Mama's Chili

I don't like chili. Unless it comes on a hot dog or french fries I'm generally not interested. That being said, of all the chili I have tasted, I still think my Mom's is best. I know that most children think their Mom's cooking is the best, however, when you have a chef with 30 years of experience as your Mother, you are probably right.

When I made this Chris was a little dubious. Cocoa powder? There's a lot of water... etc. If you aren't familiar with cocoa in chili, you should try it. It brings all the flavors out, adds an earthy sweetness that when it's mixed with the beans and the meat make it hum.

I had a mix of beans so you'll get some mixed directions. Making it with dry beans is BY FAR the cheaper way, so as long as you have the time to devote do it. We have a bajillion cans of kidney beans so I added 3 of them to the dry beans I had soaked. It was yummy. You can make it spicier if you want. To my mind it's always better to make it milder, since spice tends to grow the longer it sits, and you can always add more.

This is a pretty sizeable batch of Chili. Chris and I filled up 4 yogurt containers which we froze, and still had enough for two lunches each and a little to have with dinner.

Mama’s Chili
Soak dry beans 8 hours
Add 1 tsp of baking soda to water
Drain and Rinse
Cook them in twice their own water (if you have an inch of beans, cook them in 2 additional inches of water) cook 45 min-1 hour

Add 3 cans Red Kidney Beans and bring to a boil
Brown 1.5 lb of ground beef or sirloin with 1 large onion 3-4 cloves garlic
add 1/3 cup chili powder
1tsp cumin
3 tbs unsweetened cocoa

1 Large can of stewed tomatoes roughly chopped
Cook for 1 hour
¾ tsp of cayenne to start
Salt and pepper to taste
Add additional cayenne and 1 tbs Sriracha Sauce