4-Ingredient Brunswick Stew

I love chili. It really is one of my favorite foods. I like traditional chili with ground beef, I like Texas style chili, I love a good white bean chicken chili - and turning that into enchiladas! And the easiest chili I've ever made, turns out to be more like Brunswick stew!

I have been making this recipe for years, after my mom's best friend Elizabeth brought it over for Halloween one year. You see, we always have chili on Halloween. Always. And one year we decided to make a few different kinds and Elizabeth contributed this little gem and we all fell in love. So this year, our neighbors came over to hand out candy with us, and when I served them this chili, they both exclaimed, "Oh this is Brunswick stew!"

​~~record scratch~~

What?? I have had Brunswick stew so many times and my food-loving brain never made this connection?! I was so surprised and also a little proud? I don't know. Call it chili, call it Brunswick stew, call it whatever you want! Just know that it is delicious and it couldn't be easier.

Um, so, yeah, these are the ingredients and you just dump them in a pot. Let it simmer for like, 20 minutes.

Sorry I cheated on you BI-LO, but you didn't have Lloyd's barbecue! And yes, it has to be Lloyd's. I have tried other brands and the balance of flavors and textures doesn't turn out right. Lloyd's also makes chicken barbecue, if you don't eat pork.

I also like to buy reduced sodium canned vegetables for this because a) the barbecue sauce has plenty of salt, and b) I don't drain and rinse the beans or the corn. You need the liquid from the cans to create the liquid for the chili. Also, feel free to experiment with other veggies! This is a choose-your-own-adventure recipe, as most of mine are - I'm just tellin' ya how I like it!

And if you're making this just for yourself, or just two people, the leftovers freeze beautifully. I pour it all into one large freezer Ziploc, but you could definitely freeze it in smaller freezer bags, for individual portions.

​Enjoy!