Mom's Chili

If there's one thing I can never get enough of, it's my mom's chili. Since my parents split, chili has always been a staple in our house. It was one of those meals that we only got at mom's house, and we had it quite often, but somehow it never lost the ability to make me feel like everything was right with the world. I remember Mom making chili one time after school and I'd always asked her to show me how and finally she did. We spent a good hour making that chili and every 15 or so minutes we'd check it with a little spoonful to see if it was done. It rarely was, but we just wanted to have some chili ;) Now that I'm older and living on my own, I miss home a lot. Being quite a few miles away from the rest of my family is honestly a little harder than I thought it would be, and I find myself being homesick more often than I'd like. So last night I decided that there was nothing in the world that mom's chili couldn't fix, so why not make a pot? And it definitely helped!

The way my mother taught me to make chili is awesome; it's one of those recipes that you don't have to do much work for since all the work just takes time and a watchful eye. It's very simple, and quite time consuming if you like your chili the way I do - tiny specs of onions, super tender meat and beans, and spicy! Normally, I've only made my chili with ground beef, but last night I accidentally picked up a different ground meat thinking it was just somehow super cheap today (I'm usually paying more attention when I shop, I promise!). Well, it ended up being delicious anyway with the right seasonings, and using the meat that I did, I cut out quite a bit of fat! Feel free to use whatever ground meat you'd like, just make sure if you're not using ground beef that you season your meat while it's browning. I find that ground beef doesn't need any seasonings when you brown it - it's got it's own flavor profile to it that, when added to chili, makes the perfect combination of flavors (i.e. skip the seasoning). Last night I used ground pork. I didn't notice that's what Mr. H handed me until we got home, but I decided that this would be a first and I might as well make the most of it! Suffice to say, we almost didn't make it out of dinner with leftovers ;)

Start by dicing your onion super small. You can dice yours bigger, but my mother taught me to dice add in's small so picky eaters don't know they're getting a serving of veggies (my brother and I). Drop about a tablespoon of oil in the bottom of your pot on low-medium heat, then drop in your onions. Stir them around frequently to make sure you cook them all the way through and don't just burn them. Once they're translucent, drop in your meat. If you're using ground pork, I like to season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. I'm not too sure what exactly "Italian Seasoning" consists of, it's just been a bottle sitting in my spice rack for the last 10 years that smell delicious and is rarely used. It definitely gave my chili a wonderful aroma though!

Once the meat is cooked ALL the way through (make sure there are absolutely NO pink spots in it!), add in your 2 cans of chili beans. I've never liked any other beans but Brooks Hot - it's the only beans my mom used. I tried different chili beans once, and it just wasn't the same. Brooks has a mild heat to their beans that I've never been able to find in any other brand. It's a gradual heat that stays in your mouth for a long time, but it's savory enough to not burn your mouth or feel like you ate a ghost chili. Drop in your 2 cans of tomatoes after your beans. Like I said earlier, I like my chili spicy. So of course I use the hottest chili beans I can find in my brand, and I use diced tomatoes with diced chili's in them too! Just you wait, it get's hotter. Stir all of that together and add in your spices. I like to use smoked paprika and chili powder (lots of both). The chili powder gives it a very dry heat while the paprika gives it a wonderfully bold and smokey flavor that (in my opinion) is an absolute must have flavor for chili!

Bring that all together and let it simmer for one full hour. It may take longer if you're using ground beef since it takes a little longer to cook beef than it does anything else in ground form. But once it's all in the pot, kick back and clean up what little mess you've made with this one pot dish! That's one of my favorite things about this meal: it comes together in one pot, and when there's leftovers that you plan to eat the next day, just pop a lid on the pot and put it in the fridge! When tomorrow comes and you're craving more chili, you've saved yourself a step and another dirty pot. Just put your leftovers on the stove and let it heat up.

In the last 15 minutes, you can get together all of the things you're going to serve with this chili. Mr. H and I decided on corn bread, I use Jiffy since that's the only corn bread I've ever known. And no chili is complete without elbow macaroni, so get that going too! Keep in mind that simmering chili for longer than an hour never hurt it, so take all the time you want/need to get your sides together. Chili is one of the most forgiving dishes I've ever known, so go ahead and lose track of time! And if you have more patience than I, make it a day ahead and store it in the fridge for dinner tomorrow. Chili is always better the next day when it's had a chance to let all the flavors come together. You know what I'll be having for lunch today ;)

I hope you guys enjoyed today's post, it's one that comes from the heart and home. I've loved it since I was a kid, and I hope that one day when I have kids they'll love it as much we do! Enjoy you guys, and if you try it, let me know how it turns out! I always love a happy ending :)

Calorie Count: 445 per serving

Serves about 4
Ingredients:
1 lb ground meat (could be beef, chicken, turkey, or pork)
        Salt
        Pepper
        Italion Seasoning
2 can's diced tomatoes
2 smaller cans chili beans, or 1 large can
1/2 onion, finely diced
Paprika and Chili Powder to taste
Hot Sauce (optional)

1.) Dice onion very finely, heat a little bit of oil in the bottom of a very tall pot. Drop onions into oil and cook on low-medium heat until translucent.
2.) Throw in ground meat and brown. Add in spices and mix, continue browning until fully cooked.
3.) Add in both cans of beans and both cans of diced tomatoes; stir until well combined
4.) Add in Paprika and Chili powder, stir again
5.) Cook for 1 full hour until meat and beans are tender and all flavors have combined. Serve plain or over elbow macaroni with a side of corn bread muffins. Enjoy!