Chili

It’s that time of year, you know, football season, and the end of baseball. I did say football season. Those are keywords that rumble my household, especially in the kitchen. Sundays in particular are days of a good family meal, whether we invite family, friends, or take time for own family, it is a special day of food. Growing up was the same way, it seemed like the warm, home-cooked meal, was always there on Sunday, well, that or pizza delivery or McDonald’s. 🙂

Ok. Football, and food. The first question of Sunday morning is typically ‘What should we eat for the game?’, followed by ‘Do we have to go to church?’. Let’s focus on the first, what do we eat for the game? This typically has ranged from nachos, chicken wings, pulled pork sandwiches, just to name a few. What always wins, however is chili.

I grew up eating chili. My dad might claim that he is chili master, and truly, he might be, however as I am learning the ways, I have made, and kept a pretty darn good recipe. This is yet another simple recipe, and something that can be enjoyed for days.

Ingredients:

• Ground Beef
• Chopped/Small cubed Sirloin (optional)
• One Large Yellow Onion, chopped
• Four stalks of Celery
• Four cloves, chopped Garlic
• Water
• Cumin
• Black Pepper
• One can, kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• Two cans Hunt’s Chili mix
• Cinnamon (optional)
• Red Wine (optional)
• Cheddar Cheese (optional)
• Sour Cream (optional)
• Corn Chips (optional)

Begin by warming your soup pan, I use a fairly large soup pan. On medium-high heat, begin to brown the meat. Make sure you drain the fat when cooked, then return to the stove on medium heat. Add the chopped onion, celery, garlic, 1-2 TB of dried cumin, and pepper. Cook for nearly seven minutes on medium and let the veggies sweat through. Add the two cans of Hunt’s chili mix, fill each can of water, and add to the pot as well. Mix and continue to cook. Once the beans are drained, add those suckers as well. Here’s the beauty; this process takes less than twenty minutes, and when this process is done, lower the heat to low, throw the lid on, and crack a beer. It’s ok. You can have a beer on game day, at noon.

My wife is quoted this past chili cook down saying ‘it’s a beautiful thing that you can leave this chili on the stove all day, and keep coming back for more. ‘

Enjoy, and go Packers!