Maggie’s Texas Chili

Maggie’s Texas Chili

1 pound group beef
½ large onion, chopped
½ green large green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder (I use the cheap chili powder for .50 at Wal-Mart)
1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
Salt and pepper, to taste (Be careful with the salt, as the chili powder sometimes has salt already in it and there is nothing worse than salty chili-yuck!)
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 to 2 cups water

Brown ground beef until no longer pink. Drain excess fat off, but leave just enough to sauté the onions and bell pepper. Cook beef, onion and bell pepper until the vegetables are soft. Add chili powder, ground cumin, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add pinto beans, tomato sauce and water. I add 1½ cups water to mine and let it cook down…the water thing is a preference. If you like thick chili and you are in a hurry only use 1 cup. If you like thin chili, add 2 cups. You get the picture.

I usually add the water and let it simmer for 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours. Or put it in a Crockpot and cook all day long.

Great served with saltine crackers, but you can top it with sour cream, green onions, pickled jalapenos, shredded cheddar. My favorite is to cut open a individual bag of Fritos, top with chili and good ole longhorn cheese-YUM!