Secret Family Recipe

My paternal grandma, Grandma Amy (We called her by her first name because as little kids, none of us could pronounce our last name), was a widow with 7 kids to feed. One of her staple meals was Kidney Bean Stew. In my family, we've come to call it chili although it really isn't chili. I think this is the first dish I ever made because it is really simple. It's hard to screw up...Ok, I screwed it up once. When I was younger, I was trying to learn more about herbs and spices. My family didn't use many herbs or spices and so I resorted to experimentation. I added fennel seed to it. My brother Scott still gives me a hard time for adding "licorice" to chili. Actually, it wasn't all that bad, but it wasn't that good either.

Not too long ago, one of my cousins put together a family recipe book. She asked all of us to submit whatever recipes we wanted. Apparently she received about 7 different versions of this same dish. The recipe I've given you below is a version of my parents' version of it. None of us are too terribly sure what was in the original, but the primary ingredients are hamburger, onions, tomato soup, kidney beans, and potatoes. It's the potatoes that everyone finds surprising. It's really good, but my version is a very slimmed down one. I've eliminated the potatoes, and I've added diced tomatoes. Any of these versions are especially good with corn bread, but of course, that is too high in calories for me. I have to divide it out into several smaller servings in order to make it fit into my diet. I could water it down, but I like it thicker, and I'll sacrifice the amount for just a bit of this comforting food of home.

The only spices that are added are salt and pepper. Then individuals can add as much or as little chili powder as they want to their servings. My dad and I both pour it on. Mom winces and tries not to make comments about this habit. :)

Ingredients
1 pound hamburger
1 chopped onion
1 can Campbell's Tomato soup
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 15 ounce can kidney beans
1 6 ounce can tomato paste

Preparation
Brown hamburger. Add chopped onion. Cook until translucent. Add other ingredients and enough water to rinse out each can. Cook until bubbling.

Makes 6 servings at 343 calories per serving.