1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 chili peppers, chopped
19 ounces crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
19 ounces canned kidney beans
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons chili powder
salt and pepper

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the ground beef. Continue frying until no longer pink.
2. Add the onion, garlic and chili peppers and stir to combine, then add the tomatoes and reduce heat to a simmer, cooking until the onions have softened.
3. Add the Worcestershire sauce, kidney beans, cumin, paprika, oregano and chili powder and heat beans.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper and continue to simmer until the chili has reached a desired thickness.

Makes 6 servings

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
3 cups flour
4 ounces cheddar, cubed

1. Combine yeast, warm water and sugar and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in salt, shortening and 1-1/2 cups flour. Mix well.
3. Mix in the remaining flour and cubed cheddar cheese to make a soft dough.
4. Knead on a floured surface, transfer to a greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
5. Punch down dough, separate into 2 pieces and shape into rounds. Transfer to a greased baking sheet and allow to rise until double in bulk again.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Brush with egg wash if desired and bake until done, about 30 minutes.

Makes 8 servings

The White Chili I made a while back was surprisingly good, but not good enough to avoid making the real deal some time this year. There's just something about the combination of meat and beans that is unbeatable. Chili is no exception. Chili also makes a smooth transition from omnivorous favorite to vegetarian comfort food. Whenever I make vegetarian chili, I always use this same recipe except add oatmeal to take the place of ground beef. It sounds a little odd, but the oatmeal really helps to thicken it and clumps similar to chunks of ground beef.

The Beef Chili turned out perfectly. It is such a simple base recipe that you could make numerous additions to suit your palette. Of course, you can adjust the amount of peppers to vary the heat as well, or omit them altogether. You could also substitute the chili peppers for chipotles and add some grilled steak for a smokier chili.

Chili is great, but chili in a bread bowl is so much better, so I made Cheese Bread bowls that turned out to be much larger than I had anticipated, so the bowl was actually big enough for 2… or three or four. Chili isn't exactly a romantic dinner, especially with the aftermath toots from the kidney beans and peppers, but it was fun to share. The bread was absolutely awesome though and if it were smaller would've made the perfect bread bowl. I think Shannon ate a loaf within the last 24 hours. I had just pulled them out of the oven before I had to go to work and I told her she could eat some if she wanted to. When I called her later on in the evening she said it was so good she wanted more. When I got off work half of it was gone and she said she spent 15 minutes starring at it after our phone call, contemplating whether she was going to finish it. Yes, it's that good. The chunks of cheesy goodness really made it. I miss making bread.