In a fairly large pot, brown the ground chuck, draining off any fat when finished browning. Simultaneously, saute the chopped onions, garlic and green pepper in the oil in a separate pan - I find if you try to saute them with the beef, they give up too much moisture to it, and it really doesn't brown enough - it just "grays" . Add the sauted onion, garlic, and green pepper to the browned meat, along with all the other ingredients. Dilute it to the desired thickness with the chicken stock - or some beer. Simmer for an hour or two, covered. You may want to uncover for the last half-hour or so if you think it has thinned out more than you expected - sometimes the tomatoes release juice as they cook. Particularly good with corn bread. And even better the next day.

Black Beans The Easy Way

My chili recipe calls for the end result of starting with 2 cups of dried black beans, and preparing them as you will. There are plenty of cookbooks full of instructions for soaking overnight, etc., but I do it the easy way.

My way is to pressure cook them, which only takes 45 minutes after the steam release hisses the first time. Just rinse two cups of dried black beans well, and put them in the pressure cooker with at least 4 cups of water. Seal it, heat until the steam release hisses the first time: then, turn down the heat to medium-low, and start your timer for 45 minutes. Steam release should hiss every few minutes or so. When they're finished

by Peter A. Vogt