Sophie (Chanko) Dare

Every year for my entire life, my mom has hosted Halloween night at our house, with a group of our closest cousins. We all would dress up and have fun together, eating a hearty meal of my mom's famous chili before heading out into the subdivision to trick or treat. Then, we'd come back inside to divvy up our candy while watching It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on TV for the tenth time.

Even though trick-or-treating will look very different for kids this year, and big parties are a no-go, I thought I'd share our recipe for Halloween chili that you could make for a warm, delicious meal on a cold, spooky night, staying in at home.

1. Heat olive oil in the bottom of a large pot, then add 1 chopped onion and 3 minced cloves of garlic. Saute for a couple of minutes until softened, then add 1 pound of lean ground beef and cook until brown.

2. Add 1 can of tomato sauce, 1 can of tomato paste, 1 can of crushed tomatoes, 1 cup of beef broth, and 1 can of red kidney beans (drained). Keep the pot at a simmer.

3. Add your seasonings: at least 1 tablespoon each of cumin, chili powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes/cayenne pepper for desired spice level. Cumin is the star of the show here – keep adding and tasting until you get that great smoky chili flavor!

That's about it – simmer the pot on low for at least 20 minutes after everything is added, but the longer you let it sit, the better the flavors will be! Top with

Chili is great because you can kind of make it however you want it to be – you can add more or less tomato sauce to make it thinner or thicker, you can add bell peppers or other vegetables to the mix, and you can make it super spicy with jalapeños if you want. Play around with the recipe until you come up with a product that suits your taste buds, and dig in!

Thanks for reading!