Grabbing the Baton of Tradition

What you’ll witness in this post is the preparations and final results of me making my first pot of chili.

It’s not that I never wanted to make it, it’s that I never had to.

We’ve always had a tradition in my family where my father makes a huge pot of chili every year for our entire family.

^{first round of veggies chopped}

This happens around every Fall season when the weather starts to get cold.

Sometimes he’ll make it right before Christmas. If we don’t get the invite by then we’ll get it right before the New Year hits. If for some reason we can’t make it there physically, he makes sure to pack us away a nice amount to enjoy at our own homes.

This pot of chili my dad cooks feeds twelve adults and ten children. This includes their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

^{beans draining}

One of the things we love so much about his chili is the venison he uses. Going deer hunting every year usually pays off to where he or his cousin catches one or two. If only one of them catch a deer the meat is shared amongst them.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever tasted venison. When my dad first started hunting we noticed the wild taste in the meat when he cooked things (I refused to eat it back then 🥴). As the years went by he was able to combat that gamey taste and mild it down to where it wasn’t as obvious it was deer meat.

Deer meat is one of the healthiest meats available. It’s lean, heart healthy, low in fat and high in protein. I like being able to include venison in our diets at least once a year. We’ve all grown to love the taste and appreciate the health part.

^{tomatoes join the party}

The other part we love about his chili is all the vegetables he puts in. I love having veggies in everything I cook. Not only are they healthy for us but they add so much more additional flavor. 😋

What I like to do when we get venison is mix it with a little bit of regular ground beef (I usually cook spaghetti and tacos with our share). I do this for two reasons.

(1) Since we have a big family there is only so much meat my dad can give each of his kids. I already know that with the amount of meat we get it would need to be stretched a little in order to get two meals out of it to feed my family of seven.

(2) I always get nervous about my kids liking and accepting the taste of the meat so I like to blend it in with what they are familiar with.

It’s mainly reason one because at this point my kiddos are fine with it now and barely know the difference when I cook with it.

^{my homemade chili seasoning is ready}

My parents are getting older and tire more easily. It’s a lot of work cooking so much food to feed everyone.

I’m not sure how many more years my father will be able to do such a deed so I decided to try my hand for the first time at my own big pot of chili.

I’ve used my dad’s tactics with flavoring; adding plenty of vegetables and seasoning well. I’ve learned over the years to never buy packaged seasoning but instead to make my own. It always tastes so much better and rids that artificial flavor.

I must say I think it was a hit due to my family’s reaction and the fact that we had happy plates. 😊

_{To be honest my family can only survive two days of chili with beans if you know what I mean. 😳😥😬😅}

I must admit it was an honor to grab the baton of my father’s tradition. This isn’t saying he won’t continue making his huge pot of chili for us but I wanted to be ready and prepared to keep this tradition going.

I’m not the only one that has been making chili lately. I have recently learned that both my brother’s and sister’s households have also been making pots. This isn’t their first time like it is mine.

I decided to be spoiled and only eat my dad’s chili when he was ready to cook it. I figured that was one meal I didn’t have to worry about cooking my family. 😁

I have some chili packed away ready for my parents to taste.

I hope he’ll be proud of my attempt to mimic what he has provided for us year after year. ☺️👩🏼‍🍳

All photos are my own and were taken with our Cannon EOS Rebel T6.

Thanks for Reading! ♥️