She Shot Him Over Chili Beans

It was Jan. 13, 2011, and the story on the evening news reported that a Virginia woman, allegedly, shot and killed her husband over chili beans. Apparantly, he brought home the wrong kind of beans for the chili she had been cooking all day. She is now under arrest.

Wow! That woman was really picky about her beans! The story would be funny if it were not so tragic.

But it brings up the subject of Chili, or "Chili Beans" as they call it here in Southern Virginia.
Chili beans? Really? I have lived all over the USA and chili has always been called, what else but CHILI. To me, chili beans are spicy beans. Period. According to my husband-from-Virginia, I am wrong. Chili beans, to him, is meat, onions, spices and beans cooked in a pot. If the beans are absent, well, that would be plain ol' chili.

Ha! I disagree! So, I looked up "chili beans" on various websites and settled on Wikipedia's explanation. After reading through six pages of chili information, there was the sentence that I was after. "As chili moved east (from Texas) where beef was more expensive, chili made with beans became more prevalent. In some eastern areas, this dish is referred to as "Chili Beans." OK, OK, so it seems this is a regional issue.

Whether you call it Chili Beans, Chili Con Carne, Cincinnati-style Chili, Chili Verde, White Bean Chili, or plain old Chili- it is good.

Here are two of my favorite chili recipes.

TRADITIONAL CHILI

2 pounds of lean ground beef, or you can use ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
4 T. chili powder
1/2 t. cayenne powder
1/2 t. ground cumin
1 can, 15 oz. tomato sauce
1 can, 28 oz. diced tomatoes, (I use fire roasted)
1 T. sugar
2 T. tomato paste
1 t. salt
1 can green chilies
1 can, 15 oz. kidney beans

Brown beef (or turkey) in a large pot, add onion, pepper and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in spices and cook another 2 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the beans, and cook over med. low heat for about one hour. (I use the crock pot, throw everything in and cook for 4 hours.)

About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve, add the kidney beans and heat through.

You can garnish with a dollop of sour cream and sliced green onion or even a little jalapeno (if you are brave.)

This recipe makes quite a lot and leftovers can be frozen.


CHUNKY CHILI

2 t. vegetable oil
2 pounds round steak, cut into cubes
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can beef broth
1 C. water
2 t. sugar
2 t. oregano
1 t. ground cumin
2 dashes paprika
2 t. chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 dashes hot sauce
1 can, 8 oz. tomato sauce
1 can, 4 oz. green chilies
2 T. cornmeal

Heat oil in skillet and add steak, onion and garlic. Cook until beef is browned. Add beef broth, water, sugar, spices and hot sauce. Mix well. Cover and cook over low heat 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add remaining ingredients and cook an additional 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves serve over rice, if desired. You can also top with sour cream and green onions.