My Texan roommate tells me that putting kidney beans into chili is an East Coast heresy. It does extend it, though, and makes it feed more people. My dad used to put rice in to stretch it even more - do as your budget allows. Also, this is a very mild chili. Spice it up however you like - it's hard to make chili wrong.

Chili

• ~2 lbs ground meat (leaner is healthier; read the package)
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 tsp or so of minced garlic
• 1 jalepeno pepper, chopped
• ~1 Tbsp oil
• 2 15-oz cans of stewed tomato-like product (see below)
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 15-oz cans red kidney beans, undrained

Cooking
Brown the ground meat, onion, garlic, and pepper in the oil in a large Dutch oven or other large, tall, sided metal pot. This should be quick - maybe 10-15 minutes. Drain off the fat from the meat.

Add the two cans of stewed tomato product and spices. Note: I bought one 15-oz can of "chili sauce" and one smaller can of "tomato paste." Tomato paste is NOT what you want. If that's all you have, add some water to loosen things up and it will taste just fine. There was a bewildering array of stewed tomato products in my local pasta aisle. Pick one and give it a try.

Stir in salt and spices.

Most recipies have you simmer the chili for an hour or so. This is to "blend the flavors." You can eat the chili as soon as everything is hot if you like. I cooked mine for maybe 30 minutes the night before my game and let the flavors blend in the fridge overnight.

Add in the two cans of kidney beans. Cook for 20 minutes if "flavor blending," or until hot if everyone's hungry.

Time - about 30-40 minutes, if you don't care about the flavor blending.

Corn Bread

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup corn meal
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cup sour milk [1 1/2 cup milk plus 1 Tbsp+1 tsp vinegar added]
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup shortening (i.e., Crisco), melted

Baking
Mix together all dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Add the eggs, sour milk, and vanilla to the bowl. Stir together until mostly smooth. [NOTE: Prepare the sour milk in a separate container and add it to the bowl. Do NOT add the milk and then the vinegar to the bowl. You will cause a cosmic rift. Really.]

Finally, add the melted shortening. It will tend to float on top, so stir really well until it is incorporated into the batter. I used a wire whisk for all blending and stirring, but a fork or spoon would also probably work.

Pour into greased 13"x9" pan. Bake in your 375 F oven for 30 minutes.

It is not best served warm from the oven - the best flavor comes out once the corn bread has cooled. It is very sweet and moist - you may not need to butter it to make it taste good to you. (Yeah! Cut that extra fat!)

Time: 15 minutes to gather ingredients and mix them, 30 minutes to bake.
Together, chili and corn bread served 6 gamers, with a lunch-sized serving of chili and 1/3 of the pan of corn bread left over for the GM to eat the next day.

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