My boys argue a lot.  Mostly during football and basketball games.  Each of my boys has a long list of their favorite teams.  They don’t overlap at all, except when Baylor plays and it’s ok for everyone to cheer for them.  A few of Samuel’s favorites are Missouri, Kansas, Duke, Thunder, Patriots, Chiefs, K-State, Redskins, Cardinals and Yankees.  Luke loves Kentucky, Heat, Giants, Broncos, Texans, Titans and the Rangers.  Ian loves the Longhorns, Texas Tech and the Tennessee Volunteers.  It’s fine to love different teams, we all do.

The problem during games is that only 2 teams play each other.  Someone has to cheer for the same team, that’s just the way it is.  This theme also carries over with colors, movies, animals, books, food, you name it.  For some reason it causes a huge argument if 2 boys both like the color red.  That translates to both liking the 49ers and that’s a problem for them.  Samuel is the chocolate lover.  Luke the soup king.  Ian the bean man.  Each have their favorite meals and must always make a stance about who loves what the most.  Are you getting a feel for how extremely annoying this is?  It’s ridiculous!

Chili is one meal that can be personalized enough to satisfy everyone.  You can have chili with crackers, chips, cheese, sour cream, etc.  Unfortunately Brian and I prefer chili very differently, but we’d never argue over it.  Only crazy people do that. Hooray everyone loved this recipe and we were even able to eat this delicious dinner without a fight.

**If you leave out the bacon, saute onion, bell pepper and spices in a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil.  Can also substitute kidney or pinto beans for the black beans.

Beef & Bacon Chili

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Serves	8
Meal type	Main Dish
From book	The Cook's Country Cookbook

Ingredients

• 8 slices of bacon
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 pounds green cattle ground beef
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 28 oz. can tomato sauce

Directions

Cut bacon into 1/2 inch pieces. Fry the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, until browned. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat, leaving the bacon in the pot. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, oregano, and cayenne and cook stirring occasionally until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium high and add half of the beef. Cook until no longer pink, about 3-5 minutes. Add the remaining beef and cook.

Add the beans, tomatoes, sauce and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Remove the lid and continue to simmer for 1 more hour. If chili begins to stick to bottom of pot, add 1/2 cup of water and continue to simmer. Adjust the seasonings if needed. Serve with your favorite condiments.