Sound the Alarm...

...  My family was spared from the flooding in South Carolina praise be to God!  My sister said that she went to the store to get all the fixin's for a pot of chili to hunker down with during the "deluge"; and the store was void of Kidney Beans! Everyone must have been making chili! Chili is one of my favorite comfort foods, and as I go through my handwritten cookbooks I find more recipes for chili than anything else.  I'm straining my brain to remember if I had a chili I didn't like...hum...nope!

Chili is a personal food don't you think?  Once Hubby & I went to a dinner party toting a pot of my chili, as did everyone else! A Chili Cook Off. We all ate a small bowl each others chili, a blind tasting, only the hostess knew who's was who's.  Our own being obvious to us, we still ate it like it was anonymous. We had planned to pick a winner, but no one could pick the best chili, I know I honestly couldn't. Each was a winner in it's own way!  It was so fun to see & taste how different each pot was and how personal it was.

 We have no rain (please pray) but now I have a hankerin' for chili.

All this hunkering & hankering Cowboy talk is making me want chili!...

5 Alarm Chili!

 

 

 

 

 

Yes those are tortilla chips! About an oz of chips. I have also used 2 corn tortillas. They add great flavor & also thicken up the chili.  I blended them with spices, (chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, 1 tbsp. ketchup & sugar) with large can of tomatoes. My favorite is whole tomatoes but I used a can of diced, so it made the chili thicker. I got lazy and didn't fire roast the peppers but it's so much better if you take the time to do that. The dark chilies are dried, which I soaked in 2 cups of hot water before adding those to the tomatoes in the blender as well.  I use the water from this soak in the chili. (brown liquid in measuring cup) Again I was lazy and just left the skins on to get every bit of pepper.  Normally I make with ground beef but I had this marbled piece of meat that I knew was going to be tasty and tender.  I always get my pot beyond hot before adding my room temperature meat. It should stick where it lands and I don't touch it until I can see that it's good & browned. This adds so much flavor. It's surprisingly not as hot as it would seem but I can eat fire so....

With chili I love warm tortillas or cornbread but for this one...

Pass the thick & chewy & crunchy San Francisco Sourdough Garlic Bread please!

Grab that spoon! Dare to Have A Bite ?