"Hobo chili" gets it's name from the fact that it is made quickly and easily from only a few simple, inexpensive ingredients. Chili, a great meal for the cold months of winter, is a hearty, filling combination of beans, tomatoes, beef and occasionally vegetables. Adjust the amount of chili powder depending upon just how spicy you like it. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Brown 1 lb of ground beef in a large, deep pan or skillet. Drain the ground beef.


• Chop an onion and two ribs of celery finely, if desired.


• Add the chopped vegetables, one can of baked beans, 1-28 oz. can of diced tomatoes and 2 tbsp. of chili powder to the skillet and mix well.


• Stir the mixture periodically over medium-high heat until the celery and onion is cooked and the hobo chili is thoroughly heated. This should take approximately 20 minutes.

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Chili is a traditional American food originally developed by cowboys on long cattle drives. Today, countless chili recipes exist throughout the world, and many people have their own unique and often secret recipes. Because of its popularity, many cities and towns hold chili cook-offs throughout the warmer months. In order to successfully compete and win a chili cook-off, you must understand the rules of the competition and prepare your chili recipe. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Familiarize yourself with the rules of the cook-off that you will enter. When you sign up for a cook-off, make sure that you get a copy of the official rules. Knowing the rules is essential in preparing your chili recipe and cooking technique. Depending on the specific cook-off, certain ingredients may be forbidden or required, you may or may not be able to use an assistant and you will have a certain time limit by which you must finish cooking.


• Apply for any license or food handler's card that you need to participate in the chili cook-off. Different states have different requirements for food handling licenses and cards. If you need to apply for one, make sure you do so in time for the competition. If you are not sure whether you need a license or card, contact the cook-off's organizers.


• Know the conditions where you will be cooking. Find out whether you will be cooking indoors or outdoors, if you need to provide you own cooking equipment and what type of heating source or electricity will be available to you during the cook-off.


• Develop a unique recipe. You may already have a unique recipe, but make sure that you tailor it to the requirements of the location, time limit and cooking equipment that will be available on the cook-off day.


• Practice your recipe. Try to cook in the same conditions and time limits that you will have on the cook-off day. If you have to bring your own electric burner to the competition and cook your chili outside, then go outside of your home and practice your recipe on that same electric burner. Also, use the same pots, knives, spoons, boards and other equipment that you plan on using during the day of the cook-off.


• Prepare for mistakes and errors. Have contingency plans for accidents. If permitted, make sure to take extra food supplies in the event of spills. And have several bottles of water on hand if you need to correct overseasonings.


• Ask friends and neighbors to taste your chili. Because your cook-off chili will be judged by strangers, input from various people will help you make adjustments to your recipe if needed.

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Many people suffer from Type II diabetes and must adhere to a strict diet that is high in nutrients, but has a low glycemic index. Diabetics require sugar-free foods that help them control high-blood sugar in their diet every day. It's not difficult to prepare chili that is packed with vegetable fiber and that provides a good amount of protein as well as tasting great. Use lean meat or poultry, lots of healthy vegetables and seasonings for a chili that is low in fat and carbohydrates. Diabetics must monitor their intake of "bad" carbohydrates and fats and concentrate on eating quality carbs contained in vegetables. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Brown the extra lean ground beef or ground turkey in a heavy skillet that has been sprayed with low fat vegetable oil cooking spray. Add onion, green pepper and garlic and saute until the vegetables are soft. Drain all fat and transfer the skillet contents to a large heavy saucepan. Saturated fats increase the risk of complications associated with diabetes such as obesity and heart attack. By preparing chili with lean meat, you substantially reduce the amount of harmful trans fats making for a healthier dish diabetics can safely consume.


• Add cooked beans, water, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes and mushrooms. Add a can of chopped hot chilis for a spicier, hotter taste. Stir to mix the ingredients completely before adding the seasonings. If you are using a mixture of prepared spices, read all listed ingredients as many contain added sugar. It appears as an added ingredient in many products you may not even suspect. Even though most diabetics can consume some sugar in moderation, watch out for those hidden ingredients to avoid overconsumption.


• Combine cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, allspice, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, salt and chili powder in a small bowl. Stir to blend together well before adding to the meat mixture. Bring the entire mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for approximately three hours. Because quality carbohydrates, in the form of fresh vegetables and lean meat, constitute the major ingredients in this chili, diabetics can eat it without worrying about experiencing a spike in their blood sugar levels. Those "good' carbohydrates take longer to break down in the digestive system and help provide more energy as a result.


