We’ve done a lot of soul-searching this week. With the official 70th Anniversary of Disneyland now in the history books on July 17th, and the opening of the first-ever Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic attraction, it’s hard not to be caught in your feels this week. Nostalgia is in the air, and we’ve never appreciated the work and dedication from Walt Disney and his team that brought this incredible vision to life. One man’s dream became a magical safe haven for millions of families, who would embrace Walt’s invitation to connect and bond with each other over the 70 years that followed the park’s opening. When you stop and think about it, that’s pretty special.
This week has been all about celebrating the park’s origin, so we thought there would be no better time to revisit an old Disney Family recipe and recreate this dish at home. We are honoring Disney history with Walt’s Chili and Beans from Carnation Café at Disneyland Park for this week’s Saturday Cooking Sesh.
Walt’s Chili Recipe
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 3/4 pounds beef stew meat
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 medium green pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 plum tomatoes, diced
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons beef base
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- Coarse salt, to taste
Garnish:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 small tomatoes, diced
Directions:
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in large Dutch oven, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add stew meat and sauté for 10 minutes, until meat is browned on all sides. Remove stew meat from pan and set aside.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to pan, heat for 3 minutes over medium heat.
- Add onions and green pepper. Sauté 8-10 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and sauté one minute longer, until garlic is fragrant.
- Add ground beef. Cook, stirring occasionally to break up large chunks of beef, for 10-12 minutes, until beef is no longer pink. Drain excess fat.
- Return stew meat to the Dutch oven with ground beef mixture. Add ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, tomato paste, fresh diced plum tomatoes, diced can tomatoes, beef base, and water.
- Bring chili to a simmer. Cover and simmer over low heat for 3 hours, until stew meat is tender.
- Add pinto beans. Simmer for 10 minutes, until beans are warm.
- Season with salt, as needed.
- Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and diced tomatoes.
Note: This recipe has been converted from a larger quantity in the restaurant kitchens. The flavor profile may vary from the restaurant’s version. As a reminder while preparing this recipe, please supervise children who are helping or nearby.
