Simple Tried and True Texas Chili

 

My daughter has a tradition of Halloween at her house with Frito pie and all the trimmings.  I volunteered to make the chili today and this is the recipe that I adapted to my taste.Simple Tried and True Texas Chili  I added tomatoes and beef stock  instead of water. I can't imagine chili without tomatoes.  I'm just saying. So the recipe that follows is with my variations.







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Ingredients:
3-4 pounds of beef, chuck or round
1/2 pound of bacon
2 large onions, chopped
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
4 cloves garlic (optional) I love garlic so I added it
2 cans tomatoes (any kind--whole, (broken-up) diced, stewed
1 cup beef stock
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Dice the bacon and cook in a large pot until crispy, but not overdone. Scoop it out and set aside.
2. Cook the ground meat in the bacon fat until cooked through. Scoop out the meat and add to the bacon.
3. Saute the onions and garlic in the bacon fat. You may take some of the fat out, but as the author says, "it won't be true Texan at that point.
4. When onions are soft add the cumin, chile powder, and paprika and cook briefly.
5. Return the meat, cover with tomatoes and beef and bring to a boil. Taste and add salt and pepper to your taste.
6. Let simmer for several hours. At this point, I place it all in my crock.  I will let it simmer all day and take it to my daughter's for tonight's Halloween festivities. - S-c-a-r-r-y good!