Chili

This is a traditional chili made with pinto beans, ground beef & tomatoes.




Ingredients

1 lb bag of dried pinto beans
1t baking soda
1lb ground beef
1 can chili ready diced tomatoes
1 T dried onion
2 T minced garlic
2 T chili powder







Dried beans have to be presoaked. I recently discovered that I prefer the "quick" method. Start by pouring the beans into a large pot, cover them with cold water & swish around. Remove any that are broken or look odd. Dump out the water. Rinse thoroughly. Add 6 cups of cold water & 1T salt, bring to boil. Let it boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add 1t baking soda to reduce the gas in the beans & cover with a lid. Let it sit for one hour. Drain and rinse again. Rinse the pan out very well, then put the beans back in & add 8 cups cold water. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer.





Brown the ground beef in a frying pan then drain the grease. Add the can of diced tomatoes, dried onion, garlic and chili powder. I also like to add any dribbs of tomato based salsa I may have in the fridge, anything that has tomato, peppers or onions is fair game. Let simmer for 20 minutes.







Add the ground beef mixture to the pot of beans. Let cook for another 90 minutes or until beans are tender. This can also be left in the crockpot on low all day to cook.










I usually serve it with crackers or corn bread. You can also add cheese, onions, sour cream, or anything else you like on your chili. This recipe makes plenty for dinner and some leftovers for lunch or even another dinner. It stores well in the fridge for up to a week & can be frozen in an airtight container for several months.