It was the 4th of July weekend many years ago when my family arrived at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and were welcomed by the chaos of police everywhere. Earlier that day the neighbor guy was in his boat on the lake, fell out of his boat, and was unable to get back into the boat. He was also unable to keep his head above water.
The weather was unseasonably cold that 4th of July weekend and the police and divers were chilled to the bone, so what does Grandma Harriet do? She whips up a potful of chili.
It’s an easy chili to “whip up,” and because this steaming bowl of goodness is associated with that dreadful day at the lake we named the dish Harriet’s Drag-The-Lake Chili. It seems sort of morbid, but the recipe is made with ingredients you can have in the pantry in case of an emergency feeding situation, morbid or not. You don’t have to call it by the name its known by in my family, but you might want to make it.
1 pound hamburger, browned and drained (I add a small chopped onion to this)
1 can chili starter (Bush’s Chili Magic is perfect)
1 can tomato soup
2 cans spaghetti
1 spaghetti can of water
2 tablespoons chili powder.
Mix it all up and simmer for 20 minutes.
Husby and I recently had some on a cold winter day with a piece of warm cornbread on the side. It really hit the spot, reminded me of Grandma Harriet, and there doesn’t need to be a bunch of officials dragging the lake to make it.
Easy and delicious, drowning neighbor not required.
Auntie B's Wax 