Fall is here! In addition to breaking out my favorite boots and new sweaters, it’s also time to start making cool weather friendly dishes like Skinny Fish Chowder and chili.

There are only a few things I make without a recipe – macaroni & cheese, spaghetti sauce, guacamole and chili. Not sure if there is much similarity between these dishes, except they are all pretty forgiving and hard to mess up.

For those who are interested, I thought I’d try to channel my inner Pioneer Woman and document my chili “recipe.”

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 lb hamburger
• 2, 15.5 oz cans red kidney beans
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• 6 to 8 oz beef broth
• To taste: White pepper, chili powder, salt, brown sugar

Chop onion and garlic and saute in olive oil

Add hamburger and cook until browned. Drain some, but not all of the fat.

Drain kidney beans and add to mixture

Add crushed tomatoes.

Stir in enough beef stock until achieve desired consistency. Then add salt, pepper and chili powder to taste (we like a mild chili).

I once read about how some people added chocolate to their chili. To add a bit of sweetness, I use 1 to 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, because that’s generally what I have on hand.

That’s it! Serve with shredded cheese, tortilla chips and sour cream. Also makes for great leftovers.