Katy’s Kentucky Chili
1 lb ground or finely diced meat
Chili Powder to taste (I tend to use a lot – 1 small jar or equivalent)
3 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 8 oz can diced tomatoes (optional)
24 oz water (3 tomato sauce cans measure)
3 15 oz cans Ranch Style Beans
1 cup macaroni or broken spaghetti pieces
In a dutch oven (or similar sized pot) brown meat until done, drain the excess fat & return to pot. Add chili powder, stir into meat until fully dispersed. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, water and Ranch Style Beans. Bring to boil & let it simmer for a few minutes. You can precook the macaroni or add it directly to the pot & let it cook in the chili (a great way to conserve water if cooking in a disaster situation). Once the macaroni or spaghetti is done, you are ready to serve.
Serve with crackers, chips, Fritos, etc., and top with cheese (cheddar, Monterrey Jack, etc. I even have a daughter that puts Parmesan on hers).
Variations
You can use any kind of canned beans available, such as black, pinto or kidney. But the Ranch Style beans add a lot of flavor you otherwise do not get.
Add fresh chopped onion, celery and or bell pepper after browning the meat. Let it cook for a few minutes before adding the remaining ingredients.
Vegetarian – Cook without the meat and eliminate the pasta. Serve over rice – combined with the beans in the chili, you have a complete protein (or pretty close).
Cook without the pasta, serve over spaghetti & you have chili pasta. Top with any cheese you may desire & serve with garlic bread.
Cook without the beans and less tomato sauce and water & serve over hot dogs.
Customize this recipe the way you want – it is very flexible.
Chef’s Notes:
Try this on a cold winter night and you will find you do not have any leftovers for the next day. And if you do – lucky you. Its even better warmed up.
This meal can be as inexpensive or as expensive as you want to make it. Best of all, it can be made entirely from stored goods & is ready to eat as soon as all of the ingredients are incorporated – usually 30 minutes or less.
Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:
The Best Chili You Will Ever Taste [1]
Canned Chili [2]
Currently Available as Free Kindle e-Books:
Pizza Pie in the Sky: A Complete Guide to Pizza [3]
Katherine’s Southern Cooking [4]
Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail [6]. Thanks!