My grandma's cheap chili recipe got a whole lot cheaper after I lost my job last fall

I used to make her chili with canned diced tomatoes, kidney beans, and ground beef from the butcher counter, you know, the decent stuff. But after I got laid off from my property management gig in October, I had to rethink everything. Now I buy the store brand tomato sauce (which is basically the same thing, just thinner) and swap half the ground beef with a can of black beans I get for 88 cents. The biggest change was ditching the fancy chili powder blend I bought at that spice shop downtown and just using cumin and paprika from the big bag at the grocery store. It's not exactly the same, but honestly my wallet thanks me every time I stir that pot. Does anyone else have a recipe they've had to strip down to the bare bones because of money?

2 comments

2 Comments

barnes.morgan1d ago

Wait, you were buying chili powder from a SPICE SHOP downtown?? Like a specialty store just for spices?? I'm sitting here trying to wrap my head around that while I'm over here using the same club-sized cumin bag I've had since 2021 lol. That must have been some next level chili though, I bet that spice shop stuff was incredible. But yeah, that's definitely one of those changes that stings a little every time you skip it.

richardharris1d ago

Man, I REALLY feel this. There's something about having to rework a family recipe that just hits different, like you're losing a little piece of comfort on top of everything else. Good on you for finding a way to make it work though, that's what matters.

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