My Mother’s Chili Recipe

My mother passed away 3 years ago and every time I follow her recipe I remember cooking with her and all of the happiness we shared.

Ingredients:

1 lb. sausage (I use our homemade Hungarian sausage)

1/2 lb. bacon, chopped (I use our homemade smoked bacon)

1 large organic onion, chopped (from last year’s garden)

2 cloves of Ontario garlic, finely chopped

1 lb. organic spinach (you can also use frozen organic spinach, thawed in a separate bowl, which is what I use from my last year’s garden)

1 lb. organic cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 can organic chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 can organic red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can organic tomato paste

6 cups tomato juice (I use our homemade jarred tomato juice)

4 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. organic dried basil (from my garden)

1 tsp. sea salt

Shredded cheese of your choice (I use local Gunn’s Hill 5 Brother’s Cheese)

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven, cook the sausage and set aside in a bowl.

Add the bacon and cook. Remove bacon and add to the bowl with meat, reserving the bacon grease in the pot.

Add to the pot with bacon grease, onion, garlic, spinach and mushrooms. Sauté until vegetables are tender.

Add meat and bacon back into pot.

In a separate bowl, add tomato juice and paste and whisk until dissolved, then add to pot.

Add chickpeas, kidney beans, chili powder, basil and salt.

Mix well and cook on low for 20 minutes with a lid, mixing occasionally.

Serve with shredded cheese.