Famous 3 Way

I remember back in high school, when we had an assembly with a longer than normal lunch break, my friends would load into my Mercury Comet (could tell ya a few stories about that car!) and drive across my little hometown to the Coney Islander. I never ate the coneys. I always got the 3-Way--spaghetti noodles, chili and cheese. My little restaurant did not count beans as separate. I understand true Cincinnati lovers would say I was eating a 4 way, but hey, we were a long way from Ohio! I loved it even though I usually did end up with a spot or two of chili on my shirt.

I happened to see 3-Way again recently, and that started a craving. So today, I decided to make a batch. My oldest son really liked the spice combo in the vegetarian version I used to make. The taste of Cincinnati chili is different. The spices are amped up from traditional chili. Cinnamon, Allspice and Cloves. Add those to the chili powder, cumin and coriander. But, the chili is the easy part. Where to get that spaghetti? I chose to cut some yellow squash--the last from my gardening friends. Not exactly the same, but really good in its own right. The chili would be good on it's own too.

Since it is prep day, and those are ever so important with the hours I am keeping at school, I opted for a pressure cooker version today. Full of shortcuts even. You can do the slower version and not cheat as much as I did. Either way, you will have a delicious meal. My apologies to the Cincinnati purists. Think of this version as a tribute rather than a copy. I used both ground beef and ground turkey, Cost efficient and a good way to make my grass fed beef go farther. And I even skipped the browning step. Don't do this unless you are making it in the pressure cooker like I am.

Cheater's Cincinnati Chili

1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
4 cups water
14 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 packets sweetener (equivalent to 4 tsp)
3 yellow squash
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Option 1: Brown the ground beef, turkey and chopped onion in the base of the pressure cooker or in a skillet. Drain any fat, then add the water, tomatoes, pumpkin, chili powder, cumin, cocoa powder, coriander, salt, garlic powder, allspice, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to full pressure and cook for 15 minutes. Let pressure release naturally. After cooking, add the vinegar and sweetener. Adjust salt to taste.

Option 2:  Add the water, tomatoes, pumpkin, chili powder, cumin, cocoa powder, coriander, salt, garlic powder, allspice, cinnamon and cloves to the pot and stir to combine. Add frozen meats and chopped onion into the sauce. Bring cooker to full pressure and cook for 30 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally. After cooking, add the vinegar and sweetener. Adjust salt to taste.

Option 3:  Brown the ground beef, turkey and chopped onion in Dutch oven. Drain any fat, then add the water, tomatoes, pumpkin, chili powder, cumin, cocoa powder, coriander, salt, garlic powder, allspice, cinnamon and cloves. Simmer for an hour on stovetop. After cooking, add the vinegar and sweetener. Adjust salt to taste.

Use a julienne tool to create squash noodles. Saute them lightly in coconut oil. Divide among plates and spoon chili over the squash. Top with cheese and serve.

Serves 6:   436 calories   9 g net carbs     27 g fat     36 g protein


I ate a portion tonight, and this will make a fine lunch this week at school also. No more driving that old car on my lunch hour!

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