Chili con Carne

Take the guesswork out of chili and do this simple recipe.  This is just far better than the ones you buy from a can.  It's quick and simple and it's made from "semi-scratch."

I am not particularly a fan of chili because there's just too much meat in it, making it a really heavy meal.  But, about two weeks ago, on a really rainy Saturday here in L.A., I was invited to a potluck and I thought this would make a good potluck item on a gloomy, rainy day.

The Big Picture:

• Brown the beef
• Add spices
• Garnish and serve

Ingredients:

Makes 6, 8 oz. servings

2 lbs. ground beef

3/4 cup chopped onions

1 can red kidney beans

1 can tomato sauce

grated cheddar cheese

Carroll Shelby's Chili Kit (Fix it Hot or Mild)

Procedure:

The following are the directions from the box of Carroll Shelby's Chili Kit:

1.  Brown 2 lbs. ground beef in a large skillet. Drain fat.

2.  Add tomato sauce, water, spice packet and slat packet (optional).  To Fix it Mild, omit cayenne pepper.  To Fix it Hot, stir in entire cayenne pepper packet. Stir.

3.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  For thicker chili, mix masa flour with 1/3 cup water.  Stir in and let simmer for 5 more minutes.

Gingham Girl's Variation:

• I added a can of red kidney beans in step #2 above.
• Since I love onions, I added the onions after I turned off the heat, stirred it in and let it stand for about 5 minutes before serving.
• Lastly, I topped it with grated cheese and served it with freshly baked honey cornbread by Krusteaz.

What's Inside:  Spices, Masa, Cayenne Pepper, Salt

Two pounds of ground beef slowly simmering with all the spices and tomato sauce.

Top it with cheddar cheese.  Serve hot with warm freshly baked cornbread.  Yum!

Tip:

• I did not use the masa.  I just simmered it long enough until it thickened.
• Next time, I might have to reduce the beef to just one pound.  It was just too heavy for me.  Since I have never made chili before, I followed the recipe closely.  Overall, it came out delicious.  -GG-