Day 1 Sunday-"Chilly-Night Chili"
Day 1 Sunday Dinner
Let me start by saying that the first foray into planning the grocery list and the meals for the week took far longer than I expected. This was due in part to the untimely death of our coffee pot. You don’t realize just how important some things are to the normal routine until they are suddenly taken away! Trying to get anything started and planned for the week was almost impossible without that familiar pick-me-up. When it was time to hit the stores (note: stores is plural), I was off at a turtle’s pace. Assisted by my two daughters, without whom the shopping trip would have been utterly disastrous, following several calls back to and from the house, and one large coffee, the shopping was finally done.
The first recipe I followed from the “I Hate To Cook Book” by Peg Bracken was her Chilly-Night Chili. Now my recipe had to be doubled simply because of my large family size and growing teens. The basic recipe is very simple. I remember thinking that it would be perfect for those young college students living with roommates, or a single person starting out and needing a cheap budgetable plan without a lot of hassle. For someone that may never have journeyed into the kitchen and are at a loss for getting started, this recipe is so easy. It is mild and can be adjusted for taste, although in my house that’s a plus because it makes it a good meal for young children that do not like a lot of heat or spice. In addition, it might even be good for camping especially when you don’t have to use a lot of ingredients and would make it easy to pack.
Recipe Chilly Night Chili*
1 lb hamburger
1 big onion
1 or 2 cans Kidney beans (29 oz or 30 oz)
1 can tomato soup undiluted
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chili powder (add more according to taste) here my husband would dump in the whole jar of chili powder causing the children no end of trouble eating their dinner.*
Directions
Brown the ground beef with diced onion until beef is cooked and onions are a little translucent or (ghost-like) meaning you can imagine yourself trying to see through them. I wouldn’t try it because it would look silly and the food is hot. Now is the time to drain the fat and then place ground beef into a large pot, which I would say somewhere around 4 qt Dutch oven add the beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, and salt. Put a lid on it and a low heat and let it simmer for about a half hour, stirring occasionally.
Now then you’re going to wonder what to serve with this Chili and there are some neat ideas to go with this dinner. You could bake up some french fries, saute some green beans in a little butter. You could go with chips if you want to, baked potatoes. For fruit, we took canned peaches rinsed and drained, and stirred them into a bowl of Vanilla pudding and popped that in the refrigerator and let it chill until ready to serve. It makes a great dessert too. And you can use the low sugar instant pudding too.
Now, let me say this: The kitchen survived! I didn’t even smoke anyone out, although I did at one point get distracted and I went to talk to my husband, I did remember that the meat had been left cooking and the heat left on high. In this case, my son came to the rescue while helping to clean up and thought to turn the heat down when I disappeared. Always remember to turn the heat down or off when you leave the stove, or have a teenager who is accustomed to watching for this kind of thing. Very important in my house! Oh, and make sure batteries are fully working in the smoke alarms and that there is a fire extinguisher handy. Not that either of these was necessary during the creation of the chili, but you never can tell about these things.
Well, I can say the kids enjoyed it, although my husband found it very mild. Personally, I like it mild, because I didn’t have kids panting for water and doing that annoying thing they do where they act like they are fanning their tongue. This is a pet peeve of mine and has to be tolerated every time my husband makes chile. He likes it a bit spicier. To the point, in fact, that it takes 2 or 3 glasses of milk to cool the tongue and I miss the flavors of everything else. Spicy food is alright, but you should be able to: 1. Breathe and 2. Taste while eating. Food should not be painful. Anyway, all in all, I’d say that the first experiment into “The I Hate to Cook Book” was a great success. Looking forward to my next adventure!
What do you think? Have you tried this recipe? Will you try it? What changes would you make? Comment, rate, and share your ideas. Until next time, Stay Flamboyant my flamingo family.
Bracken, P. (1960). The I hate to cook book. (pg. 10). New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
