Superabundant recipe: A cozy chili dog casserole that stretches your dollar while lifting your mood

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How many ways can you remix a bag of potatoes? A few spoonfuls of peanut butter and half a thing of spaghetti? A can of beans and some hot dogs?

Unless you’ve experienced struggle meals firsthand, you probably haven’t given this much thought, but when food banks are the source of your groceries, you get used to working with what you’ve got. Sometimes, though, this leads to something pretty great. A new classic, even. Heck, even the most maligned of the struggle meals have their nostalgic fanbase.

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Famines and wartime rationing can create lasting negative associations with specific foods — wood ash hominy is still maligned in parts of the South because of its ubiquity during the Great Depression, and mutton never really came back to the dinner table after World War II even though it was a delicacy before the war. But a surprising number of the world’s national dishes are humble fare that, over centuries (or even millennia), were so perfected by peasants that they now define a country’s entire culinary identity. Dishes like Ukrainian borsch, Egypt’s ful medames and Korea’s kimchi are all emblems of civic pride that originated with people living on the edge and making the best of what they had to work with (in this case, beets, beans and cabbage, respectively).

With this in mind, shouldn’t America’s national dish be a bowl of chili — a dish invented in the U.S., and made from crops domesticated in North America? With or without beans (I’m strongly pro), there are limitless ways to eat it: You can go the Frito pie route (or walking tacos, if you need chili with mobility), you can have it on spaghetti, mix it with macaroni and cheese, put it on a baked potato or French fries. And of course, it’s great on hot dogs.

Though they’re messy, chili dogs are one of my very favorite things to eat, and I seem to crave them more this time of year. (Whether you have the seasonal type or enjoy it all year round, depression makes our brain hungry for carbs, and a chili dog offers four or five different ways to carb). I regularly make them at home, but sometimes there are only a couple hot dogs left and I only have one frostbitten bun and a stale bread heel, or I want to stretch the last of the leftover chili to make one more serving. This casserole is perfect for that. Plus, you can eat it with your special spoon.

There are millions of great chili recipes out there, but this red chili was specifically designed to taste like canned Nalley’s. (I’m telling you, that struggle meal nostalgia hits hard!) I usually make enough chili to stash a couple tubs in the freezer — future-me is always grateful that today-me made the most of the added cooking time. Feel free to use whatever chili you like. Makes about 3 quarts of chili and 4-6 servings of casserole

Note: If you’re making the chili from scratch, you’ll need to plan the extra time to either a) soak and simmer dry beans (4 to 24 hours); b) pressure-cook unsoaked dry beans (30 minutes plus 15 minutes of depressurizing time); or start with canned beans (30 seconds of can-opening). From cooked beans to finished chili takes about 45 minutes.

Ingredients

Chili con carne with beans (á la Nallez)

2 tablespoons bacon fat or oil

1 small onion, minced

1 rib celery, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound 80/20 ground beef

3 tablespoons prepared chili powder

1 teaspoon seasoning salt (such as Lawry’s)

½ cup dry TVP crumbles

3 cups low-sodium beef or chicken broth

1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce

1 teaspoon brown sugar

A few pinches of MSG

5 cups small red beans (yield from cooking 1 pound dry beans) or 3 15.5-ounce cans, drained

Salt and pepper to taste

Casserole

7 cups (or 4 14-ounce cans) of chili, such as above

2 or 3 hot dogs (~½ pound), sliced into ¼-inch rounds

2 cups shredded cheddar, divided (optional)

½ cup minced onion (optional)

2 hot dog buns or slices of bread, torn into bite-sized pieces

Instructions

1. Make the chili. Heat the bacon fat or oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, then add the onion, celery, garlic and ground beef. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beef is no longer pink (we’re not trying to brown it) and the vegetables are becoming translucent, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Stir in the chili powder, seasoning salt and TVP, then add the broth, tomatoes, Worcestershire or soy sauce, brown sugar and a generous pinch of MSG. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and cook until the vegetables and ground beef are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
3. Stir in the beans, adding water as needed so that the meaty sauce is covering the beans by about ½ inch. Increase the heat to medium and simmer until the beans are heated through, about 5 minutes. If the sauce isn’t thick enough, mash some of the beans as they simmer to help it thicken. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, then set aside a cup
4. Make the casserole. Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a 3-quart casserole, combine the prepared chili and sliced hot dogs until well blended. Cover the dish and place it in the oven until the chili/hot dog mixture begins to bubble, about 20 to 40 minutes, depending on if you’re starting with hot chili or cans. (If you use a microwave, you can speed this part up considerably — give it 3 minutes on high.)
5. Sprinkle half the cheese and the onions (if using) over the chili, then top with the torn hot dog buns and remaining cheese. Bake until the buns are toasty and golden and the cheese is melted, 5-7 minutes.

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