Cookin' With Leo

By Leocthasme

More Chili

(A Quick Fix Up)

At one of the way back when, Chili Cook Outs, me and John saw a quick way to fix up some Chili that sort of happened as an accident. Seems one of the cooking crews accidentally tipped over and spilled most of their prize (well, they thought so) recipe. We sorta' felt sorry for 'em, but then, what the heck, one less competitor, we thought. Well, we watched with some interest as they regrouped and saved what was left of their prized recipe and waited to see how they could get it all together again. Well they did get it together, didn't win no prize, but then the final outcome was pretty good stuff and we sort of picked up on what they did to what was left.

And here is a good Chili recipe that won't take hours to do. And the recipe can be doubled if you need more than about 6 bowls.
What you need:

Get a good sized skillet or a cast iron Dutch oven with a tight lid.
Some beef suet for grease, or bacon grease.
Two small onions, chopped. Let them heat up in the grease till they are somewhat transparent.
2 pounds of stew beef, brown that with the grease and onions.
2 cloves chopped garlic that can go in the pot with the beef while it browns.
A 16/18oz can of whole peeled tomatoes, juice and all. No stewed tomatoes here.
A chopped up green pepper, seeded.

Now let that cook a bit with the lid in place. Cook long enough to be sure the beef is good and tender. Uncover and check once in a while to stir and see that nothing is sticking to the bottom or sides of the pot.

And now the fix up:
The first part of the recipe here is what we figured was lost and had to be redone. Here is what should be added to make it somewhat like a good pot of Chile. And what is added here will never win you a prize at a chili cook out but it just might win you praise for a good snack while watching the super bowl out on the back patio (In West Texas everybody watches the Super Bowl on the back patio, unless there is a sand storm) with a few cases of Bud or Mich to go with it.

Add all this to the pot when the beef is done.
1 cup of black coffee
1 jar of salsa, at least 12 ounces. It can be mild or hot depending on your guests.
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ cup cheddar cheese, grated, a thickener of sorts.
1 can 15/16 ounces, kidney beans drained
Let all that simmer for about another 20 minutes or so to blend it in with the meat mixture.
Chop up some green onions and serve on top of each bowl

Corn bread slathered with butter goes with each bowl, flushed down with a Bud or Mich.