501 bay leaf recipes

Tender beef simmers with warm cinnamon, cloves, and cumin, balanced by sweet raisins and red wine for an exotic slow cooker stew served over fluffy rice.

Cincinnati chili: thin, spiced ground beef sauce with cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and a touch of molasses, simmered low and slow. Serve over spaghetti with cheddar, onions, and beans.

Lean turkey and pinto bean chili with bell peppers, jalapeño, and chili powder. Hearty pot of chili in an hour with cooking spray instead of oil for a lighter base.

Pork chili with artichoke hearts and white beans: a Mediterranean-leaning chili with cumin, oregano, white wine, and roma tomatoes. Lemon juice and cilantro hit at the end for brightness.

Vegan navy bean soup with balsamic-caramelized onions, miso paste, tomato sauce, and warming spices. Oil-free, long-simmered for deep flavor, serves 8. Worth every minute of the 4-hour cook.

Vegan shepherd's pie style casserole with a mashed potato crust, savory tofu filling, mushrooms, corn and spinach, smothered in homemade brown gravy. Hearty plant-based comfort food.

Hearty black bean cassoulet soup loaded with three kinds of sausage, a meaty ham bone, cumin, oregano, and a splash of dry sherry. Feeds a crowd of 16 with a sour cream finish.

A deeply flavored beef stew braised in Burgundy wine and rich stock with carrots, potatoes, rutabaga, mushrooms, and caramelized tomato paste. Thickened with a dark roux for velvety body.

Slow cooker beef and pork chili with secret Southern twists: bacon drippings, coffee, cocoa, and a touch of sugar for deep complexity. Simmer for hours until thick and rich.

A triple-protein vegetarian chili loaded with TVP, tempeh, and tofu plus three kinds of beans, mushrooms, and warm spices like cinnamon and allspice. Hearty enough to convert any meat-lover.

Southern pot likker chili built on collard-green broth with smoked chuck, ground beef, pintos, chipotle, habanero, and a splash of beer. Long-simmered, deeply smoky, bowl-licking good.

Vegetarian saffron rice timbales stuffed with spicy black beans and topped with fresh avocado-tomato salsa. A stunning three-component plant-based main dish.

Cincinnati-style 5-way chili spiced with cinnamon, chocolate, cardamom, and allspice. Served over spaghetti and topped with kidney beans, raw onion, and melted cheddar.

Pit-master style Brunswick stew with smoked pulled pork, roasted chicken, okra, lima beans, and corn simmered in homemade stock. Low and slow for hours, packed with smoky, tangy heat.

Texas-style beanless chili with cubed pork loin and beef brisket braised in beer, tequila, and triple cumin, thickened with masa harina. Six pounds of meat, no beans, all heat.

Competition-style Texas chili with 4 pounds of cubed round steak, 14 spices including curry and cinnamon, green chiles, and a secret weapon: milk chocolate melted in at the end.