Grandpa's Chili

My Grandpa Chesley would have been 93 this past January.  He passed away in 2007 from lung cancer.  He was a wonderful man who loved his country, told great jokes and had a million stories from a career spent in the Army.  He always made me feel like he had my back.

 This picture was taken six months before he passed away.  It was the last weekend I got to spend with him. My nose is so red because we were drinking port wine, you can see the bottle over my shoulder.  It's funny, even though I was in my thirties here I still found it odd to be having a glass of wine with my grandpa. He told a million stories and jokes that weekend.  We had such a good time.


A typical joke:  

One day a man was sitting on a park bench.  Next to him was a kid who had a mohawk dyed all different colors.  The man kept staring at the kid.  Finally the kid turned to the man and said " Why are you staring at me?"  The man replied "I had sex with a parrot once and I'm trying to figure out if you're my son?" 


The thing about his jokes and stories is that he could tell one after another without ever taking a break.  They were endless.


Grandpa was a cook in the army and everything he ever made for me was great.  Once when I went to dinner at his house he said that we were having salmon loaf.  I thought Eeew!  I was so wrong.  It was delicious!!


Here is his recipe for chili. He called it:


Put a smile on his face chili
1 pound ground beef (80% is best)
1 cup chopped onion
 3/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 1 pound can diced tomatoes
1 1 pound can dark red kidney beans (drained)
1 8 ounce can tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons chili powder
1 bay leaf

1. Cook meat, onion, and green pepper in skillet until meat is lightly browned and vegetables are tender.

2. Stir in all remaining ingredients.

3. Cover and simmer for one hour. Remove bay leaf.

Note: Stir chili with a large spoon lightly while simmering. VOILA!

 

I love that I have this recipe on a card that he wrote out in his own writing.  Miss you Grandpa!