I have always loved to cook and bake, and even when we are not distancing from others because of a viral epidemic, we enjoy lots of home goodies. I thought I would share with you one of our favorite meals that I am cooking today.
For those of you who are not from Northwest Iowa, or have never known me personally, or anyone from that area, we have a specialty here called chili and cinnamon rolls!
Don’t ask me how it started. I moved into the area when I was in high school, and was surprised by this lovely combination as well. Somehow the spices of the chili and the sweet, cinnamon deliciousness complement each other to perfection!
My dear departed mother-in-law shared with me her recipe for chili, which is quite mild. I usually add more chili powder, and added tomato juice to the original typed recipe card, but this recipe is good, especially for kids who don’t want too much heat in their chili:
Chili Soup
2 lbs. Hamburger
1 cup onion, chopped
1 large can tomato juice
2 cans red kidney beans
2 cans condensed tomato soup
1 cup water
2 cups chopped celery
1 Tbsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Chili powder
Brown hamburger and onion together and drain grease. Combine all ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.
That’s simple, right? Now for the cinnamon rolls: I don’t have any special recipe for them, just from my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook, but even purchasing rolls from the store works for this combo. Some people like to eat the roll beside the chili, and some like to even dip bits of the roll in the chili. It is completely up to you. As I used to tell my kids, don’t say you don’t like it until you have tried it! Anyway, in my area, this, my friends, is comfort food at its finest!