Three Meal Chili

Here is an example of how I can stretch our food dollar. Using the first recipe in the list below, I can usually make a large pot of chili for anywhere from \$6 to $7 dollars. The next day I can make chili tacos and the next day I make Chili Mac. Three different days, three different meals from one pot of chili, making the cost of that $6 or $7 divided by three seem even cheaper by the minute. I'm explaining this so that perhaps you can get an idea about one of your family's favorite dishes and create your own meals like this and stretch your food dollar farther. Here are the recipes:


Day One · Day Two · DayThree

Day One

Chili

Ingredients:
  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 2 to 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 4 - 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
  • 4 - 15 ounce cans hot chili beans
  • Chili Powder
  • Salt and pepper to taste
 Directions:
  1. Brown Ground Beef in a large stockpot.
  2. Salt and pepper the ground beef.
  3. Add onions, green peppers and garlic and stir well.
  4. Allow onion to become close to transparent.
  5. Add tomatoes and chili beans and stir well.
  6. Add plenty of chili powder and allow this to simmer, the longer the better.
  7. Before serving, be sure to do a taste test and adjust spices as needed.
Notes:
This is great with a dollop of sour cream in it or cheddar cheese. I serve this with crackers and corn chips, so everyone can have his or her favorite. There is nothing better than a bowl of hot chili and a glass of cold milk on a cold day.

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Day Two

Chili Tacos

Ingredients:
  • Chili
  • 12 corn tortillas
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • lettuce, chopped
  • 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
  • Vegetable Oil
 Directions:
  1. Heat the Chili on the stovetop until piping hot.
  2. Lower the heat on the chili just to keep it hot.
  3. In a separate skillet, pour about 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in skillet and heat well.
  4. Using tongs, place one tortilla in the hot oil and fry for just a minute, on both sides, and then place onto a dinner plate
  5. Add one ot two spoonfuls of chili onto the top of the tortilla.
  6. Repeat the last two steps until there is a stack of three tortillas on the plate and then add enough chili to the top tortilla to cover all the tortillas.
  7. Add cheese to the top of the chili.
  8. Add other toppings as desired.
Notes:
This used to be my grandmother's recipe and I can recall it being a family favorite when I was growing up. Now my daughter enjoys it as much as I do.

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DayThree

Chili Mac

Ingredients:
  • Chili
  • Elbow Macaroni, cooked
  • Cheese, if desired
  1. Heat the leftover chili on the stovetop until hot.
  2. Add the cooked elbow macaroni a little at a time and stir well.
  3. Add enough elbow macaroni until it looks good to you.
  4. Stir in cheese and stir until melted if desired.
  5. Serve & enjoy!

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See how easy that was? One big pot of chili made three different meals for my family.

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