My Daddy’s Texas Chili Recipe

Everyone in your family will like my daddy’s Texas chili recipe …if you like beans in yours!

First question. You are from Texas – but may or may not live here. Do you put beans in your chili? Here in Texas, we do. Well, most of us do. My daddy’s Texas chili recipe includes beans!

My daddy used two kinds of beans in his Texas chili – kidney beans and ranch-style beans (in a can). Everything back then was from a can. I’m talking about the ’60s.

Second question? Do you like your chili spicy-hot, medium-spicy, or no spicy?

Third question. Do you serve your chili with cornbread, crackers, or chips?

My daddy’s Texas chili is not spicy at all. Even though he loved spicy foods or at least a little “kick” added to his food, we kids and mother did not. So his spice was always a hot pepper or onion next to his bowl.

My mom would put extra toppings, like shredded cheddar cheese, onion, and chopped green onion, in bowls, and we would serve ourselves. We always had plain ole saltine crackers with our chili.

My Daddy’s Texas Chili Recipe (Chili Dogs)

If we had any leftovers (which we did), our next day dinner would be chili dogs and Fritos. Yep, that was an easy dinner for my mom to make! We never complained about her dinners – ever!

Our Texas Family Meals

Mom was born in Oklahoma, and Dad was born in Louisiana. Their kids (me) were born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in Texas all our lives. We are native Texans!

This is how it went back in 1960-1970 when meals were served. We ate breakfast together and dinner together. But I can’t remember lunch. It’s possible we all ate lunch together on weekends.

BREAKFAST

There were three kids, and we all liked different foods for breakfast. My sister liked oatmeal, I liked malt-o-meal, and my brother didn’t care. So, my mom (always a fair lady) would change breakfast daily to make us happy.

LUNCH

Our lunches consist of grilled cheese, peanut butter & jelly, or ham sandwiches – but I liked grilled cheese the best. And, when mom would add a bowl of tomato soup (in a can), I was in heaven. Of course, my sister liked mustard, and I liked mayonnaise. Though we always called it mayonnaise – it was Miracle Whip. My sister and I were so different – and 50 years later – we still are.

DINNER

When it came to serving dinner, we ate early – at 5 O’clock. We knew to be home then. Every day at that time, we all sat down for dinner. Oh, and my mom didn’t like cooking. She never let us know that, but years later (lots of years later), she told me she didn’t like cooking, not then and not now. She’s 84 years old now and still won’t cook a meal. I suppose it’s hard cooking a meal for one.

A Little Tell-Tell

On evenings when my dad didn’t make his chili, and we all wanted chili, Mom would whip out a couple of cans of that chili brand. As I said, we never complained.

My Daddy’s Texas Chili Recipe

My daddy is no longer with us, and I don’t make my chili as he did, but I’ll never forget those dinners we had his Texas chili.

Plain and simple, his chili was. But now, just a memory.

Look below for more Texas Chili recipes from our Texas writers!

The Best Chili Recipe by Chastity from A Cowboy’s Life

She says it’s easy to make and loaded with flavor. See if her chili differs from my daddy’s because she’s from Texas, too! I think hers is more what I would make today. Chastity included chunks of avocado and sour cream on top.

Do you have a favorite Texas Chili recipe you think I need to know about? If so, please share it with me! I may even add it here!

Next is my homemade strawberry bread. I love this recipe so much because it’s so moist.

My Southern Texas Homemade Strawberry Bread.

My Vegetable Pot Pie From Scratch Recipe.

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