Chili.

I'm making chili and the instant you start to talk about chili there is an immediate ballyhoo about various ingredients, spices and add-tos.

Chili con carne translates to Chilies and meat. Chilies are a pepper.

The basic recipe is meat and peppers. Anything else is superflous.

One other thing is that it is not a gourmet meal but historically a slap up trail meal. I call it saddle tramp cooking. There is no need for fancy French knives, chopping, mincing or pureeing of ingredients. 

You also don't want to use choice beef, either. Basic stew beef is ideal. I have seem people ruin the whole mess by grinding up expensive steaks.

The three basic tools I use are a hunting knife, an old wood spoon and a skillet. It's a dead simple deal.

My basic 'recipe is to hack up an onion and some peppers, cut up about 1.5 pounds of cheap stew beef to pieces about a third of the size of your little toe and start cooking it. Spice to taste and often I will toss in a small can of tomatoes and a small can of beans, simmer it a while and call it good.

Now, what you CAN do is put it in individual servings and either refrigerate or freeze it. It's always much better after sitting in the frezer or refrigerator a while.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY