HAPPY HALLOWEEN -- LUCIFER’S LIMITED LIABILITY CHILI

Hallie reported that Nick spent last Sunday perfecting his chili recipe. On Monday, he won the chili contest at work. Hallie said the $50.00 gift certificate paid for the chili ingredients. (Hallie -- who thinks so much like Mike.) Anyway, Nick sent us the recipe and said that we could share it.

LUCIFER'S LIMITED LIABILITY CHILI

½ lb. thick-cut bacon (cut into 1" pieces)

1 large white onion (chopped)

4-5 Jalapeno peppers (sliced)

5-6 large garlic cloves (minced)

2 ½-3 lbs. cubed beef (chuck or "stew meat")

1 can (15 oz.) – tomato sauce

1 can (15 oz.) – pork 'n beans

1 can (15 oz.) – pinto beans (drained)

1 can (15 oz.) – light or dark red kidney beans (drained)

3 tbsp. chili powder (Gebhardt's is good)

½ to 1 ½ tsp. Cayenne powder or red pepper flakes

1 tsp. Mexican oregano

1 tsp. cumin

2 tbsp. spicy brown mustard

Black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Cook bacon in large stock pot. Remove bacon and set aside. Leave grease in pot. Add onion and jalapeno to bacon grease and sauté for a few minutes. Add garlic and continue cooking mixture until onions are nearly translucent. Add meat and cook until brown. Once the meat has thoroughly cooked, drain excess fat. Add remaining ingredients (saving 1 tbsp. chile powder and 1 cup chicken broth for later) and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 2 hours. Add remaining chile powder and additional chicken broth as needed to achieve desired consistency and simmer an additional 1-2 hours until meat is tender.

Apparently there was a joke between Hallie and Nick as to whether or not he omitted a key ingredient from the list. Well, that's an old joke, you know. "Back in the day," when housewives depended upon one another for new recipes, the accusation that something was left out was common. Suppose you asked Mrs. Jones for her wonderful devil's food cake recipe. She might prefer not to share it, and instead of answering honestly she might answer vaguely and never give it to you, or she might give you the recipe with a key ingredient missing or an incorrect amount. When you tried the recipe, it just wasn't the same as hers. You would then wonder if she deliberately sabotaged the recipe so that she would be the only one who could make it or if she made an honest mistake in writing it out. Or – maybe you just weren't as good a cook as she. Anyway, we don't struggle so much with this issue any more. It's all online anyway. Unless Mrs. Jones develops original recipes in her own kitchen, you can find it online.

We're having chili for supper tonight, but not Lucifer's Limited Liability. I eat chili sparingly and keep it mild. Instead, we'll use pheasant meat, home-grown tomatoes, a can of kidney beans, and McCormick's seasoning mix. I'll serve it with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and blue corn chips – all low fat. I'll make pumpkin pie for dessert with a recipe I found at The King Arthur Flour Company website. There will be no trick-or-treaters in this place. But – we might watch an old horror movie or two – unless we're watching football. KW