Chili Con Fixin's

Author Notes

There’s a tradition in our family during the fall and winter months, where we all gather down at my grandma’s house and eat chili. I am in charge of bringing the chili, and everybody else brings the “fixin’s”.

What are fixin’s?

Well, that depends on whom you ask. Some people love chili with extra beans and onions. Some love to build cheesy chili macs with a little elbow macaroni action. Personally, I build my bowl from the ground up–crumbled corn bread at the bottom, topped with a layer of cheddar cheese, followed by chili (to melt the cheese), crunchy diced onion and a cool dollop of sour cream.

If I were a better mathematician, I could figure out the number of different fixin’ configurations, but let’s suffice to say “many”.

And with as many opinions that there are about the fixin’s, there are probably just as many about the chili.

With meat? Without meat.

With beans? Without beans.

In the end, I usually include 2 types of meat, usually ground beef and smoked sausage (Be sure to caramelize the sausage in a skillet before adding it to the chili–adds TONS of tastiness.). Not being much of a bean eater, I include my favorite edamame variety instead of traditional. And speaking of straying from traditional, I add a little pumpkin pie spice to the usual cast of spice characters, for a touch of sweetness.

Even though the recipe says to simmer for 2 hours, it has been my experience that the longer you cook it, the bigger, better, bolder the flavor. —Sherry K-Jazzy Gourmet