Childhood Chili

Throughout my life, I've noticed a strange series of coincidences that sometimes lead me to believe that maybe there is a reason for everything. I don't know.

My brother is a picky eater. Most of us grow out of it with age, I certainly did, but he's still a picky eater. When we were little, there was a tiny little chili stand near our house and this was one of the only things my brother would eat. We all loved the chili. It was fantastic.

Strangely enough, back in those days, my best friend was a neighborhood boy who was one year older than me. When I was five, we moved away, across town and to a new school district. Years later -- seventh grade to be exact -- a new girl moved to town. This girl would become one of my best friends. Turns out, my best friend from that old neighborhood was her cousin. And the chili stand that sadly had closed down long ago, was run by her grandmother and her aunt.

Coincidences!

I've been begging her for that chili recipe for years and she finally shared. Yesterday, I decided it was chili weather, and it was that recipe that I reached for. I started it at noon and by 5:30 the smell in the house was mouthwatering.

Now, I've had many different chilis throughout the year. I even have a whole cookbook of chili variations now. This particular recipe (a play off of my friend's) is the variety I remember from childhood, ground beef and sauce with a thick layer of red grease floating on top. This is Frito pie chili. This is hearty, even the pickiest little boy will eat it smothered in cheese chili. Here's how I made it:

Chili

2 tbsp butter

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground beef (I used a chili cut from a local butcher -- probably higher fat)

Chili mix*

Tony's, to taste

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

3 cups water

2 beef bouillon cubes

1 (11.5 ounce) can spicy V-8

Melt the butter in a large, heavy bottom pot (I used my Le Crueset). Drop in the onion and garlic and sweat for just a minute or two. Add in the ground beef and cook until browned. Sprinkle with chili mix and stir to combine. Season with Tony's!Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and bouillon cubes. Allow to come to a boil before reducing heat. Simmer, covered, for a LONG time. As long as you like, actually. I had all day, so I left it all day.

You'll want to check it occasionally and stir it around to make sure that your liquid isn't cooking off too quickly. I added the V-8 at this point because my liquid had cooked off quite a bit and I wanted something spicier than just tomato sauce. Adjust seasonings as needed, note that the beef bouillon is salty so you might want to go lighter on the salt (in the chili mix below) and the Tony's as a result, or you can cut it with additional water or tomato sauce. The longer you cook this, the thicker it will be.

Serve with Fritos and top with any variation of the following:

Shredded cheddar cheese

Chopped red onion

Sliced jalapenos (pickled)

Sour Cream

Avocado -- yes, that's right, avocado. I love it!

*The recipe called for mixed chili seasoning packets. I didn't actually have any so I made up my own. You can play with this and change it up as you like:

My on the fly chili mix:

1 1/2 tbsp Chili powder

1 tsp Ancho chile powder

2 tbsp Cumin

1 tsp Salt

1 1/2 tsp Cayenne

Pinch garlic powder

Pinch onion powder

Now if I can just figure out Dennis's vegetarian chili at Cafe Foods, I'll be a happy girl!