Easy Chili in a Bread Bowl

Chili.  Winter’s comfort food.  I tend to get excited every September when we are on the verge of temperatures dropping.  It means I am only a month away from chili!  I usually make this chili at least once a month between October and March.  It’s incredibly easy in the crockpot and so delicious.  Landon has recently gotten hooked on bread bowls from Panera and my mom found the easiest way to make them at home!  This month I stepped up my chili game and put it in a bread bowl.  Carbo-load and comfort food together.  It’s a match made in heaven.

This past fall I got 25 pounds of tomatoes.  TWENTY-FIVE POUNDS!  That’s a lot of tomatoes to process in case the upper-case letters didn’t clue you in.  I froze some whole for homemade tomato soup and processed the rest into diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and pizza sauce.  It was quite the little Saturday project but it certainly is nice to have almost all my chili ingredients from the freezer! ?

While the chili has 5 ingredients, the bread bowls actually have only one.  This also comes from the freezer section… of your grocery store.  Bread bowls can be made from Rhodes dinner rolls or loaf of bread.  I used a loaf to make two bread bowls.  Their website says to use a loaf for three bowls but I think using it for two makes better sized bowls.  These fit two ladles full of chili – a perfect serving I think.

Chili Ingredients

1lb ground beef (or turkey, venison, etc)

2 16oz cans of diced tomatoes

2 16oz cans of kidney beans

1 16oz can of tomato sauce

1 packet of chili seasoning

To make the chili

Brown ground beef, drain fat.  Rinse beans with cold water.  Place all ingredients in crockpot and stir.  I often add a cup of water since it can be rather thick.  Plug in crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.  But honestly, this could go on low all day.  Perfect for work days when you are gone for 9+ hours!

Bread Bowl Ingredients

1 loaf of Rhodes Thaw, Rise, and Bake White Bread

To make the bread bowl

Preheat oven to 200.  Place frozen loaf in greased bread pan.  Once oven is preheated turn oven OFF and place bread inside for an hour to thaw.  After the loaf is thawed, cut in half.  Shape each half into a ball and place on a greased cookie sheet.  Spray saran wrap and cover dough to rise until it doubles in size.  This took about 3 hours in my house (which is kept at 67 degrees).  Once the dough has risen, bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Let cool.  Cut tops off and scoop out bread.  Ladle in your chili, add some toppings, and enjoy!

And if you can’t remember the last time you had saran wrap, a plastic baggie cut open will work in a pinch

Easy Chili Recipe

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time8 hours
Total Time8 hours 15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 people

Equipment

  • Crockpot

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef or turkey, venison, etc
  • 2 16oz cans diced tomatoes
  • 2 16oz cans kidney beans
  • 1 16oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 packet chili seasoning

Instructions

  • Brown ground beef, drain fat.  
  • Rinse beans with cold water.  
  • Place all ingredients in crockpot and stir.  I often add a cup of water since it can be rather thick.  
  • Plug in crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. 

 

Bread Bowl

Prep Time4 hours
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time4 hours 25 minutes
Course: Main Course
Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf Rhodes Thaw, Rise, and Bake White Bread

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 200.  
  • Place frozen loaf in greased bread pan.  Once oven is preheated turn oven OFF and place bread inside for an hour to thaw.  
  • After the loaf is thawed, cut in half.  Shape each half into a ball and place on a greased cookie sheet.  Spray saran wrap and cover dough to rise until it doubles in size.  This took about 3 hours in my house (which is kept at 67 degrees).  
  • Once the dough has risen, bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Let cool.  Cut tops off and scoop out bread.  Ladle in your chili, add some toppings, and enjoy!

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