Chili – Frito Pie

Chili is the official state food of Texas, and it's a great comfort food recipe on a cold night! My Chili recipe starts with a homemade chili seasoning mix. Stop buying the expensive package of premade chili seasoning because it will take less than 5 minutes and cost less than $1 to make a big batch of homemade chili seasoning to use all season long!

Chili Seasoning Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 2 tablespoons seasoned salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons dried minced garlic

Directions:

• Stir together all ingredients and store in an airtight container.

Now that you've made your chili seasoning, you'll be able to whip up a delicious bowl of chili in no time!

Chili Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground beef or lean ground beef
• 1/3 cup chili seasoning mix (see The Budget Diet's Chili Seasoning Recipe)
• 2 cans Rotel tomatoes (mild or hot depending on how spicy you like your chili)
• 1, 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1, 16 oz. can black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1, 16 oz. can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)

Directions:

• Brown ground beef and drain.
• Sprinkle ground beef with chili seasoning mix and stir to combine.
• Stir in Rotel, tomato sauce, black beans and pinto beans.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In Texas we love to use our chili to make Frito Pie…give it a try!

Frito Pie

Ingredients:

• Chili
• Fritos
• Mexican Blend Cheese or Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Directions:

• Put a handful of Fritos in the bottom of your bowl.
• Top with chili and cheese
• Enjoy a Texas favorite!

The Budget Diet hopes you'll add Chili to your list of frugalicious and fast recipes!