Good Chili for Chasing Away the Chills

Daingerfield State Park

Around the Ross household, we like chili just about any time of the year, but it is certainly a favorite when the weather turns cold.  The recipe below is our favorite.  The original recipe came from Southern Living magazine, I tweaked it a bit- something I do to just about every recipe.

The first time I made this chili was on a camping trip to Daingerfield State Park.  The chili was a hit and so we call it Daingerfield chili.  If you are looking for a great place to take the family camping, I highly recommend this state park.  We had a wonderful time.  The lake is very clear and while we were canoeing along the shallows, we could see the bottom along with the waterlilies.  If you don't have a canoe, you can rent them there.  The wooded acres has several really nice trails.

Tony & I knew each time we heard cackles and screams that Lady, the 85 lb Lab, had changed sides of the canoe

Our good friends, the Lafluers, were camping with us.  Playing cards in the light of a lantern, cooking over the fire, swimming in the lake- all these good memories come back easily when we eat our Daingerfield Chili.

Sierra's poker face!

Daingerfield Chili:


1 lb beef chuck roast, cubed
1 lb pork loin or shoulder roast, cubed
1 lg onion chopped
1 lg green pepper chopped (you can substitute any pepper you have in your garden like banana)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 TB Sp olive oil
2 cans (4.5 oz) green chillies
2 cups water or red wine
1 cup salsa
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 TB Sp brown sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice


Combine the first 5 ingredients, cook half the mixture in 2 tbsp olive oil in a lg dutch oven over medium-high heat until browned.  Remove and set aside and repeat with the remaining half of mixture in the other 2 tbsp olive oil.
Combine meat mixture, tomatoes, and next 7 ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour or until meat is tender.