My dad is a master chili cooker & creator. I grew up in a house where we attended Sunday potlucks. Every time we attended these potlucks, people could always count on my Dad’s famous chili. I remember the crockpot he’d put it in when it was done cooking so it would stay warm. I remember how it tasted the day after he made it. I remember eating it with cornbread and fried potatoes (which my husband still thinks is extremely weird) but I loved it.
The recipe he used was an old fashioned recipe however, over time it has developed. You know how it goes in the family, you take a little of this, add a little of that, if you don’t have something on hand you try something different. One thing I could always count on was the small packet of McCormick Chili Seasoning Mix.
I dug out an Old Fashioned Chili Con Carne recipe and got to work, however, I revised it a little bit because dad always had the McCormick Chili Seasoning Mix on hand which replaced the Chili Powder in this recipe. I wanted to test it out to see if I could replicate this amazing recipe that my father always made growing up, for special occasions, events, holiday gatherings, etc.
I wanted to recreate this recipe and serve it as a surprise on Thanksgiving. My family always thought outside the box and did something different for holiday dinners and I thought this might be a fun way to keep the recipe traditions going. I can just picture how it will make the house smell, the joy it will bring to my mother’s face especially when she gets to taste the recipe that has been passed down to the kids.
This recipe is quite simple as my family always added in whatever they had on hand, whether it was onions, garlic, tomatoes. Today, I added in crushed tomato. It was very special recreating this recipe just as my dad would make it growing up. Only this time, I got to make it for my family. My husband loved it.
It was very special to me to recreate this. I had a lot of fun and it brought back a lot of memories of growing up and going to potlucks and eating the chili my dad made.
The thing I love about chili is the versatility of it all. After adding in the McCormick Chili Seasoning Mix, the beans, the meat, the tomatoes, you can let it simmer for as long as you need.
It tastes great leftover, on top of tator tots, served with corn bread, on a hot dog. However you like to enjoy chili, this is the perfect recipe to make when you are wanting to enjoy a little taste of home during the holiday season.
How do you like to eat chili?
This post was in partnership with McCormick. To explore more Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes using McCormick spices, extracts and seasoning mixes, click here!
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