• Serve the chili extremely hot with crackers, tortillas or corn chips. Add Tabasco sauce if you like a spicy taste. Top with grated cheese and mild salsa for a Mexican touch. Diabetics should carefully choose toppings with lower fat such as low-fat crackers and tortillas to avoid adding unnecessary carbohydrates.

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Cincinnati rivals Texas when it comes to chili. The streets of this Midwestern city are paved with chili houses. Cincinnatians prepare and spice chili a bit differently, then pour it over spaghetti. Truly a hearty meal, no matter how you spice it. There are 4 officially recognized variations of Cincinnati chili. Put some water on for pasta after stirring your favorite chili recipe together. Here's a look at how to make Cincinnati chili. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Choose your chili. The chili you use for this ultimately satisfying dish is up to you. A typical Cincy recipe turns out more watery than a soup chili. The factor that designates Cincinnati chili is serving it over spaghetti with specific toppings. Here's an example of the chili Cincinnatians would use: Dice 2 large onion slices and place in skillet. Dice the rest of the onion and refrigerate until serving. Chop ground beef finely and lightly cook in skillet with onion. Drain and pour into a 6-qt. saucepan. Add water, tomato sauce, tomato past , spices, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and cocoa. Drain fluid from kidney bean can into the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 hours. Refrigerate kidney beans until serving. Boil pasta to have ready with chili.


• Make 2-way Cincinnati chili. Pour your favorite chili over spaghetti.


• Make 3-way Cincinnati Chili. After the chili goes over the spaghetti, top it with shredded cheddar cheese.


• Make 4-way Cincinnati chili. Sprinkle diced onion over the shredded cheese that’s on the chili (over the spaghetti).


• Make 5-way Cincinnati chili. Lay kidney beans over the onions that are on the cheese, over the chili that’s on the spaghetti. Since the chili itself is a little watery, drop some oyster crackers over the whole concoction. That’s how to make Cincinnati chili.

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Most chili recipes call for red meat, but there are many ways to make a lower fat or meatless chili. While substituting ground turkey is always an option, a meatless, vegetarian chili recipe is a healthy alternative for a main course or a side dish. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Make your favorite chili recipe in your crock pot, but instead of adding meat add a variety of beans. While kidney beans are most commonly used in chili, you can add black beans and cannellini beans for extra flavor and texture.


• Load up on the veggies. Sautéed green, red and yellow peppers are a great addition to chili--and add extra if you're not using meat. Chunks of red onion, carrots and minced garlic are also good options, as well as chunky tomatoes. Corn is another good addition to any chili recipe and it will help to bulk it up.


• Use tofu. Tofu is a great substitute for meat in a chili recipe. If you're not familiar with tofu the texture may seem strange at first, but mixed in with the other chili ingredients, it turns out to be a worthy substitute. Whole Foods has a good recipe for Tofu Chili (see References).


• Add soy crumbles to your chili recipe. These are even more "meat like" than tofu and can be found in the frozen food or vegetarian aisle at most grocery stores. These meatless crumbles are reminiscent of ground beef but are made of soy and are perfect for any recipe that calls for ground beef. Some popular brands include Boca, Smart Ground and Morning Star.

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Every region claims to have the world's best chili. The Cincinnati version has the consistency of spaghetti sauce and is served over noodles or hot dogs. You'll find it in fast food restaurants throughout the greater Cincinnati area. Tom Athanas Kiradjieff, a Macedonian immigrant, created the original recipe by adapting a Greek stew. He changed the meat to ground beef and added chili powder and other spices. Tom also invented many ways to serve Cincinnati-style chili. If you order a two-way, you'll get spaghetti and chili, a three-way, spaghetti, chili and shredded cheese. The four-way adds diced onions and the five-way includes beans. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Add ground beef to water in a large pot and stir until the beef separates into pieces the size of small peas. You can run the beef through a food processor first.


• Add all the other ingredients, except the cheese, and stir to blend.


• Bring the chili to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered for about three hours.


• Cover the pot after the chili has reached the desired consistency. This should happen sometime during the last hour. You want the chili to have a sauce-like, almost watery consistency.


• Serve the chili over spaghetti noodles with a handful of finely shredded cheddar cheese to make a three-way. Or, if you prefer, make a chili dog by serving the chili over a hot dog and topping it with a smaller handful of finely shredded cheddar cheese.

