Country Chili

1 lg onion, chopped
1 cl garlic, chopped
1 T margarine, reduced-calorie, melted
1 t salt
1 t whole basil, dried
1 t chili powder
1/2 t whole oregano, dried
1/2 t whole thyme, dried
1/4 t pepper
16 oz (1 cn) tomatoes, undrained and chopped
8 oz red kidney beans, undrained

Saute onion and garlic in margarine in a large saucepan until tender. Add salt, basil, chili powder, oregaro, thyme, and pepper, stirring well. Stir in tomatoes and beans. Simmer, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Yield: 6 Servings

Cowpoke Chili

1 lb slab bacon
2 lb dry pinto or dry navy beans
1 large onion, sliced
4 cl garlic, sliced
2 Ancho peppers
3 qt water
2 1/2 t salt
1 one-pound can tomatoes
12 canned serrano peppers or 12 tiny green hot pickled, finely chopped
1 t coriander seeds, crushed

Remove the rind from the bacon and cut rind into 1/2 inch squares. Cut bacon into small pieces; set aside. Put the rind, beans, onions, grarlic and Ancho peppers into a large heavy kettle. Add water and bring to a boil. Lower the flame, cover the kettle and let the beans cook gently about 1 1/2 hours. Add salt and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. In a separate pan, fry diced bacon until slightly crisp. Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients to bacon. Cook this mixture over medium flame for about 10 minutes. Skim off excess fat. Add bacon ant tomato mixture to beans and continue cooking uncovered, over a low flame for 1 hour or until beans are very tender.