It's not fall until I make chili...

First of all, I love making chili.  It's usually simple, but my excitement comes from the oodles of recipes to try.  My friend Tina makes the best white chicken chili I've ever had.  My grandma used to make pretty amazing chili featuring kidney beans and home-grown beef.  Mostly, it's just a really fun fall tradition.

This year, I took a basic recipe and altered it.  I used three pounds of beef from Adam's uncle's farm (because I'm still sticking to this).  I replaced both tomato sauce and diced tomatoes with three jars of canned tomatoes (which grew in our garden).  We didn't have any kidney beans and I added some fresh chopped garlic.  That's about it for the alterations.

For me, chili isn't chili without noodles.  However, since my stepdad's recent scare with diabetes, I didn't put up a fight when he asked that I make the noodles on the side.  I still get my chili with noodles and he isn't forced to pick out a massive amount of carbohydrates.  Win, win.

Fun facts about the words "fall" and "autumn":  In the British Isles, the term “autumn” has been used since the 1300s, and the phrase “the fall of the leaf” or just “the fall” was used from the 1500s until about 1800. After that time, “autumn” became the common seasonal term in Britain. According to The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage, “whereas ‘the fall of the leaf’ (less frequently ‘the fall of the year’) and then ‘fall’ by itself gradually became standard in America from the late 17th century onwards" (5).  However, one exception for American usage of “autumn,” instead of “fall,” is with the autumnal equinox. (From grammargirl)