Delicious Chili Recipe

• 1 lb. each ground pork and ground beef (85 or 93% meat)

• 1 medium sweet onion

• Clove of fresh garlic or dried minced garlic

• Chili powder

• Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning (optional)

• Worchestershire sauce

• Oregano

• Sweet Basil

• McCormick All-Purpose Seasoning

• Salt and Pepper

• 28 oz. can tomato sauce

• 46 oz. bottle tomato juice

• Dried beans of your choice (pinto, great northern, red, kidney)

• 1 medium sweet apple

I like to use dried beans in my recipes. They are fresher and don't contain all the preservatives and additives that canned beans do. If I'm in a hurry to have chili, I will use canned beans. If you are using canned beans, rinse them well in a colander before adding them to the chili.

For this pot of chili I used Red Beans. My favorite bean is the Pinto bean. Both of these beans have a mild flavor and don't overpower the taste of the chili. Dried beans need to be soaked in water for at least 4-6 hours. Soaking the beans overnight is best. Makes sure you soak them in a bowl large enough to allow for the expansion of the beans.

As you can see, dried beans expand a great deal when re-hydrated. You can expect the beans to be 3-4 times the size they were when dry. I usually use a 1 lb. bag of beans in the recipe. I like more ingredients than broth in my chili.

In a large skillet, start browning the ground pork. It takes a little longer to cook than the ground beef. I use ground round or sirloin since the pork is a little fattier. Season the meat with a coating of chili powder, Worchestershire sauce, All-Purpose Seasoning, Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning, salt, and pepper. Add the finely chopped onion and garlic. Cook until the pork is cooked thoroughly. Drain off any excess fat.

I prefer to cook my chili in a crock pot. The slow cooking allows the flavors to permeate the meat and beans. Using a crock pot makes this recipe a "set it and forget it" meal. Use the high setting until the chili starts to boil, then turn the heat to low and "forget it". If you use a Dutch oven or large sauce pan, allow at least 4 hours for the beans to cook thoroughly and soften. This method requires more active participation by you to make sure the chili doesn't stick and burn. Frequent stirring is required. You don't want to boil the chili for long periods of time, but you need more heat than simmer to cook the beans.

Add more chili powder to the broth. I put a light coating over the top of the pot. Season to taste with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.

When serving the chili, I like to add a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle the top with shredded cheddar or Mexican (4 cheese combo) cheese. Some crackers on the side and the meal is complete. So good!

Do tomato based recipes give you heartburn? I got really bad heartburn after eating chili or any tomato based recipe until I learned this secret. I think I found out about it in a "Hints from Heloise" column.

Add a finely chopped or diced sweet apple to the tomato sauce. The pectin in the apple absorbs and neutralizes the acid in the tomatoes. I don't get heartburn from my chili anymore.