Peggy Duncan's Chili

My friend Jane shared her mom's chili recipe with me back when we were in college. I've collected several of my friends' mom's recipes over the years, and I find they're some of my favorite ones. I've made several modifications to this over the years, but it remains my favorite basic chili recipe. I must admit that I last made this for Jane about a year ago, and she swore that my version was "even better" than her mother's-:)

I'm going to type exactly as I copied from Jane, and then add my commentary in parentheses:

Chili

2 lbs ground beef (I rarely use beef anymore, because I don't eat much beef. When I did, though, I liked ground sirloin the best. Tonight, I used ground turkey breast. Jane used to sometimes use soy crumbles, but beef was her favorite)
4 ribs celery
1 green pepper
2 onions
1 close garlic, crushed (I tend to use more)
1 T olive oil (I use a good bit more olive oil if I use turkey breast...say 3-4 T total)
2-4 T chili powder (I love spicy food, so I use at least 4 T, closer even to 5 or 6)
2T flour
1t ground coriander
1t dried oregano
1t ground cumin (honestly, I think this makes it so good)
1 21 oz can diced or chopped tomatoes (I tend to buy petite diced, and I prefer salt-free so I can control the salt)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce (same comment re: salt-free)
1 c water (I like my chili a bit soupier than some do, so I tend to use 2-3 cups, sometimes even 4. And, I also often use chicken broth instead of water...I do that with a lot of things)
2 T sugar
2t salt
2 cans beans (I mix this up, but usually one can pinto and one can kidney), drained and rinsed

Brown the meat (I do this on high) and drain; set aside. Saute on medium heat the onion, pepper and celery in olive oil (5-10 min); add garlic and cook a few more minutes. Mix dry ingredients (spice mix) and add to veggies. Stir for 3-4 minutes over heat. Add back in the meat, as well as all the ingredients except the beans. Bring to a simmer and cook 1 hr. Add beans and cook another 30 minutes.

I generally serve with some cheddar cheese and sour cream...but everyone has their own favorite way to eat chili. Enjoy!

Jane would get such a kick out of spreading this around.


P.S.  I also generally add a pinch of red pepper flakes and some hot sauce...the spicier, the better!  yum.