This is the time of year when I start thinking about making pots of chili. My recipe is really simple, just ground beef, canned tomatoes, and canned kidney beans. I like to throw it together on a Saturday morning, let it simmer on the lowest setting for a few hours, then dish it up. Chili is even better the next day after it has cooled in the fridge and then been warmed up! This is one of those rare recipes I don’t have written down, but it looks something like this:

Easy Chili

INGREDIENTS

* 1 pound ground beef (don’t get chuck, too fatty. I use ground round)
* 1 onion, chopped (one of those yellow cooking onions, use more if you like lots of onion)
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes (my son hates big chunks of tomato, so I chop these in the food processor first)
* 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
* 1 1/2 cups water (fill up the empty tomato sauce can with water, dump in)
* 1 tablespoon chili powder (more or less to taste)
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin (more or less to taste)
* 1 pinch garlic powder (because I like garlic in everything)
* salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute the onion until it begins to soften, then crumble in the ground beef and cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is browned through. To make the tomatoes less chunky, chop them briefly in a food processor until they are in smaller pieces, add the tomatoes and the juice to the pot.
2. Empty the can of kidney beans into a colander and rinse off the weird syrupy stuff. Add to pan. Pour the tomato sauce into the pan, then slowly fill up the tomato sauce can with water and add that in too. Stir, season with chili powder, cumin and salt. Taste as you go to avoid overseasoning it-I have ruined more than one pot of chili by being too heavy-handed with the spices :)
3. Turn the heat up just high enough for the chili to start bubbling, then lower the heat to low, cover, and leave it on the stove. Stir occasionally to keep the bottom from sticking, but otherwise, let it simmer as long as you can. If you have supreme restraint, you can let it cool, put it in the fridge, and warm it up the next day, when it will have thickened, and the flavors blended, and it’s even more delicious.Serve chili with corn muffins, a salad with ranch dressing, and ice water or iced tea. Enjoy!

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