So here's the short of it, 
Today I've been thinking about Green Bean Chili. And passing along this family tradition to a new generation

And here's the long.

Sarah, Pat, Meredith, Lauren

While we were in Atlanta over Thanksgiving we were having a conversation about things we like to eat and traditional foods in our families.  Liga said something about Green Bean Chili which is such a good standby for us when the weather cools down. None of Steve and Pat's girls had ever heard of Green Bean Chili!  So this post is for you Lauren, Sarah, and Meredith.  I hope you'll try this recipe and maybe if you like it, it will be something you pass on to your own children.  Liga makes it often - and sometimes she drops off a serving or two for her dear old Mom and Dad. Valdis hasn't learned to make it yet, but I expect that he will.  I'm not sure that either Shelley or Daniel have incorporated it into their meal plans either.

This recipe is a recreation.  Sometime in the 1980's Dad and his sisters were visiting and reminiscing about their childhood.  They all remembered Green Bean Chili. They remembered it from visits with grandparents more than from their own Mother.   After that conversation Dad spent several times together trying out recipes  and came up with something that they all agreed resembled what they remembered from their childhood.  The recipe that we use has taken on a few adaptations from our house over the years - but of course that's what happens to good family recipes.  Recently when Mom and I were visiting the sisters in Ohio, Aunt Dot told me that she could remember sitting on the porch and watching her grandmother cut the beans up into very, very small pieces. (I'll have to say I don't do that). The sisters all remembered having it as children.

I posted a basic recipe for Green Bean Chili at the beginning of this year - on  a cold day when chili was the perfect option!   Click here for a link to that original post.  But, girls (well Patrick, too, even though you weren't in the discussion) below is a way to take the Howard family recipe and make it your own.

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Green Bean Chili
as Remembered by Ola Dean Wright Howard's children

- Chop and saute one large yellow sweet onion. (more or less to your taste)
- Brown one pound of whatever meat you want to use - ground beef, ground turkey, (or you can use meat substitute) I'm going to try this recipe meatless one fine day. 
- Your favorite chili seasoning (I use McCormick mild chili seasoning)
- One quart of canned tomatoes.  If you can get your hands on some home canned ones - that's great!
- Green Beans of your choice.  I like Kentucky Wonder which I can find frozen at the grocery. They are a big fat green bean, not too beany.  But any bean you like will work - they should be broken up like your MaMa Lambdin and MaMa Howard broke them for just making green beans. 


- Add in any other things you might like.  I sometimes put in carrots or zucchini. The zucchini can go in about an hour or 45 min before serving so it doesn't get really soft - or you can just let it get really soft!


Put it all together in a large pot, cover with water, and let it simmer. for at least a couple of hours. You may need to add water. This is a good one to dump in the crock pot in the morning and then it's all ready when you get home.  It tastes better if it cooks slowly for awhile giving the flavors time to come together.  


About 15 or 20 minutes before serving add a bag of super sweet corn (or you can use canned corn)
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Happy Cooking as the cold days settle in!