NO! this is not a follow up to the "Do You Smell Gas?" thread .....

To help me ease the pain, of my mother's passing this week, I made chili. I made Grandma Judi's chili, a family favorite of ours. It isn't special to anyone but us ~ me, my kids, siblings and their kids. We all looked forward to having it...mostly because we knew it was a time we were all together. I make a different chili for our family, unless one of the kids asked for Grandma Judi's chili.

I got to thinking that most familes probably have a "family favorite meal"...one that isn't a holiday meal.

I thought I would post my mom's EASY recipe for chili and maybe get YOUR recipe for chili or even your family favorite meal, in exchange.

Around here I would say the kids favorite family meal (one we are all together but NOT a holiday) would be my cheese enchiladas or spinach lasagna or Angie's bacon~tomato~basil pasta.

Here's mine ~ gimme yours

Grandma Judi's Chili

Ingredients ~

1.5 ~ 2 pounds lean hamburger

3 15oz cans S&W Dark Red Kidney Beans

64oz V-8 juice

3 Tablespoons of Gebhardt Chili Powder

1/4 can of Campbells Tomato Soup ~ NO MORE

1/4 tea spoon of Au Jus mix

1 cup water

1 large onion diced


Cook hamburger with onion ~ drain

Add remaining ingredients ~ bring to a boil then simmer....the longer the better ~ leftovers are better!

Lemme look around for my meemaw's gumbo recipe- a Thanksgiving staple....

Gary, i'm so sorry about your mother. She must have been a great momma to raise a son like you. my condolensces

I'm so sorry about your Mom Gary :hugs:

Also, I am just starting to become a cook now that I am on my own and so for me making chili means getting in the car and going to Wendys So, I may just to try this. And I don't really have any family favorite meals, but I do have desserts. If you would like dessert recipes that I love then I am more than happy to post them

ETA: I lied...as soon as I posted this I remembered a family favorite that usually starts coming out in the winter.

Chicken and Biscuits

~The biscuit part is the easiest part of the meal since my dad absolutely loves KFC biscuits so we get a box of those.
~Chicken breasts and thighs
~Flour
~Seasonings

After that we take chicken breasts and thighs (however much you think you will need per person, when my brother and my dad are eating it it ends up being quite a bit more than just me and my mom ) and let them boil in water seasoned with celery powder, salt, and pepper. They boil until the chicken starts falling off the bone. Once that happens take them out of the broth, but do not drain it just yet.Then start picking the chicken off of the bone into little pieces.

Take broth out of the pan(how much goes back into accordance with how much chicken, it is enough to completely coat the chicken and become sort of like a pot pie filling) and make a gravy using flour. Add flour and mix until it starts becoming thick. We also add some milk to it.

Once the gravy is done mix the chicken piece into it and heat the biscuits. Open them up and cover.

Now for me and my mom this is more than enough, but my dad and brother also like to add in mashed potatos. Depending on my moms mood depend on whether they are packaged or fresh

Gary, I'm so sorry to hear about your mom.

I'm not a big fan of chili, but when my husband and I were first dating, he decided to make me vegetarian chili, from a recipe he got from a friend. Sadly, he didn't soak the beans before cooking them, and we had crunchy chili. Of course, since we were just starting out in our relationship, I didn't spit it out and demand a decent meal. I crunched my way through 2 bowls.

THanks for sharing your mother's recipe.

Here's one of my recipes:

Green Chile Stew

In a large soup pan brown ground turkey (or ground beef or chicken)with onions or garlic and salt and pepper, cumin if you like. Drain whatever fat there is. Sprinkle flour over the meat and stir over med heat for a couple minutes.

Add as much chopped green chile as you like. I just dump in 14 ounces of frozen chile. Add cooked beans (black or pinto or both), corn, chopped zucchini, yellow squash, canned chopped tomatoes, diced potatoes, whatever you like (see the theme?), and cover with chicken or vegetable stock. Simmer until the potatoes and other vegetables are cooked through.

We like it!

You can substitute shredded chicken for the ground turkey.

gary, i certainly hope you're okay. Prayers for you and you family

In the mean time, let me look up my vegetarian chili!

I'm so sorry to hear about your mom, Gary. My prayers to you and your family.

As far as a recipe goes, I don't have one. I just throw stuff in a crock pot and add seasonings as it cooks. I use ground beef, tomato sauce, tomato paste, light and dark kidney beans, pinto beans, canned chili beans, and my secret weapon....1-2 bags of frozen stew veggies. I like my chili really thick...more like a stew. Sometimes I even add some potatoes (quartered). I know, I know...not good for me.

And of course you MUST serve this over macaroni noodles with cheddar cheese, parmesean cheese, and fresh chopped onions for garnish.

Kerri

Sorry to hear about your mom.

Chili is so good, but I do get bad gas from certian types. My family really loves this low fat version: Please feel free to totally cut down on the heat (I use a quarter of a jalapeno for this instead of a whole habanero pepper).

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 small green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 habanero pepper, seeded and chopped
2 pounds lean ground turkey
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (1 ounce) envelope instant hot chocolate mix
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1/2 cup cheap beer
1/2 cup canned whole kernel corn
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce

DIRECTIONS
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, green peppers and habanero pepper; cook and stir until the onion is transparent. Push these to one side of the pot, and crumble in the ground turkey. Cover, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the meat is no longer pink. Stir everything together so the garlic doesn't burn.
Season with chili powder, red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin, oregano, pepper, hot cocoa mix and seasoned salt. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, diced tomatoes with green chilies, tomato sauce and kidney beans. Crack open a beer, and pour in about 1/3. Drink or discard the rest. Partially cover the pan, and simmer over medium heat for about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Mix in the corn and hot pepper sauce, and simmer for about 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

(it's a lot of work, but WELL worth it) DO NOT leave out the beer or chocolate mix... it's essential for the excellent flavor.

Sorry to hear about your mother.

Our family favorite is Cabbage Rolls

Boil some cabbage leaves (the biggest ones you can get), how many depends on how much you want to make. It's also easier to boil the whole head, that way the leaves don't tear up when you try to remove them.

1-2 Cups of cooked rice (depends on how much you want to make)

2 lbs. hamburger (approx)again it depends on how many cabbage rolls you plan to make).

Salt, pepper & garlic to taste

Sauce:
1 or 2 Large cans of tomato sauce
1 large can of crushed tomatoes, drained if you like a thicker sauce
Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Brown Sugar & Lemon Juice to taste.

Mix the cooked rice into the hamburger, add a little of the sauce for more flavor.
Lay cabbage leaves out flat & put some of the hamburger / rice mixture in the middle of each. Wrap the cabbage leaves around the meat mixture & secure with toothpicks.
Place the cabbage rolls into a large baking dish & pour the sauce over them. Bake at 350 F for about 1 1/2 to 2 hrs.

I also do this with Bell Peppers, Tomatoes & Zucchini. You could substitute ground chicken, turkey or pork or use a mixture of any of them. The sauce is what really makes them. The original receipe included wrapping each roll with a slice of bacon, but that's a no-no on my diet.

Thanks so much gals! These really look good and EASY enough for me to make.

Thanks again for the prayers...it gets better each day.

Keep the ideas coming if you have time!!

Have a great day.

Goofed on the cabbage roll receipe but I fixed it!