It's Chili!

My parents had six kids.  We were not rich, but neither were we on welfare, which back then (1960's) was thought of as something to be ashamed of, not proud.  Both mom and dad worked full-time, and yet somehow we always had a hot meal to eat every night.  All of us kids would dutifully sit in front of the television, “staying out of the way” while mom prepared supper.  Our grocery bill must have been incredible.  Back then there were virtually no pre-packaged or prepared foods.  Mom made everything from scratch.  Looking back on it, she was quite amazing.

The deal was: she cooked; we cleaned up afterward.  There was no getting around or out of it.  We did not have a dishwasher back then.  Well, that’s not correct, mom had six dishwashers.

Very, very occasionally dad would make supper.  And by that I mean, he’d make chili, which was about the only thing he knew how to make.  In my memory it was fantastic – best chili I ever ate!  In reality it was pretty standard, nothing fancy.  Nevertheless, I grew into adulthood loving chili.  It always reminds me of the nights when dad “cooked.”

Dad’s chili recipe called for it being served over rice.  I later learned that people did not usually do this.  I realized that he was using it as an extender, making the chili go further given their tight food budget.   I serve chili over rice to this day.  And, not to brag, but I make the best chili!

Actually, my friend Matt came up with a really simple recipe that I've adopted.  He starts off with the usual ingredients (easy on the onions though), but he adds a can of Bush’s Country Style baked beans.  The molasses and brown sugar give the chili a sweetness which is not ordinarily there.  It’s wonderful!  But now, all these years later, Matt has a new, more complicated chili recipe and he says he doesn't remember making it the “old” way – the way I still do.

Look, there are a million different ways of making chili.  That’s what I love about it.  And I love all kinds of chili…even Wendy’s!  Everyone will tell you that their particular recipe is the best.  People will tell you that you have to soak and cook raw beans – really starting from scratch.  Nonsense, I say!  I don’t want to spend all day cooking chili.  And while it may sound like heresy to a southerner, I think you can use canned beans and they’re perfectly fine.  We’re not talking gourmet food here – it’s chili!

Okay, here’s how I do it:

1 pound of ground meat (or 1.2 pounds of ground turkey)

1 can of dark red kidney beans, drained

1 can of Bush’s Country Style baked beans, drained

1 can of “no-bean” chili (I use Wolf Brand, but any brand is good)

2 cans of diced tomatoes (not petit diced!), drained

1 can of Rotel tomatoes and chopped green chilis (optional)

1 cup chopped onion

1 bag of Success Rice

First I put the beans, chili, tomatoes and half of the raw onions in a big pot and start them simmering.  Put the rice in a separate saucepan and let it boil while you’re cooking the meat.

Next I brown the meat/turkey.  I start with vegetable oil in the skilled and sauté the rest of the chopped onion until cooked.  Then add the meat, W-sauce, salt and pepper, garlic powder and a generous shower of Tony Chachere’s Cajun seasoning (you almost can’t use too much of it).  Drain and then add it to the big pot. 

Done!

I like to let my chili sit on the stove for a while, but you could serve it right away if you had to.  Quick and easy.  And soooooo good!  It'll feed five or six hungry people.  I guarantee that people will be scarfing it down.  It’s the one dish I make where there are usually no leftovers.

The thing about my recipe is that you can alter it to your particular taste.  Use more or less seasoning…more meat or less meat…sometimes I leave the raw onion out completely although I do like the slight crunch it gives the final product.  You could sauté real garlic along with the onions before you cook the meat.  I don't - garlic powder is fine.  My friend Terry adds a can of corn to his chili.  Corn!  Not me, thanks.

Sometimes I put in the can of Rotel, sometimes not depending on whether the crowd likes spicy food.  Me, I love chili when it’s really spicy but not everyone does.  Sometimes I’ll add a third can of beans – light red kidneys.  I don’t often use beans that are branded as “chili beans” for some reason.  If I want the chili to be “soupy” then I won’t drain the diced tomatoes and beans so thoroughly.  I do like it soupy though, but not quite as much as Wendy’s (which appears to be made from leftover, unsold hamburgers).

I always cook up a batch of white rice to go with the chili.  There’s the requisite shredded cheddar for a topping (I eschew chopped onion), and of course you have to serve chili with Fritos! 

That’s it.  Plain, simple, chili.  Good, crowd-pleasing comfort food.  I’d love to hear how you make chili!  I’m always interested in doing it differently, even if I do default to my tried-and-true, fail-safe recipe most of the time.

I don’t remember exactly how my dad made his chili.  I regret now that I never asked.  I was so oblivious as a...well, I still am.  I only remember that it was great and we loved it.  Whether my way of making chili now is similar to his is not really important.  No matter what the recipe, chili always triggers some wonderful childhood memories.