Chili is pretty much a "make it how you like it" kind of a concoction. It is basically a stew of meat (or not), chili pepper seasoning, beans (or not) and some kind of tomato and onion (or not).

If it is a meat chili, the meat of choice is usually some kind of beef, preferably a less expensive cut as it is going to get cooked into tenderness anyway. However, pork, chicken, turkey or rattlesnake works too just as long as it is cooked before it goes in. I've had excellent results with sliced up Costco Polish sausages.

My recipe is quite simple and completely modifiable.

Ingredients

• Meat, about 1 to 2 lbs. Whatever you have will do fine. Meat is also optional, don't use any at all if you want meatless chili.
• A box of Carroll Shelby's Chili Mix (or your favorite brand, 2 packs for the typical brands)
• A can of diced tomato
• A can of Rotel (a blend of tomato, peppers, onion and other good stuff)
• 3 cans of beans (black, pinto, kidney in any mix)
• 1, or just a part of, an onion, chopped
• a squirt of yellow mustard (I use jalapeño mustard)

Chili is best cooked for hours in a crockpot but a dutch oven over low heat will do. Start by pouring in the canned ingredients and applying low heat to get things started. Chop onion as desired and toss it in. Squirt in a couple of tablespoons of mustard (or more if you like it). Open the chili mix and dump all the packets in. If you are using Carroll Shelby's mix, DO NOT pour the corn flour packet in all at once. Spread about 1/4 of it at a time over the top of the crock and mix it in, then mix in some more. If you just dump all it in, it will hopelessly clump and you'll have dry corn dumplings.

Cook the meat until it is cooked full through and drain it. Then dump it in. Mix up the whole batch and let it go on low heat. You don't want it to quite boil. Let it go all day or until you cannot stand it anymore and you just HAVE to eat.

Serve straight up, topped with grated cheese (which will melt on it's own) and more onion.