Mom's Chili

Katie Griffin

Everything that my mom has made over the years has always been delicious to me. I am sure this is the case for almost everyone anywhere. Even though I do find myself liking all of her cooking, my favorite food that my mom makes would have to be her chili. This chili is something that everyone in my family has grown to enjoy over the last few years. We have actually made it a part of many family rituals.

About four years ago, my mom was experimenting with a dish that she had made for years. The dish was her chili, which I thought was delicious, but after adding a little of this and a little of that, she came up with what we believe to be some of the best chili in the world. That night, she decided that she would continue making her chili that way, and from that day forward, it became a big part of dinner time.

First, she would just make it on cold days in the winter time. There is nothing better than her chili on a snow day when bundled up in a blanket in front of the fireplace trying to keep warm. The next tradition we made that involved the chili was when birthdays would come around. This tradition came about because when my mom would ask me or my brother what we wanted for our birthday dinner, we would always tell her to make her chili. After about two years of getting the same response, she would just automatically know that that was what we were having when a birthday came around.

The most recent tradition that we have made in regards to the chili is now that my brother, Jonathan, and I are off at school, we do not get to eat my mom's cooking as often. Therefore, when we go home from being away for a while, my mom will make her chili. Because we love this dish so much, we believe that it could be used for every occasion.

In the chili, she uses simple ingredients such as ground beef, kidney beans, and chili beans. She also adds tomato sauce, chili seasoning mix, and salt and pepper. All of these ingredients together help to make the chili delicious and give it its spicy flavoring. Even though I have personally never made the chili, I have watched my mom make it a few times.

Many of my other extended family members have tried to make the chili the way my mom does, but it never seems to come out the same way. It's something about the time and the special effort that my mom gives that makes her chili so good. Any time I ask her why no one else can ever make it taste like hers, she says, "Because I cook mine with love." She lets it simmer for one hour or longer in a crock pot. The longer it simmers, the better, but after an hour or so, my brother and I come into the kitchen to enjoy the chili.