Sandy's Spicy (But Not Too Spicy) Chili Recipe!

Today was a beautiful, sunny day, and I spent a large portion of it knitting. I haven't done that in ages. It was a great way to spend the day. (I did clean the kitchen a little, so I deserve a medal.) Marvin was at work, and I was wondering what I should make for dinner. So, I looked in the kitchen cabinets and decided to make chili. It was starting to get cloudy outside and looked like it might rain, so I figured chili would be a good choice.

While I was perusing the kitchen for all the ingredients, my son Noah called from his dad's house and asked me to come get him and drive him to work. So, I grabbed my purse and ran out the door. (He only gave me a few minutes warning.) I got him to work about 5 minutes before he had to clock in, so once again.....where's my medal? :)

On the way back home, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some sour cream, because Marvin and I love to add a dollop of sour cream to our chili. I also got a loaf of bread. Luckily, I had just enough cash in my purse to pay for both.

When I got home, I took the ground beef out of the freezer and threw it in the microwave to defrost. I then continued my search for chili ingredients in the cabinets. Two cans of kidney beans - check. One can of chopped tomatoes - check. Packet of chili seasoning - Oh no! My ever present stash of chili seasoning packets was depleted. NOW what to do? I had spent all my money buying sour cream and a loaf of bread. I didn't want to raid Marvin's coin jar. Plus, I didn't really feel like going back out to the grocery store after 5:00. The place is a madhouse when people get off work.

So, I came back here to the computer, and frantically searched the internet for a recipe to make chili seasoning. There were lots of good recipes, but I didn't have all the ingredients for any one of them. So, I wrote down different ingredients that I saw, and I went to my spice rack to see what I could scrounge up.

Here's the result of my scrounging and mixing:

Sandy's Spicy (But Not TOO Spicy) Chili Recipe
by Sandy Davis

Make dry seasoning by combining all these ingredients in a small bowl:

• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dry minced onion
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 2 Tablespoons dry ground mustard
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp sugar

Stir together, and set dry ingredients aside.
(Looks like chili seasoning to me!)

Brown 1 pound of ground beef in a dutch oven. Drain off all the oil.
Put back on burner and add dry seasoning that was set aside earlier.
Add 1 cup water and mix well.
Add 1 tablespoon grape jelly
(the "secret ingredient" for every chili recipe on the internet!)
Stir to dissolve grape jelly.
Add 1 can chopped tomatoes
Add 1 can light red kidney beans
Add 1 can dark red kidney beans
Stir to mix ingredients.
Add 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Stir in about 1/2 cup ketchup
Add salt to taste (if desired - I desired, and added quite a bit!)
Stir again, cover and let simmer until it makes the whole house smell wonderful!
(about an hour, I guess)

Serve with chunks of cheddar cheese, tortilla chips or crackers, and sour cream.
Yum!

If you're like Marvin, be sure to take some Pepsid AC before you eat! lol

Enjoy!