Gingo Grandma’s chili!  That’s me!  This is my chili!  You’ve probably guessed that this is NOT serious cook-off chili. This is big pot, throw-it-all-together, family friendly, low-budget chili—chili that everyone likes! Chili with ground meat! And beans! Oh, my! A recipe that makes enough for a crowd or for three days of leftovers. A chili that reheats and freezes well. Rainy-day comfort food. Game Day staple food. Must have camping food. Yay for chili!

This is an easy recipe to remember, too.  Think three’s!  Three cans of pinto beans, three cans of diced tomatoes, 3lbs of meat, three onions. I found the original recipe in The San Jose Mercury News food section years and years and years ago.  I’ve adjusted the quantities of ingredients a bit and changed the name to fit the dish, and made it mine. I hope you make it yours. too!

Gringo Grandma’s Chili

INGREDIENTS

• 3 16 oz. cans pinto beans
• 3 16 oz. cans diced tomatoes
• 3 onions, chopped—use your own discretion on this quantity. How many onions do you like? Onions are huuuuuge nowadays, so 1, 1½, or 2 might be fine.
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 lbs. ground beef OR 2 lbs. ground beef, 1 lb. ground sausage
• ¼ cups chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1½ teaspoons black pepper
• 1-3 cups chicken broth OR water

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour canned pinto beans with their liquid and chopped tomatoes into a large soup pot over a medium high heat. Bring to a light simmer. 
2. Meanwhile, in another pan, sauté chopped onion in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. 
3. Stir in garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes. 
4. Add onions and garlic to bean and tomato mixture. 
5. To the pan now emptied of onion, brown the ground beef and sausage, about 15 minutes. 
6. Drain fat from meat.
7. Stir drained meat into the bean-tomato-onion mixture. 
8. Add  in chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. If desired, stir in one to three cups of chicken broth or water until the chili meets your desired preference of consistency—some people like it thicker or soupier than others.  Simmer chili for 1½ hours, covered. 
9. Uncover and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Serve hot chili in deep bowls, in front of the TV, on a cold day 🙂 I like to serve with grated cheddar cheese and corn muffins, but sliced green onions and sour cream would also be good toppings. I think this chili is best the second day, and leftovers—or even the whole batch—freeze very, very well 🙂

Makes approximately 16 cups, that’s one gallon of family friendly, easy to eat chili.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today!  Make some of Grandma’s Cornbread, too! Save some for leftovers repurposed as Walking Chili—a single serving bag of Fritos, opened, and a scoop of chili added! If that’s not your idea of fun, put some Fritos in the bottom of your bowl, and add in a scoop of chili over them! Or try some leftovers as Chili Dogs! Enjoy!