The Road to Home

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Being the first Wednesday of December, Shannon over at Rocks in my Dryer has instituted a themed edition of Works-for-me-Wednesday. The theme this week is, "What do you fix for dinner when the family is hungry and there is no time to prepare a delicious feast?"

My Standard go-to meal is Chili. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall, I almost always have the ingredients for Chili in the pantry. (Except for one day last week...I had to turn my Chili into Tacos because I was out of a few things!)

Chili:

• 1 lb lean ground beef *


• 1 Medium Onion (I use a large purple onion, but I like onions.)


• 1-2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced (Ok, I put TONS of garlic in mine. 5 or 6 Cloves, but I like Garlic too.)


• 1 10oz Can of Diced Tomatoes (Rotel or regular tomatoes)


• 1 can of Store Bought Chili (this is mainly for flavor...I usually don't include it)


• 1 can of Kidney Beans (or whatever chili beans you prefer)


• 1 10oz Can of Tomato Sauce


• 1 Can of Beer, Cook's Choice. (You can use water instead of this and it will be just fine.)


• 1 Package of Williams' Chili Seasoning. (I can't find this here in MI, so I got McCormick's last time and it was ok.)


• Chili Powder to taste.


• Cumin to taste.


• Ketchup to taste. Yes, Ketchup. I know. I usually put in 1/4 to 1/2 cup. It makes a difference in the outcome if you omit the ketchup.

*I use ground beef, if I have it. It can be made with ground turkey (I like it that way), ground pork or ground chicken as well. It would be awesome with venison, but none of us hunt. My mom makes it with Tofu Crumbles instead of meat and she likes it that way. I've never tried it, but it must be good if she gets my dad to eat it!

Add Onion and Garlic to a hot stock pot or pasta pot. Let them sweat until they are translucent. Add the meat and brown it thoroughly. Drain the fat. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, beer, beans and chili. Simmer until the beer reduces, about 10 minutes. The longer it sits, the better it will be. Don't get me wrong though, it's still good straight off the stove!! I usually put out saltines or Fritos (If I have them) and shredded cheese for people to mix in with their chili. Personally, I crumble up my crackers and add them to the bowl along with the cheese. I don't care for Fritos in mine, but other folks in the family do!

This will serve 4 to 6 people. If you want to feed more, just dump in more stuff double the recipe. It is VERY forgiving. If you are out of something, just use the next closest thing. Or make tacos. The good news is, you will have leftovers if you make enough. It is even better the next day. You can eat it as a meal itself, or you can put it on hotdogs. Homemade Chili Cheese Coneys anyone? Yum!!

Dang. I'm going to have to make Chili soon!

This is what works for me. What works for you? Head on over to Rocks in my Dryer and share your tips and tricks!

While you are here, be sure to visit this post and enter to win the book, I Love You More! The Deadline for entry is Friday!