Baby it's Chili Outside

If you still have leftover turkey at this point, you have a problem. You might want to just call it quits to play it safe (unless you froze it), or hurry up and make turkey chili.

Our thanksgiving leftovers made it to Sunday. We lazily heated up turkey bits piled on slices of French bread (bruschetta style) with stuffing and dressing for 3 days before I had to come up with a new plan with new food. Yesterday, I decided to make chili. There are so many chili recipes I have been wanting to try out (especially this one from Mollie Katzen) and I am hoping to invent a recipe of my own. One of my goals is to someday win the Hannibal Annual Chili Cookoff with my very own Budweiser-inspired chili.

But since yesterday was stressful, and I only had about 5 minutes to run through the store before I had to get home to let the dogs out (who each defecated on the floor regardless of my best efforts to reach them as fast as possible), I decided to go with the easy chili recipe my mom taught me.

Recipe for Can-do Beef Chili:

• 1 lb. extra lean ground beef
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 small onion, diced
  
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• Generous sprinkles of chili powder
• (Optional - I like to add a little hot sauce, garlic salt, and chipotle powder - but definitely add salt and cracked black pepper)
• One can diced tomatoes
• One can kindey beans
• One can Campbells tomato soup
• Cheese, sour cream, Fritos - toppings of your choice
  

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and stir in the onion and green pepper. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beef and cook until brown. Add the chili powder and seasonings and stir as the meat cooks. I usually end up using between 1-2 tbsp of chili powder. Add the diced tomatoes and juices, drain the kidney beans and add, then pour in the concentrated tomato soup. Stir and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are soft. Serve in a bowl with chosen toppings.