DH and I got a good laugh for the day. I love it when I don't figure out the punchline ahead of time. Thanks.

Oh...I wish I had the nerve to answer stupid questions like that, I always think of a good come back at a later time. My husband works in retail at this time. He always wants to give a different answer to stupid questions but shows restraint. He is always telling me the answer he wish he gave. jasdip,,,,very funny!

Ahh chili! Every time it is reheated as a leftover, it gets better. My chili turns out a little different each time I make it. Its vegtable stew with chili seasoning and is a complete meal. Ground beef Italian diced tomatoes with other ingredients and sauce. or use tomato sauce. Carrots, diced (adds vetable bulk) Celery, diced (adds a flavor of its own) Bell pepper, diced Sweet Vadalia onion, diced Dark kidney beans, canned (other beans can be substituted, but dark beans is the best.) Chili powder mix. Brown sugar - My secret ingedient. Start by browning the meat with a little cooking oil. When the meat begins to turn, add the carrots, celery, and onion. These need more cooking time than the other ingredients. After the mix has reheated to the boiling point, throw in the other vegatbles. Let the mix reheat, then dump in the remaining stuff except for the chili powder and brown sugar. Add chili powder to suit your taste. Just keep adding until it has enough fire. Bring the mix to a boil, then let simmer for about 5 minutes, and now add the brown sugar by taste. CAUTION: Add brown sugar very sparingly and test taste after stirring in each addition of sugar. A little of this stuff goes a long way in modifying the flavor. It can quickly overpower and ruin the batch. Continue simmering until the vegtables are cooked (softened). if you like crunchy vegtables, shorten the cooking time. Serve hot with low sodium soda crackers and table salt. Note that I did not add any salt. Commercially prepared canned vegtables are over salted these days, and will provide plenty of salt for this base chili recipe. Diners may add salt as desired, but try it first as prepared without additional salt. This recipe can be varied by changing the vegatable mix. It can be turned into a chili flavored beef stew by adding chunks of beef and chopped potatoes. I have made this dish with turkey instead of beef due to a friend's food preference - no red meat -, but in my opioion, it was not as tasty. Some folks in my neighborhood use grapes as the sweetner. Enjoy

HO HO HO! but then, maybe this isn't a joke.