A Big Pot of Chili

3 lbs. ground chuck (or half  beef and half turkey)  [Or substitute tofu crumbles for all or part of the meat.  Don't use 3 lbs., just adjust the meat, crumbles,  and beans until it looks right.]
1/2 cup olive or other oil  
1 large green pepper, chopped
3 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 5 Tbsp. chili powder
1 (2 1/2 lbs.) can kidney beans (or three 15 1/2 oz. cans)
5 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 small can chili peppers, chopped      
2 (16 oz.) cans tomatoes, chopped fine
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown meat in a large soup pot.  (Optional:  When meat is no longer pink, pour it into a colander to drain the fat.)  Add onions and green pepper to pan and cook until wilted.  If necessary add a little olive oil to cook onions and green pepper.  Add meat and rest of ingredients except salt and pepper.  Add about a quart of water.  Simmer for 1 to 2 hours.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.  Simmer for another hour.  Add water as needed.  If the chili seems too watery, which it may do if you have used very lean meat or don't have time for prolonged cooking, try adding 3 corn tortillas (the uncooked kind), torn in small piece.  Cook until they are dissolved in the chili, stirring occasionally.

We have enjoyed this chili simmering on the stove many cool Saturday afternoons.  Its most memorable appearance was one wintry afternoon in the late 60s when Donald and friends were riding motorcycles in the woods.  The "girls" stayed indoors at the Dunaways’ cottage at St. Teresa and I cooked a couple pots of this chili.  Jim Thorne ate about half of it by himself.