Chili

There are just some days where nothing beats chili. Around here, we love frito chili pies and chili baked potatoes.

1 lb ground meat
8 oz can tomato sauce
medium onion
1t comino seeds
2T chili powder
1 can Ranch Style beans
salt/pepper to taste
2T flour
1/2t garlic powder
2c boiling water
jalapeno-seeds removed

Brown meat and onion; add everything else; simmer til ready to eat!

Super Easy Sloppy Joes

Or as my mother calls them - Juicy Pigs


1 pound ground beef, browned
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup tomato sauce
2T brown sugar

I didn't have tomato sauce, so I used a cup of jarred spaghetti sauce and will do that again. Just mix this all together and simmer until you're ready to eat. Really, really good. We use hoagie buns rather than hamburger buns just for a change. And of course, potato chips and pickles and cheese.

Hearty Minestrone

This is my all-time favorite cold-weather soup


1-2 pounds ground beef
2 15.5 oz cans Ranch Style beans
4 10.5 oz cans minestrone soup
1 10 oz can tomatoes with green chilies
1/2 onion chopped
3-4 soup-cans of water

Brown ground beef with onion until cooked. Combine beef and onion with all the rest of the ingredients into crock pot or soup kettle. Crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or simmer on stove top low for 1 hour.