Wagon Wheel Cincinnati Chili
Up until a few months ago, I had no idea what Cincinnati chili was. I just figured it was another kind of chili that Cincinnati-ites had done something special to to claim as their own; kinda like Texas chili which is chili without any beans. Since I like beans in chili, I guess my chili will never be accepted in Texas, but will be okay in Cincinnati, especially if I add a few ingredients.
What ingredients, you ask? Well it depends on how you like it. That is to say Cincinnati chili isn’t served just one way. Believe it or not there are five ways you can have this specific chili.
One-way: the chili itself
Two-way: Chili over spaghetti
Three-way: Chili over spaghetti, topped with cheddar cheese
Four-way: Chili over spaghetti, topped with cheddar cheese and onions
Five-way: Chili over spaghetti, topped with cheddar cheese, onions and beans
Since I’m a big fan of chili with beans incorporated, and I like cheddar cheese, I guess you could say I enjoy a Five-way. What’s amazing though, is so does my son. But recently he hasn’t been a big fan of spaghetti. I don’t know why, he’s three and his likes and dislikes change daily. So, I thought the best way to get him on the Cincinnati bandwagon was to make one little change – instead of using spaghetti, I’d use wagon wheels.
A is a huge fan of trains, planes and automobiles… pretty much anything that has wheels and a motor. So I thought why not cook up some wagon wheel pasta and place my chili on top? I knew if I did that he’d gobble up dinner. And guess what? I was right.
But wanna know what makes this meal the busy mom’s best friend? It’s the perfect choice if you have leftover chili in the freezer. All you need to do is boil up the wagon wheels, pour the reheated chili over them, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and serve. Boom! Dinner on the table in under 10 minutes.
Wagon Wheel Cincinnati Chili
Ingredients:
- Chili
- 8 oz wagon wheel pasta
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Directions:
- Make the chili.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain and separate between four bowls.
- Ladle the chili over the pasta, sprinkle with cheese and serve.
