My Famous Chili Recipe

The best chili. Ever!!

This is one of the recipes for which I am “famous”. I have served this every year at our Christmas party(s), and many times throughout the year, and I always get people asking me for the recipe. That always does my heart good! My mouth is watering just thinking about this recipe.

I found this recipe in a magazine sitting in a doctor’s office in Ames, Iowa, many, many years ago. I copied it down quickly and went home and made it. Over the years, I have made some changes and tweaked the recipe to fit my tastes. Apparently, it fits others as well.

You can double, triple, or quadruple this recipe and it will still be fantastic. This is great for your own family or for large crowds.

When I make this for a crowd, I like to use the following toppings:

Shredded cheese, chopped green onions, chopped avocados, chopped jalapeno peppers or pickled jalapenos, oyster crackers, and chopped fresh tomatoes. If you can think of anything else, go for it!

Ingredients

2 pounds of hamburger (80/20 works best)

1 large onion

1 diced green pepper (optional)

1 28-ounce can of canned crushed or diced tomatoes

1 15-ounce can of tomato sauce

2 cans 15.5 ounce kidney and/or cannellini beans (drained)

1 Tablespoon Chili powder (or more to taste)

Cayenne pepper – if you want an extra kick

Salt and pepper

Preparation

Cut and dice the onion. In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, add the onions with a little butter and cook until tender. Add the green pepper, if using, at this point and cook for a few minutes until tender. Add the hamburger and continue cooking until meat is browned. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Mix well and add chili powder to taste. I start with about 1 tablespoon and add as needed. Add the salt and pepper and mix well. Cook on low heat for at least 15 – 20 minutes. Add the drained kidney beans to the chili. Heat through and serve.

Alternate: use 1 can of cannellini beans and 1 can of kidney beans.