Healthy Cheap Food

My husband just loves beef chili. In fact, it’s favorite among every one in the household. It’s easy to buy cans of chili at the supermarket, but I don’t think the taste is really that good enough.

I am interested in quality food at that why I make up all of the chili we eat. Basically, I make a huge amount of it on a Saturday and then put it in container to freeze. All I need to do is thaw it and stick in the microwave and we can have chili anytime.

Here’s my recipe:

Ingredients:

* 3 pounds lean beef, coarsely ground or cut in small cubes
* 1/4 cup chopped onion
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 6 cups water
* 2 bay leaves
* 1/4 cup chili powder
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 8 to 10 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon oregano leaves, crushed
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 3 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
* 3 tablespoons flour
* 6 tablespoons cornmeal
* cold water

Preparation:
In a 6-quart saucepan, sear beef with onion in vegetable oil until beef is no longer pink. Add water, bay leaves, chili powder, salt, garlic, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, black pepper, sugar, and paprika. Simmer, covered, 2 hours. Cool. Refrigerate overnight so flavors will mellow. Skim off the solidified fat. Reheat. Combine flour and cornmeal; add a little cold water to make a smooth paste-like mixture. Add paste mixture to chili. Cook, stirring, for about 6 to 8 minutes longer. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Serves 6.