Her Chili – Helen Frieze’s Recipe

Helen's Chili topped with cheese and onions; served with Seasoned Crackers.
By the way, this is one of Barry's hand-thrown pottery soup bowls.

    You might say we have “his and her” chili at our house. When it’s my turn to make it, I pull out Helen Frieze’s quick-to-make recipe for thick, spicy chili that is sure to warm you up on a crisp fall day or during a cold winter evening.

    Helen taught Home Economics in Wichita and although I knew her, she did not give me the recipe. In fact, the recipe came from Judy Burgess who grew up in Wichita. Seems that the Burgess and Frieze families were friends and so I actually received the recipe indirectly. So now when I make this chili, I not only think of Helen but of Judy as well.

     So, here’s Helen’s chili. Barry has his own thoughts – his contains more ingredients and is much soupier, but I have to admit, just as good. Perhaps, his version will end up on the blog . . . but that’s always a bit tricky, as he never follows a recipe. Although it is always consistently good, he varies it just a little each time.  
    And, the good news . . . he did make a batch and even wrote down the ingredients -- see His Chili link.

Helen’s Chili    6 to 8 servings

(To stretch the chili, increase the can size of tomatoes &/or beans called for in the recipe.)

2 lbs. lean group beef

2 onions, diced – approximately 1 cup              

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons chili powder

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour                   

2 (15 oz.) cans tomatoes (crushed or diced) or substitute 1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes in place of the one of the cans

2 (15 oz.) cans chili beans, undrained – sometimes I use spicy chili beans and then cut down on chili powder (only because others often object to the fire!)

1. In a large soup pot, brown the ground beef and onions; add salt and pepper.

2. When nicely browned, stir in the chili powder, garlic powder and flour.

3. Add the tomatoes and chili beans and simmer on low heat for about 20 to 30 minutes or longer. Water or tomato juice may need to be added if the chili is simmered longer.