How to Make a Really Good Bowl of Chili

Its winter time in Texas and this morning it was 32 degrees on the way to school. So, when I came home I decided that it was chili time. This is my favorite thing to eat in the winter. Before I had children - it feels like a million years ago - I would ONLY eat chili made from scratch. This process would start by cooking the beans, adding the spices and other ingredients and simmering to perfection, which took about 24 hours - only because the beans had to be soaked overnight to soften them for cooking. After that it only took a few hours to arrive at complete chili perfection.

These days there is no time (well there would be if I would reassess my priorities) to make chili from scratch. WARNING: I JUST REALIZED THAT THIS RECIPE IS ASTRONOMICALLY HIGH IN SODIUM.

The current recommendation is to consume less than 2,400 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day. This is about 1 teaspoon of table salt per day. It includes ALL salt and sodium consumed, including sodium used in cooking and at the table.

This recipe contains approximately 3,742 mg of sodium. Yikes! I'm going to have to change my diet.

Start by heating One bowl of Hormel Chili with Beans (1,200mg salt per serving) One can=2 servings ( I usually eat the entire can)

Add two slices of processed cheese (total sodium = 500mg) and melt in the microwave. This picture only shows half of a slice arranged in a smiley face for effect.)Add about 8 crackers - crumbled (total sodium = 272 mg)

Mix it up. The Chili mix will be thick.
Add three teaspoons of ketchup - actually just squeeze it on there until it looks like enough to make you happy. (I've been told that the only thing I like more than chocolate and diet coke is KETCHUP - Total sodium 570mg if you only use 3 tsp but mine is slightly more)
Mix it all up real good, and if you make it like I do you should be able to hold the spoon upside down for about two seconds before the chili begins to fall off - Yeah, I like a little bit of chili with my crackers and ketchup.