Chili con Carne (Chili with meat)

A great winter favorite here in NE Ohio is Chili with beans and meat. Down in New Mexico when we mentioned chili, it was not at all like the wonderful thick soup that we had way back when. So, we learned to speak of our northern chili as “chili the soup”. Here is the recipe that we like best.

(for large crock pot, 6 – 8 quarts)

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground meat

1/2 large onion (finely chopped)

2 cloves of minced garlic

2 – 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes (do not drain liquid)

2 – 15 oz cans of kidney beans (do not drain liquid)

1 – 2.2 oz container of chili powder

2 – envelopes of McCormick chili seasoning

1 large can of tomato juice

Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

Salt and pepper

1. In a large fry pan brown the meat, onion and garlic.
2. Drain grease off of meat
3. Put cooked meat/onion/garlic into the crock pot
4. Add diced tomatoes in liquid, kidney beans in liquid, the entire jar of chili powder and chili seasoning envelopes to the crock pot and mix together.
5. Add generous amount of salt and pepper and cayenne pepper if you like
6. Add tomato juice one cup at a time being careful not to add too much so the chili is too thin (you gotta play this one by ear).
7. Mix ingredients together again
8. Put crock pot on high for one hour then turn down to low and cook for about 4 more hours.

Hint: this chili is ready to eat when it is hot because you have already precooked the meat so it may not take 5 full hours to cook. Also, since it is a tomato base you want to check it and stir it every now and again so that it does not burn around the edges.

Serving suggestion: This chili is delicious served over rice or mashed potatoes. Also, try it with some sour cream and shredded sharp cheddar cheese on time. We like corn bread with it too.
//