mrs. holly’s chili

Have you heard?  Texas is having snow-mageddon this weekend.  The extreme weather has basically paralyzed the state, resulting in rolling blackouts, runs on the grocery stores, and lots of overreaction in general.

Always thinking about food, my mind went straight to what warm dish we would have for dinner when I heard about the impending weather.  It wasn’t a long leap to chili — my favorite dish on a cold night.  It also gave me another excuse to use the cheddar jalapeño cheese!

This is our family’s favorite recipe for chili — it is from one of Holly Clegg’s first Trim & Terrific cookbooks.  I was lucky enough to sit at Mrs. Holly’s kitchen counter when I was growing up as her daughter Courtney is my best friend.  Aside from my mom, Mrs. Holly is definitely my biggest cooking influence and inspiration.

The thing that makes this chili a perfect cold night dish is that you can have it ready — start to finish — in an hour.  The active time is only about 15 minutes, so its easy to make after getting home from work.  You can let it cook while throwing a salad or dessert together.  Or catch up on Oprah.  Whatever you want.

So here’s what you’ll need to make the chili:

Start by dicing the onions, green bell pepper, garlic and celery.  Saute the vegetables in olive oil until they start to brown.

Add the ground meat.  When the meat is cooked through, drain the fat from the pan.

Add the stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and seasonings.

Bring the chili to a boil, lower the heat and cook for 45 minutes until it has thickened.

Serve the chili with Fritos and grated cheese.

Yum!!

Mrs. Holly’s Chili

2 onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 ½ pounds ground sirloin
1 (14 ½ oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14 ½ oz) can beef broth
1 tbsp flour
5 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp red pepper
salt and pepper to taste