secret family recipes? AWESOME

So guess who's on spring break?! MEEEEE! I am so glad that winter quarter is over and I'm excited to get to spring quarter. But here's a scary thought: I'm basically half way through college. ...what the hell? How did that happen? It feels like no time has gone by at all! AH!

whew. sorry.

Anyway, I have an awesome recipe for you today. This is one of my favorite things in the world, and it's super easy, and it's healthy! (well reasonably healthy, cause it doesn't have any butter in it.)

I got this recipe from my stepmom, Becky. When I graduated highschool, she gave me a recipe book with three recipes already filled in. One of them was tuna pasta (which I will share with you all later), one was a cure for nausea (she thought it might come in handy in college), and that last one was CHILI! The best part is, this chili has a secret ingredient, but Becky has kindly agreed to let me post it here. So you are now in the circle of trust. welcome.

1-2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, chopped

3-4 carrots, chopped

1 large can of crushed tomatoes

1 med can tomato sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar (this is the secret one!)

1-2 cloves of garlic minced

1 can black beans, drained

1 bag of frozen corn

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp oregano

1 tsp basil

salt to taste

So first chop up the onions and carrots. Then add a tiny bit of oil to the pot and heat it up on medium heat. When it's hot, add the onions and carrots and let them cook until soft.

Now the thing about these carrots is that you can do them anyway you want. Becky usually grates them, but I like to chop them into rounds. So do with the carrots as you please! As the onions and carrots cook, stir them occasionally so that they don't burn. When the onions are soft, add the ground beef. Let the ground beef get really brown, stirring it every now and then.

Once the meat is browned, add everything else! That's right, just throw it all in there! (heehee, the brown sugar looks like pacman)

Stir it up really, really well and let it come to a simmer. Once it comes to a simmer, put the lid on it and turn the heat down to low. I mean it when I say turn it down to low. If you don't the bottom will get all burned and sad. Unfortunately, my crappy stove doesn't really have a low setting. It has medium and what you think is low. but then you come back and the room smells like gas and the flame is out. Sooooo I got some burned chili yesterday. But that's ok! Cause a little burned chili is way better than no chili!

Let the chili cook on LOW for at least an hour, but the longer you cook it the better it tastes! But if you do let it cook for a long time, you might want to go back and add more tomato sauce later because it can dry out a bit. Just check on it every now and then and see if it needs it.

Serve it up with some grated cheese and plenty of chips!

XOXO

Natalie