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Bob's Chili

This recipes has developed over the years and I don't really work from a recipe any more. I have a list of basic ingredients that I purchase and then I just wing it.

Take a crock pot and turn it onto high. I've used the 3 qt. ones but I usually use a 5 qt one with the "removable stoneware" bowl. Turn it on to medium.

After removing the salt pork, place some kidney beans in the crock pot. (I used 3 16 oz. cans of B&M Baked Kidney Beans, I like the sauce that comes with it).

Slice into quarters the contents of one can of peeled whole tomatoes. Add these to the crock pot and stir it into the beans.

Add about a tablespoon of Chili power, a teaspoon of crushed red pepper, a bit of curry powder and some freshly ground black pepper to the pot and stir this all together.

Fry up a bunch of bacon in a large frying pan (I use a stir fry pan). Cook the bacon until it is done and then remove it (saving the bacon drippings). Place on paper towels and let it sit there until the excess grease is gone (turning is helpfull). Refridgerate since we won't need it till later.

Add one coursely chopped onion to the bacon drippings in the pan. When the onions are almost done add a couple of heaping spoonfulls of crushed garlic [I get a big jar of crushed garlic packed in olive oil - it's wonderful... and keeps vampires away! :-)]. Fry a bit more and add it to the crock pot.

Now cook around 2 pounds of ground beef/hamburger. When it is browned all the way drain the fat and put the pan back on the stove. Add some wine (marsala is what I used), a glug of Soy Sauce and another glug of Worchester Sauce. Stir the browned beef around it this sauce for a couple of minutes and then dump everything into the crock pot.

Add another tablespoon of chili powder to the top of the browned beef. I also added around 2 tablespoons of A-1 steak sauce and a dash or two of Tabasco. Stir it all together and put the cover on. Let it cook for a few hours and then turn it off and put it in the refridgerator overnight.

The next morning take the pot out of the 'fridge and skim the fat off the top of the chili. Turn the crock pot on high, cover and let it 'crock' [isn't that what a crock pot does]. After a few hours remove the cover, turn the pot down to medium and let it cook some more. Stir it occassionally if you want.

About an hour before you plan to serve this concoction crumple up the bacon (you know, the stuff you cooked the day before) and add it to the chili. Add somemore chili powder and another dash of Tabasco for good measure.

The secret to this chili is that you use what ever you hapn to find that you think would taste good. I've used Grey Poupon mustard in it (it adds a little zing). Browning the beef in white wine or cooking sherry adds a different flavor. I'm not big into vegetables, but I've made the chili with finely chopped peppers and also used fresh jalapeno peppers a couple times. Heck I even tried a little coffee once when I was in a truely bizarre mode (it wasn't bad).