The origin of Chili Con Carne ( con carne basically means Chili with meat ) is a little shakey ..... Some say it first started in northern Mexico and other say it was southern Texas ..... but where ever it came from it's good stuff !   The below recipe started with my wife Karen's recipe ..... I only made a few changes to her recipe because it was already one heck of a " Delicious Chili " !

        Now we " never " make our Chili spicey hot !   ( little kids don't normally like it that way and neither do I )   But since some of our family likes it hot and others don't .... we also always have some of " Frank's Red Hot Sauce " for them to add as much as they like.  ( see photo below ) This is a way to kill two birds with one stone, or one meal, so to speak !

Ingredients :

•   1  -  28 oz. can of crushed tomatos

•   2  -  can of condensed " Tomato Bisque " soup  -  ( undiluted )

•   2  -  16 oz. cans of Pinto Beans  ~  ( Also see Tip #1 )
              (  We use Bush's Pinto Beans without sauce - " Pictured Below "  )
              (  " Red Kidney Beans " were " Never " used in any of the original recipes !  )

•   1  -  1.25 oz. package of Mild Chili Seasoning  -  ( or Hot Seasoning if you'd rather )

•   1  -  Small or Medium onion, chopped

•   1/2  ~  Tablespoon of " Oregano "  -  ( " optional " ~ however this gives you the " Tex-Mex flavor " )

•   1/2  ~  diced Sweet Red Pepper  -  ( " optional ~ any color will also work " )
                (  We don't use pepper's since my wife doesn 't like them !  ~  but her husband does ..... such is life ... LOL  )

•   1 to 1 1/2  -  lbs. of cooked ground burger.  -  ( your choice for the amount of meat )  -  ( Also See Tip #2 )

            Now this is my way to cook the burger ! ..... Trust me .... It work's Great !

  1. Put your chopped onion in a 12 inch frying pan ( or larger if needed ) ....
  2. Crumble your burger on top of the onion ....
  3. Cover the burger with just enough " water " to cover the burger ....
  4. Cook on Medium Low heat just until the burger is no longer pink .... Stirring as needed
  5. The burger " will not " lose any flavor in this process .... In fact it will enhance the flavor ....
  6. Drain off the water and put the burger into the Slow Cooker .... (  I use a slotted spoon !  ) ....

•   You can also,  if you'd rather,  cook your burger in 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil  -  ( But you will lose flavor )

•   1  -  14 ozs. squeeze container of Sour Cream  -  ( " optional " - to squeeze into your chili )

•   1  -  package of shredded cheddar cheese for topping  -  ( " optional " - or cheese of choice )

•   Salt & Pepper  -  ( to taste - however I never see the need for any )

Directions :

1.   Add the first " 7 or 8 " ingredients to the slow cooker and stir to combine.  -  ( " 8 " if your are using peppers )

2.   Cover and cook on low as noted below:  ( since basically everything added is already cooked )

   1.   " 4 " hours to heat up for a quick meal.

   2.   " 6 " or even " 8 " hours to develop more taste and flavor.

3.   Use shredded cheddar cheese and / or sour cream to top it off !

4.   Then Enjoy !

         Pinto beans were actually the first beans used in the original chili recipes.   Some folks prefer Red Kidney Beans or other types of beans in their chili such as Bush's Hot or Mild Chili Sauce Beans.   Others also add green peppers and/or even Jalapeños.




         " Ground Chicken " or " Ground Turkey " can also be use for a healthier meal.   ( It's actually " very hard " to tell the difference between " ground burger " and " ground turkey " once cooked in chili )









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or at ( russpickde@comcast.net )


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