"Transport Chili" takes second place at cook-off

Congratulations to Lynden Transport Account Manager Matt Malone and wife Kristen for their second place win in the Associated General Contractors (AGC) chili competition in Anchorage. Three prominent Anchorage chefs and chili judges awarded Matt’s Transport Chili second place out of 20 entries.

Photo: Chili cook-off winners - Matt Malone is on the far right

Photo: Chili cook-off judges (credit: www.agcak.org)

It was Matt’s first time at a cook-off, and he said he was not expecting to place that high. “We were very surprised,” he says. Matt and Kristen won a night’s stay at the Hotel Captain Cook. The recipe is printed below if you’d like to make Transport Chili at home

Transport Chili
2 lb ground lean beef (93%) or ground chuck. (Chuck was used for the cook-off chili.)
Add 1 tablespoon taco seasoning to meat
Half of a large onion diced
1 link, or just under, finely chopped Reindeer sausage
3/4 cup orange and yellow red bell peppers
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
1 or 2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans chili beans, un-drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup canned corn

Add about 1 tablespoon or just under of the following:
Chili powder (Summit Spice Co)
Mexican dried Oregano (Summit Spice Co)
Dried Basil (Summit Spice Co)
Diced garlic
Dried garlic/onion blend
1/2 tablespoon chipotle chili flakes (Summit Spice Co)

6 to 8 Laughing Cow cheese wedges

Begin browning the beef, then add the onions and simmer. Add the sausage and bell peppers and simmer. Add the rest of the ingredients except the Laughing Cow cheese wedges. Simmer for a couple hours and at the end fold in 6 to 8 Laughing Cow cheese wedges. Matt likes the garlic and herb or the sundried tomato. For the cook-off he used four of both, which makes a full crock pot of chili. Matt also added 4 tablespoons of butter at the end for good luck. It worked!