"Soup" for the Super Bowl

For the Super Bowl I'm serving a simple meal of chili with corn chips and a green salad. Yes, I know it's not technically a soup!

Cincinnati’s 5-way chili is famous and many “fast-food” restaurants feature it. Skyline Chili is the best known and is no longer limited to Cincinnati. There is now an outlet on Clearwater Beach (right next to Mc Donald’s). Chocolate and spices make the flavor different from standard chili.

Serve it 3-way, 4-way or 5-way chili for hearty meal. Five way chili starts with meat sauce and is built with spaghetti, kidney beans, chopped onion and lots of shredded Cheddar cheese. In Cincinnati it is served with oyster crackers but I prefer corn chips or cornmeal muffins.

Cincinnati Chili

Serves 6 to 8

2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cans (14.5 ounce) stewed tomatoes
1 can (15 ounce) tomato sauce
1 cup beef broth
1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin

12 ounces spaghetti, cooked, drained and kept warm
1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
Chopped onion
2 to 4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef, onions and garlic in 5-quart Dutch oven. Stir occasionally to help browning. Pour off any fat. Add stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and broth.

Combine chili powder, cocoa, cinnamon, salt and cumin small bowl. Stir into beef mixture. Heat chili to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Chili can be prepared ahead and refrigerated until serving.

Reheat chili if needed. To serve Cincinnati style, place warm spaghetti in pasta bowl or plate. Spoon hot chili over the pasta. Top with beans, onion and lots of Cheddar cheese.