There's probably more chili recipes than there are people on the web. Our chili is different every time. Tonight my husband made a pot using the leftover taco meat from last night. It had a unique flavor, almost like Sloppy Joe's. We usually serve chili inside a hard roll that has the top cut off. I like mine with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream too. I sometimes serve it over white rice. What's your favorite?

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), December 28, 2001

Answers

I use leftover taco meat or leftover sloppy joe meat for chili. I also use canned baked beans rather than kidney beans. We like ours with peanut butter sandwiches!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), December 28, 2001.

An old friend of mine taught me to make crock pot chili. You brown a pound (or so) of hamburger, and drain it. Put it in a nice big crock pot with the following: 1 chopped onion, 2 can of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of undiluted condensed tomato soup, 2 cans of chili beans, salt and pepper and chili powder to taste. Simmer all day long..... yummmmmmy!!! It's one of my DH's favorites. We like it with shredded cheddar cheese and crackers. It tastes even better the next day..... if there's any leftover that is! :-)

-- Cheryl in KS (cherylmccoy@rocketmail.com), December 28, 2001.

I brown a pound or two of deer or hamburger, add my own chili seasoning and add-1pt homemade tomato soup, 1 can chili beans, and 1 pt homecaned diced tomatoes with juice. We like ours with homemade sweet corn bread and LOTS of onions!!!This is what I fixed for my son's birthday party Thursday night. We finished it up tonight and my son still wanted more!!

-- Micheale from SE Kansas (mbfrye@totelcsi.net), December 28, 2001.

Melissa,

When you mentioned chili and peanut butter sandwiches it took me back forty years to my grade school hot lunch program. This was one of my favorite meals when I was in school. Dip those sandwiches and get them moist so you could swallow them, and thicken up your chili at the same time. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Talk to you later.

-- Bob in WI (bjwick@hotmail.com), December 28, 2001.

EEWWW, peanut butter and chili?

I use ground beef, however many pounds I feel like, light red kidney beans (usually canned, I like them really mushy), onion, chopped green chili peppers, homegrown (if I have any left) tomatoes, chopped up very fine (Lance doesn't like chunks of cooked tomato and I do, so chopped small is a compromise), and usually some tomato sauce as well. I spice with chili powder, salt, pepper, and whatever else strikes my fancy, then just let it simmer all day until the onions are mushy too! Lots of cornbread, cheese, crackers, sour cream, and more fresh chopped tomatoes is what we like to go with this, and tall glasses of iced tea. I might have to do that in a day or two, my mouth is watering!

-- Christine in OK (cljford@aol.com), December 29, 2001.

I put Peanut Butter IN my Chilll, but if I told you the recipe I would have........ well I guess you know the rest.

-- Mark in N.C. Fla. (deadgoatman@webtv.net), December 29, 2001.

I make my chili by browning venison burger and onions. I'll add celery and green peppers diced, home-canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and lots of chili powder. Hubby likes the dark red kidney beans. And of course, I have to make up a small pot of cooked macaroni for "chili-mac". Served with cheese sticks and french or italian bread or crackers.

-- Jean in No. WI (jat@ncis.net), December 29, 2001.

In large pot, brown half a pound of ground beef with a small chopped onion and a minced clove of garlic.

Add 2 cans each: 15 oz kidney beans, drained; 10 oz bean w/ bacon soup (condensed; do not add water); 29 oz tomato sauce. Season with chili seasoning to taste.

I have not yet adapted this to dried beans and home canned tomato sauce, but plan to SOON.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), December 29, 2001.

Our favorite chili is made with fresh ground pork, butter beans and tomatoes. We like it served with corn muffins. Going to make some this week.

-- Jean (schiszik@tbcnet.com), December 29, 2001.

Does anyone make it without tomatoes? Is this somesort of Chili heresy? My daughter is allergic to Tomatoes so I make it without- sometime I ladle out hers then add tomatoes to the rest of ours, but the rest of my family like it plain too. I soak pintos, Or pinto kidney bean mix overnight, then cook it in the crockpot. I add some browned ground beef-leftover taco, or speghetti sauce is good. I add onion, lots of garlic, and chilipowder. Often we have it over crushed taco chips with sour cream on top, or with crackers and shreaded chedder cheese on top.

-- Kelly (Ksaderholm@yahoo.com), December 29, 2001.

My recipe is a lot like Cheryl's except I've never used tomato soup. I learned from TX friends that "real" chili never contained kidney beans - was told that was the yankee way, but only pinto or chili beans. Anyway the recipe is a pound or so of cooked ground meat (drained), couple cans stewed tomatoes mushed between fingers, couple cans beans, an envelope of chili seasoning, chopped green peppers, chopped onion, garlic to taste and when it's all bubbling some cornstarch/water to thicken. I used to make it with kidney beans and leave it soupy for "chili soup" and serve with macaroni. Now I always have cornbread (baked with corn in it) and most times rice also. Oh, and of course grated cheese.

-- Gloria in MD (mullinaxclan@webtv.net), December 30, 2001.

My chili consists of ground beef or turkey, two cans mater sauce, one can mater paste (small) onions, green pepper (chopped finely), macaroni, chili powder, cheese topping, chili beans still in juice, Peppers if you like it hot. I won a chili cook off with this.

-- melinda (speciallady104@hotmail.com), December 31, 2001.