So Easy A Child Can Do It

Now that my older daughter is married and living with her husband, she's having a great time being queen of her own kitchen. She gets to decide what's on the menu, make it herself, and leave out the ingredients she hates (tomatoes). But she does occasionally run into the problem of not having instant access to the recipes for some of my old, favorite, tried and true dinners. I've gotten more than one phone call asking for a recipe with the refrain, "You've really got to put that on your blog, Mom."

Since she asked, I'm going to do a short series of posts that are some of my frequent guest stars on the menu. They might not be exciting, but they're easy, for the most part, and tasty. And really, they're for my kids living away from home. So the rest of you, be patient. The desserts shall return!

I looked for quite a long time for a chili recipe that didn't take days to make, yet was tastier than what comes out of a can. I'm sure this chili wouldn't make it out of the starting gate at any chili cook-off (mainly because your taste buds aren't seared off), but it's my favorite because I can make it in under half an hour and my children will eat it.

Where, you ask, did I find such a treasure? In a Klutz kids cookbook. My younger daughter received it as a gift one year and I've snuck it into my cookbook hoard because this recipe is such a keeper. You can make it with a pound of ground beef instead of the ground turkey; just be sure to drain off the grease well. Also, if you're out of green onions, chop up a half a yellow onion instead.


I had my son put on his chef outfit to show how easy this is to make. He quickly shed the outfit, but did a great job with the helping. His reward was a bowl of chili with cheese on top. He's easy to bribe.

Quick and Easy Chili Con Carne
- adapted from Klutz Kids Cooking

1 small green pepper
3 green onions
1.25 lbs ground turkey
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans
1 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp salt

Garnishes:
sour cream
grated cheese
corn ships

1- Chop the green pepper and green onions into small pieces.

2- Break up the hamburger meat into a 2 quart saucepan. Add the chopped onions and green pepper and put the pan onto medium heat.

3- Stir, watching the mixture carefully. When the meat is browned, take the pan off the heat and drain the fat. (I use ground turkey, so there is little fat to drain off. There will be more if you use ground beef.)

4 - Add the kidney beans (with their liquid), the tomato sauce, chili powder, and salt. Stir well and put back over high heat.

5- Cook until the mixture boils, stirring frequently. Then lower the heat to simmer and cook uncovered for another 10 minutes or so. The mixture will thicken as it simmers.

6- Spoon into bowls and top with your choice of garnishes.


Note: This recipe easily doubles in a Dutch oven to serve a crowd. The recipe as written serves 4 to 6.