February 22 is National Chili Day. Picture all the hard-working people in Big Sandy, those shoveling snow, digging out neighbors, driving road plows till 2:00 am. Why not celebrate our community by sitting around a table with neighbors, digging into prize winning Chili eating homemade cornbread and laughing about how ridiculous it is outside? There are a few men in our town known for their chili, but they weren't even in their houses to talk Chili. They were outside plowing snow, so giving up the idea I searched the web for prize winning chili which is shared below.

Many historians agree that Chili con Carne (chili with meat), is an American dish coming from Texas. There is a far-fetched rumor out there that a Sister Mary of Agreda, a Spanish nun in the early 1600's from Spain, who although she never left her convent yet had out of body experience preaching Christianity to the Indians. Her spirit wrote down the first recipe for Chili: chili peppers, venison, onions, and tomatoes. However most believe that chili came from J.C. Clopper, who lived near Houston. He wrote of his visit to San Antonino in 1828: "When they (poor families of San Antonio) have to lay for their eat in the market, and very little is made to suffice for the family; it is generally cut into a kind of hash with nearly as many peppers as there are pieces of meat-this is all stewed together. "In the 1880's 'Chili queens' sold their chili in bowls from chili stands all around Texas. President Johnson, who was from Texas, was known for his love of chili. He preferred it be made with venison. Lady Bird Johnson mailed out thousands of cards with the recipe on it across the nation.

Chili

lb. ground venison or 1 lb. ground beef or 1 lb. ground turkey2 onions, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 tablespoon jalapeno, finely chopped

1(14 ounce) can Mexican-style tomatoes (like Rotel)

2(8 ounce) cans tomato sauce

2 tablespoons cumin

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1⁄2teaspoon cayenne pepper

1⁄2teaspoon paprika(smoked if you can find it)

1(14 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1(14 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup water

Directions: Cook ground meat with onions and peppers in Dutch oven. Drain excess grease and add tomatoes, seasonings, and water, bring to a boil. Add beans, cover and simmer 1-2 hours. Serve with toppings Sour cream, Cheddar cheese, green onions

Serve it with an exciting side dish coming from Charley Overbay made from home grown Painted Mountain Indian Corn which makes some fabulous corn bread/muffins. Montana law requires that he sales the corn to you whole. He will sell it to you for $6 a pound. It only takes ¾ cup so a pound goes a long way. Charley said he will hand ground the corn for you free whether you would want it ground fine or course depending on how you like your corn meal. You can contact him at charleyoverbay@gmail.com. He works at Quinn Farms and the Bear Paw Deli.

Sweet Cornbread

2 eggs

2 Tbsp. honey

1 ¼ cup flour Tsps. baking powder

¾ corn meal

½ tsp salt

½ cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 Tbsp. melted butter

1 cup milk

In a large bowl shift, together dry ingredients. In a medium bowl whisk, together we ingredients. Mix wet and dry just until all is moistened. Bake @ 350 for 20-25 min. in an 8x8 pan.

On February 22 why not make up some Chili and Corn Bread and take it to that guy who has dug you out of the snow for the umpteenth time!