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Chili is a centuries-old recipe and is one of the most popular and flavorful stews in the world. Chili is a versatile meal, in that it can be made with or without meat, beans or tomatoes. The most important ingredient in chili is the seasoning. You can make chili seasoning at home and tailor it to your own tastes. Store your homemade chili seasoning in an air-tight container in your cupboard for up to six months. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Measure all of the ingredients into a small bowl and mix thoroughly.


• Spoon 3 tbsp. of the prepared chili seasoning into individual, sealable plastic bags. Carefully remove as much air as possible from the plastic bags before sealing.


• Label and date the individual plastic bags.


• Place the plastic bags into an air-tight container and store them in a cool, dry place away from sunlight.

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Nothing warms you up after a cold day quite like a hot bowl of thick homemade chili. This chili recipe is simple to make, you can do it stove top for faster results, or let your chili stew all day in a crock pot. Either way, your chili will warm the soul as well as the body! Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Coarsely chop onions and green peppers, and mince garlic. Add along with ground beef to a skillet over medium heat. Cook until beef is well browned and crumbly. Strain through colander to remove excess fat, the more fat you drain off the better your chili will be. Add beef mixture to either a slow cooker or a stock pot, whichever you are using to make your chili.


• Open all three cans of beans, and strain through colander. You may wish to use all three different kinds of kidney beans for your chili, or you may choose to stick with just one. Either way turns out very good, but using the different kinds gives extra visual appeal to your chili. Chop jalapenos, if using, and add to your chili pot. Pour contents of the cans of crushed tomatoes and the tomato sauce on top of all other chili ingredients.


• Add your chili spices at this point. The above listed is only a guideline, add more or less to taste. In addition to chili powder and cayenne pepper, several other spices and herbs can go good with your chili. Basil is a good addition, as is parsley, Old Bay, cumin, cilantro, and even black pepper. A good rule of thumb with spices is to start with a smaller amount, stir well, and taste test to gauge whether you need more in your chili. Cumin can quickly overpower chili, so use in very small amounts.


• Turn the heat on low if you are cooking your chili on the stove, or turn on your crock pot. Since the ingredients are all cooked before adding in to this chili, it will only need to heat through. However, chili always tastes better if allowed to stew and cook longer, so the flavors can blend together well. Also, it allows the crushed tomatoes to cook down a little more. I would suggest 2 hours stove top, stirring regularly, or a minimum of 5 hours in a crock pot for cooking chili.


• You can garnish your chili with fresh parsley, a grating of fresh cheddar cheese, and serve with saltine crackers. Fair warning, this recipe for thick homemade chili doesn't leave a lot of soupiness for crackers!

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Chili should be a thick, meaty concoction, but some recipes turn out too thin. Not all chili recipes require tomatoes or tomato paste. To thicken these chilies and other recipes without adding tomato paste, use cornmeal. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Cook the chili for an additional 20 to 30 minutes past the final cooking time without the lid to evaporate excess liquid, concentrate the flavors and slightly thicken the chili.


• Slowly pour 2 tbsp. of cornmeal per 8 cups of chili into the simmering chili pot. Use more cornmeal for a thicker chili.


• Whisk the cornmeal into the chili, and cook for 5 minutes or until the chili thickens.

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Cumin is a seed that is commonly used as a spice in whole or ground form. It has a strong, earthy and nutty flavor. It is a staple in Central American, South American, Indian and Asian cuisine. Many would argue that cumin is a necessary ingredient for any chili recipe or other dishes in Tex-Mex cuisine. However, if too much cumin is added to chili, the flavor can be overpowering and will need to be fixed. Add this to my Recipe Box.

• Double the chili recipe and store the extra chili in the freezer for later consumption. When you double the recipe, do not add extra cumin - you want the cumin flavor to be diluted throughout the chili.


• Spoon out some of the liquid in the chili pot and replace with an equal amount of unseasoned tomato juice. Add the other spices to taste to make up for the extra tomato sauce. Much of the flavor is in the liquid and the amount of liquid you need to spoon off depends on the amount of cumin that was used.


• Balance the cumin flavor with more chili powder or try nutmeg, a spice that is often regarded as the opposite of cumin.


• Add one or two whole peeled potatoes to the chili and simmer for 30 minutes to absorb some of the excess seasonings. Discard the potato when finished. This is a common fix for adding too much salt, but the potato can absorb other spices as well.


• Leave the spice ratio as is and serve the chili with a dollop or two of sour cream. Sour cream can cool the spiciness of the cumin.


• Pour 12 ounces of beer into the chili and simmer for at least 10 minutes to let the flavors combine.

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