Chili de Jillian

If you ask someone what "makes" chili, you are likely to get almost as many answers as people you ask. The original chili con carne was simply a stew that included exactly that: chili peppers and meat. In some places, beans were added to limit the need for expensive meat. In other places, tomatoes or tomato sauce were added. A specific bunch of herbs and spices often added to chili became known as chili pepper in the U.S. In Texas, chili is served with no beans or vegetables at all, while a mostly meat and tomato chili is poured over spaghetti in Chicago.

But what exactly is chili to me? This is the "chili" that I make for my little family, and whether you agree that it is real chili or not is up to you. I just have not found a better name for it than "beans with meat, vegetables, and assorted hot chili peppers." Either way, it is still pretty tasty! Even my two year old likes it, spiciness and all. (By omitting the "optional" ingredients, you can make a pretty good vegetarian chili as well.)

Chili de Jillian

Ingredients

Chili
3-4 cups dry pinto beans
2 jalepenos, diced
2 cans diced tomatoes, or two large tomatoes diced
1 13 oz. can mushrooms, sliced or diced, or a cup of diced button mushrooms
1 large onion, diced
1 can corn or half a bag of frozen corn (omit if serving chili over polenta)
Either 3/4 diced polska kielbasa or a cup of cooked ground beef (optional)
Approx. 2-3 tablespoons oregano
Approx. 2 tablespoons black pepper
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

Polenta
1 cup corn grits
4 cups water
2 tablespoons butter (optional)

Procedure

1. Either soak dry beans overnight or simmer for an hour, then drain. Cover with water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook beans until tender. If you are going to use salt at all, don't add any until your chili is almost done or else you might oversalt it.

2. Add everything else and simmer until the soupy part of the chili thickens and everything is cooked.

3. While chili is stewing, boil four cups water in separate pot. Add corn grits to boiling water and stir until mixture becomes quite thick. Remove from heat, pouring into a bowl and let cool.

4. Serve chili over cooled polenta. For best flavor, let the flavors mix in the refrigerator for a day before reheating and serving.

Note: This recipe makes quite a large pot of chili, so use a stock pot if you have one. We can usually eat this for three days, or freeze it for later. We usually get a huge bag of dried pinto beans at Costco for ten bucks every several months, so this can be a great penny-pincher recipe.