I'm Catholic so someone is always having a baby! It's one of my favorite parts about being a member of a vibrant Catholic community. So what was different about this time? My dear friend and I were pregnant together! We shared everything: our joys, sorrows, fears, all of it. While she was making it look easy, I was busy complaining! I love babies, but I hate pregnancy.
Then, she welcomed her beautiful baby boy and I realized at 9 months pregnant I had to figure out a meal to bring. It needed to be something that didn't require a lot of me as I hobbled around the kitchen with two other little kids under foot. I decided to go back to my roots for something warm and filling to feed a crowd (she had a husband, her mom, and five other kids after all).
In my cabinet I found pinto beans, onions, and some cornmeal. Since I'm a big fan of using what I already have on hand, I started making chili. My mom raised us on very simple foods. She was a single mother (until I became a teenager) raising three kids. I grew up in pinto bean chili. Since my mom is also quite a picky eater, her pinto bean chili consisted mostly of pinto beans, ground beef for flavor, ketchup, and chili powder.
After browning some ground beef, I started cooking my pintos in a large pot with water and onions. Then I raided my spice cabinet. I needed more than ketchup and chili powder if I wanted this to be a meal fit for one of my dearest friends! So I started adding cumin, chili powder, garlic, curry powder, salt, pepper, and even a little sugar. The result was gobbled up quickly by her crew and she called me to say how much they all enjoyed it. My chili she said, could have won the cook off at church if I had entered it. (I didn't tell her I'd invented it just for her and baby.)
Since then, we have made this chili a lot at my house! It's perfect when you need to feed a crowd and it works well without the meat too which also makes it a go to meal for Ash Wednesday or meatless Fridays for our family.
Need a pot of friendship chili for your loved ones? Here's the recipe:
Ingredients:
4 cups cooked pinto beans
(Add water if you're not using canned beans. The amount of liquid you need, depends on how thick or thin you like your chili)
1 onion diced small
1/2 c Ketchup
4 T chili powder
3 T sugar
2 T garlic powder
2 T cumin
1 T curry powder
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1. Add onions, ketchup, and all spices to a pot full of pintos on the stove and stir. Cook on medium until all chili is heated through, onions are translucent, and flavors have married.
2. Serve in bowls with cheese or sour cream on top if you prefer. My mother adds a spoon of ketchup to the top and my husband likes to add crumbled bacon.
Don't forget #3: Enjoy your chili with friends and loved ones, because it tastes better!
