Mom's Amazing Chili

My mother always saved chili for a rainy day - and who am I not to follow in that tradition? She'd pull out the electric wok - a gift of the 1970s, no doubt - and set to bubbling her amazing recipe which I'll share with you now.

* 2 pkgs Lawry's Chili mix
* 1 pkg thinly sliced deli ham
* 1 lb ground sirloin
* 1 1/2 cans stewed tomatoes
* 2 cans pinto beans
* Lawry's garlic salt to taste
* Lemon Pepper to taste
* Costco's Tuscan Spice Blend - a new personal favorite
* 2 bay leaves
* EVOO
* 1 tbs butter
* Marie Calendar's Cornbread Mix - made, per directions. Marie knows what she's doing.

Sautee together: EVOO, Butter, Thinly sliced and diced deli ham, and a dash of Tuscan Spice Blend.

Place in crock pot: Deli Ham (post sauteeing), 2 cans pinto beans, 2 bay leaves. Cook together for 2-4 hours, on low.

Cook ground sirloin with garlic salt, tuscan spice blend & lemon pepper. Drain & place in crock pot after beans are "done". Add in chili mix packets, stewed tomatoes, and stir until powder dissolved.

Simmer for another 2 hrs.

Serve it up with the following Chili Toppers:

* Shredded Cheese
* Diced green onions
* Sour Cream
* Salsa or diced tomatoes
* Crumbled Melrose Parmesan Croutons

Serve with Marie Calendar's Cornbread, for an added crowd pleaser. I keep a pack of this mix in the cupboard for emergencies. It's a kitchen staple! Perry loves the costco dinner rolls, so that's what he eats with it.

I also make a Caesar salad with dressing from Fresh & Easy, crumbled Melrose croutons, fresh parmesan, and diced tomatoes.

What did the girls eat of this? Umm. Cornbread. Rachel likes the sour cream and the cheese. Basically, they ate hot dogs while we slurped up bowls full of chili. Perry is not a cornbread fan, so he ate it up with some yummy costco rolls.

What can you learn from this? Well, leftovers are delicious. Enough for us to have for two meals. The Tuscan Spice blend is too spicy for the girls. Ellie would have eaten it if she hadn't had a tummy ache. Rachel--well, you never can tell. Maybe next time she'll love it. :)

Good eating!