Barefoot in the kitchen, part VII: Grandma Vina's Chili

Made chili the other night. Oddly, while the children ofter rebel and protest "mixed up food," chili is one that has passed the test. This is a family recipe from my husband's side of the family. And the kids know it. When they asked "what's for dinner?" and I said "chili" ... the immediate next question was whether it was Grandma VINA's chili. When they were eating it, they wondered if this was how Grandma VINA ate it. Is this how Grandma VINA made it? Lordy children, yes. Or at least I will tell you this. I only minimally doctored the recipe. It was a double-batch, so I used some of my garden-fresh (yet frozen by me) homemade tomato sauce in replacement of half the canned tomato goods ... but they don't need to know that. They ate it. They loved it. The Boy asked for more. Yay for them willingly eating something other than ramen or macaroni and cheese. Boo for the fact that tomato products give me heart burn. Oh well, this stuff is yummy and worth it. :)

Grandma Vina's Chili
(pretty much add "more or less" to every ingredient on this list ... you can also add more and different beans and leave out the meat altogether if you're so inclined)

1 medium-sized onion
1-1/2 pounds of ground round steak or hamburger
1 (10-3/4 oz) can tomato soup
1 (15-16 oz) can of kidney beans (liquid and all)
1 (15 to 16 oz) can whole tomatoes
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt (t0 taste)
1/8 tsp. pepper (t0 taste)
1 tbsp. chile powder (to taste, approx. 1 tbsp. chile powder to 1 lb. meat)

Chop the onion, and brown with the ground beef. Drain off any liquid. Combine meat and onions with tomato soup, kidney beans and whole tomatoes. Mix well, then add sugar and spices, to taste. Simmer for several hours on stove. Serve with crackers and/or cheese. (Freezes well.)