Mom's Sweet Chili

I know it's been a ridiculously long time since I last posted, but today I need to record my mom's recipe for chili.  John and I had a craving for chili today, due to the cold rainy weather that caused us to hide inside most of the day.  (Though I did wake up early and head to the barn for a ride on my new mare, Lizzie. She was fun as usual, but even after riding inside, I came home chilled.  I definitely need to make a few posts about my new girl!)

I looked at chili recipes online, but I feel like chili is one of those things that can vary so widely based on tastes, and probably on where one was raised.  Personally, I expect my chili to be somewhat sweet and not too spicy.  We make it with both ground beef and kidney beans.  We also mix elbow macaroni into our chili, so I guess it's a little more of a casserole?  After looking at a lot of recipes online, I decided that only my mom's chili would do.  So I called her up and got her simple but delicious recipe that would perfectly fulfill our chili craving.

Mom's Sweet Chili

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium sweet vidalia onion
• garlic to taste
• 1 (12 oz) can dark red kidney beans (could use 2 cans)
• 1 (12 oz) can condensed tomato soup
• 1 (12oz) can tomato paste
• 2 (12 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
• 1 (12 oz) can V8
• ketchup to taste
• chili powder to taste
• 1 box elbow macaroni - I always try to use a "healthier" pasta, either with extra fiber, or one that contains extra servings of vegetables
• shredded cheese - this time used a local colby-jack and it was really good

Chop the onion and place in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add a little vegetable oil if the onion wants to stick to the bottom of the pan.  Once the onion is beginning to become translucent, add the ground beef.  Don't cook the onion for too long - one of our favorite parts of this pot of chili was the fact that the onions retained a little crunch in the final product. 

Stir while browning the beef to break beef into small pieces.  Meanwhile, start a pot of water heating in order to cook your elbow macaroni.  When the beef is browned, drain off excess grease. 

Move beef and onions to the side and add some garlic.  I probably used 1 clove of garlic today.  I like to use the chopped garlic that's kept in the frig for convenience.  Toast the garlic for a short time, being careful not to burn it.  Nothing ruins a meal like the pervasive taste of burnt garlic - and ugh, what a bummer to cook a whole meal but have the burnt garlic taste take over.

In order to be sure not to burn the garlic, I had my liquid ingredients ready to add to the pot.  Pour in all canned ingredients.  Reduce heat to medium and stir frequently until mixture wants to bubble.  Then I turn it to low to avoid splatters of chili all over my kitchen!

If your pot of water is boiling, add elbow macaroni and set a timer so you know when to check it for done-ness. (Is that a word?)

Start squirting in liberal amounts of ketchup, tasting frequently.  I find that the ketchup adds that sweetness I crave. 

Carefully and slowly add chili powder to taste.  I have a very low tolerance for spice, so I am very careful with the chili powder.  I figure John can always add more to his individual bowl, but once it's in there, I can't take it away! 

Now you can let the chili simmer for as long as you want.  Tonight we were in a bit of a hurry to get to our chili, so I only let it simmer for maybe 10 minutes.  While it simmers, shred some cheese to put over the top of your bowl of chili.

We keep the macaroni separate from the chili for storing, and only mix them when its time to eat. 

Spoon some noodles into your bowl, ladle in chili, and add cheese on top.  I like to eat my chili with buttered saltine crackers on the side, which John finds disgusting. haha

What a fantastic comfort food for a yucky rainy day!  And we LOVE the leftovers.