A chili recipe

Its not quite cold here anymore, the last few days have been warm and Ive gotten a good breeze coming in through the windows to keep us cool, so this recipe may seem a bit out of season. I had it on my menu plan to use up leftover beans for last week (when it was still pretty cold), but surprise dinners out with family pushed it back and its no longer cold enough for it. But, it was planned and bought for so I had to make it....and I really didnt want it, until I had it. It unexpectedly hit the spot and I was glad I did.While this isnt one of those completely made from fresh recipes, its still healthy and really yummy!

Homemade chili

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef or turkey, or you can use shredded beef, turkey or chicken
1 lbs pinto beans, cooked
1 large can spicy tomato sauce. This saves me a step, but you can use regular tomato sauce and spice it up. I use El Pato brand mexican hot style tomato sauce.
1/2 a large can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 a large brown onion, chopped
chili powder
1/2 tbsp garlic salt
1 tbsp crushed red peppers (optional)
2 jalapenos, chopped (optional)
2 green serrano chiles, chopped (optional)

Brown your meat with the onions (peppers too), garlic salt and 2 tbsp chili powder. Drain. I use a large metal coffee can. You can add additional heat by adding the crushed peppers, jalapenos and chiles. I didnt last night for the kids. It still had a kick from the spicy tomato sauce and chili powder though.

Add your beans, tomato sauce and tomatoes to a large pot and stir in chili powder to taste preference.

Next, add in your meat and onion mix, stir in and simmer on low for an hour or so, long enough to mix up a batch of cornbread and bake it.

I forgot to take pictures of the chili and cornbread all served up! I like mine with a dab of sour cream and a sprinkle of onions, the rest of my family with cheese. This is a good recipe to serve up when feeding a lot of people, its simple and inexpensive to double or triple the recipe if needed.

If you try out my recipe, let me know how you liked it!