Chili is something I learned to make early in our marriage, from my mother-in-law, who was Polish (sorry, Ulkaranian). It wasn’t something I ever remember having on the farm. I’ve tweaked it over the years, so this is the Fox Pines Homestead version. Flavorful, but not spicy hot, as neither of us tolerate hot spice food very well. If you like it hot, add more chile powder(s). I use at least 3 types of dried chilies.

Chili is pretty inexpensive to make – 1 pound of ground beef, 3 14-15 oz cans of tomatoes (I use fire roasted) and then 3 cans of kidney beans. Sometimes I have beans in the freezer that I cooked from a bag of dried beans, which is even cheaper. I tend to use a mix of dark and light red kidney beans, but I have also used pinto, cranberry, adzuki, or red beans, singly or in combination. Use what you have or what you like. You need about 2.5 cups of beans/ 3 cans.

You do need a large pot. I usually use a stainless steel or enameled cast iron Dutch oven. I also have a longer simmer time, so this is one of those things to make while you are home all day on a cold winter weekend.

I start by sauteing onions over low heat in a bit of butter. Then add in 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic, and stir for about 30 seconds – so the garlic doesn’t burn. Then add in a pound of ground beef. I use 90-93% so there isn’t much fat. If you use a higher fat percentage, you’ll need to drain of the fat to prevent fat from pooling on top. We like chunks of round beef, so don’t break it up too finely as it cooks. If you prefer a Texas-style of chili, brown small pieces of beef steak instead of ground beef.

Next the tomatoes go in. Since I am using diced fire roasted tomatoes, only one can goes in whole the other two cans I whir up with my immersion blender, using the chopping bowl that came with it, to puree the chunks more to a slurry than diced pieces. After I stir in the tomatoes, the chile powders and cumin go in. As I said above, I usually use 3 types. Regular “chile powder”, some Ancho chile powder (made from dried Pablano chilies, more flavor but not a lot of heat) and lastly Santa Fe/ New Mexico Chile (dried Anaheim Chile). I bought a huge container of this several years ago – turns out a 28 oz container is a LOT of chile powder. I do, however, usually buy a large container then repackage into my small jars to keep in the kitchen; chile powders add flavor and punch to lots of things. Add 2-3 cans of water to thin the tomatoes, to make enough sauce for the simmering step next.

At this point, per my MIL, the beef and tomatoes need to simmer together for a while, without the beans. As with most family recipes, you don’t question why. It’s just the way to make it. I have found the beans will fall apart in a long simmer, and this first simmer phase does concentrate and meld the flavors together. I cover the pot, put it on low, and let the meat and sauce simmer for a couple hours. The tomatoes will break down, and the sauce may start to thicken.

Then I turn the flame off, for at least 30 minutes and let the hot meat sauce cool a bit. Now the beans can be stirred in, add enough water to cover all the beans, leave the lid off, and put back on a simmer for another hour. Taste and add more of any chili powder if you want it spicier. If it starts to get too thick, add a little more water.

While all this simmering and resting is going on, I make bread. Today its my Cast Iron No Knead bread, which will be a large round loaf with a nice crust, perfect for soaking up chili sauce.

Once all the simmering is done, the pot ends up with thickened noteworthy chili. Taste and adjust the seasonings, and salt, if needed. If you like, add in some ground cumin and oregano, or even smoked paprika.

This will make about 4 quarts, so it feeds a large crowd, or, for us, results in lots of leftovers for lunch this week. Add your favorite toppings – sour cream, chopped onions, cheese, green onion, then grab a slice of bread and a spoon!