Cooking up a memory

Some of the earliest food memories I have are with my grandmother. I remember her pulling up a chair to the counter so I could help her bake cookies and me eating a lot of cookie dough. I remember coming home from school to find my all time favorite meal, chili beans on the stove with a side of fried chicken (cause that's how my grandma rolls) and fresh cookies in the cookie jar.

Those beans were and are my comfort food. While other kids craved mac and cheese to feel better on a bad day. I only wanted chili beans and only my grandmothers recipe would do. Now that I am a grown up and live 800 miles away from my grandma I can no longer just call her up to make me a pot whenever I wanted. I tried once a few years ago to make them myself but they weren't the same at all! So I gave up and said the only way I'll have my beloved chili beans again is when I am home for a visit.

That is until yesterday! A couple of weeks ago I decided that I wanted chili beans I needed a taste of home and something to make me feel good. So I called up my grandmother and had her give me the recipe over the phone step by step exactly the way she does it.  I still wasn't sure that they would taste the same because I am sure she has some grandma magic that I don't have, but I decided to give it a whirl anyway.

Yesterday I got up determined to master the art of the chili bean. This dish is not fancy and its certainly not pretty but its good! So let me walk you through my chili bean journey.

First I chopped some onion.

Then add one cup of beans, two cups water, chili powder and onions to my crock pot and set it on high. My grandmother has a pressure cooker and doesn't have to take two and half hours to cook her beans. However I do not own a pressure cooker and I had time, so crock pot it is.

When the beans are almost done cooking. Cook ground beef (preferably grass fed) and chopped onion in a separate pan. Sprinkle two tablespoons of flour over the beef and onions once the beef is cooked through. Then add the beans and the water they were cooking in to the pot with the beef and onions. You can add more chili powdered if you want at this point if its not spicy or not. Then let it cook on low for about 10 minutes.

Vola! you have a piping hot bowl of chili beans. I have to say these were as good as my grandmother. The only thing missing is the fried chicken, which my grandma got on me about not having. I will have to master her fried chicken another day.

Whenever you find yourself homesick or lonely cook up a memory! You'd be amazed at how your favorite home cooked meal can close the gap between those and the ones you love.

Peace out to all my homies!