HISTORY
This recipe was handed down to me by my mother, so I know it's been in the family over fifty (50) years. The recipe is very simple and quick. The ingredients are available from most any food store. One of the most unique things about the recipe is that you can make it mild, hot or hotter and never change the measurements or the ingredients themselves.

The recipe contains one(1) meat, seven(7) dry, two(2) liquid and one(1) optional ingredient. For those who insist on chilies as one of the ingredients, sorry.

INGREDIENTS

Chili Meat or Ground Meat:
I highly recommend using "Chili Meat". Chili meat consists of leftover beef that the butcher trims and packages before making hamburger (ground meat) out of it. By grinding the beef leftovers, most of the natural juices are extracted and you will lose that natural flavor. Check with your butcher and try to use "Chili Meat" instead of "Ground Meat". If you try both methods, I guarantee, you will be able to taste the difference.

Chili Powder:
Chili powder is a salt-free blend of mild chile, cumin, oregano and other seasonings. Although many associate this product with Mexican cooking, chili powder originated in Texas for use in chile con carne. Use in chili, Mexican dishes, eggs, omelets, sauces, soups, cottage cheese, rice, meat, fish, cocktail sauce, gravies, stews and vegetables.

Ground Comino (cumin):
(Cuminum cyminum), small, slender annual herb of the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) with finely dissected leaves and white or rose-coloured flowers. Native to the Mediterranean region, cumin is also cultivated in India, China, and Mexico for its fruits, called seeds, which are used to flavour a variety of foods. Cumin is used generously in Southwestern, Indian and Mediterranean foods. Known in Mexico as comino, cumin is indispensable to Mexican and Southwestern cooking, and is widely used in Indian, Middle Eastern and North African cuisines. It is a primary ingredient of chili powder and curry powder. Excellent in cheese dishes, with rice and corn dishes such as curries or tamales; use in soups, stews, salad dressings, barbecue sauces, ground meat dishes; also good with sauerkraut, lentils, potatoes, cabbage and dried beans of all kinds.

Whole Comino:
In case you haven't figured it out yet, it's the same as ground comino except it's not ground. It's still in seed form. I knew you would figure it out but thought I would help a little.

Salt:
(chemical formula NaCl), Common Salt, or Table Salt, a crystalline compound, found abundantly in nature, that has widespread use as a food seasoning or preservative. It is sometimes called common, or table, salt to distinguish it from a class of chemical compounds called salts.

Pepper:
(Piper nigrum), perennial climbing vine of the family Piperaceae indigenous to the Malabar Coast of India, or the hotly pungent spice made from its berries. One of the earliest spices known, pepper is probably the most widely used spice in the world today. It has a limited usage in medicine as a carminative...The monsoon forests of southwest India's Malabar Coast are home to a humble plant that has had a powerful impact upon the world. In its homeland, black pepper is known as "The King of Spices." Few would disagree - such is its importance in the cooking of nearly every region.

Paprika:
Spice made from the pods of Capsicum annuum, an annual shrub belonging to the nightshade family, Solanaceae, and native to tropical areas of the Western Hemisphere, including Mexico, Central America, South America, and the West Indies. Paprika is brilliant red and sweet. Use to color and flavor a variety of foods. The word paprika is Hungarian for "pepper." Paprika, like cayenne pepper, is ground from dried red chilies; however the peppers used for paprika are the mild, sweet pimiento. Watkins uses the legendary pimenton of Spain, brilliant red and sweeter than its Hungarian cousin. Use as a garnish and flavor for creamed foods, such as deviled eggs, mayonnaise dressings, white potatoes, cauliflower, salads, dips, canapes and chowders. Also used as a main ingredient in Hungarian dishes, such as paprikas (paprikash) and gulyas (goulash).

Flour:
The milling of wheat into flour for the production of bread, cakes, biscuits, and other edible products is a huge industry. Cereal grains are complex, consisting of many distinctive parts. The objective of milling is separation of the floury edible endosperm from the various branny outer coverings and elimination of the germ, or embryo.

Tomato Sauce:
Liquid or semiliquid mixture that is added to a food as it cooks or that is served with it. Sauces provide flavour, moisture, and a contrast in texture and colour. Adds a mild tomato flavor and smooth consistency � can be used in larger quantities than paste; extremely versatile and blends in easily with other ingredients. Use in soups, stews, rice dishes and sauces.

Water:
A substance composed of the chemical elements hydrogen and oxygen and existing in gaseous, liquid, and solid states. Water is one of the most plentiful and essential of compounds. It is vital to life, participating in virtually every process that occurs in plants and animals.

Beans (optional):
Will Rogers once said "If you know beans about chili, you know chili has no beans". For those who can't eat chili without beans, we have added this option. The style and brand of beans is your choice but let me give you a little advise, "Don't Use Pork & Beans". Most canned beans are pre-seasoned, which will alter the chili taste, and also have preservatives. Plain pre-cooked pinto beans work very well.

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