The first "chili" recipes appeared in West Texas at the turn of the century. They may have had their origin from old Mexican recipes, but since most cowboys couldn't read...or for that matter, cook very good, chili most probably got it's start due to the availability of spices and other ingredients available in the area. A lot of ingredients available to us now were just not available then. Most chili consisted of beef, cumin, pepper, sugar, paprika, garlic, and masa to thicken. Tomatoes were seasonal and usually not available. Chili powder was not manufactured at the time...They used dried chili's (spanish for peppers)...most west texas cowboys were Mexican. Most of the original chili did not have beans due to the time required to soak and cook them...chuck wagons did not appear til later in history and even then, on most ranches, the cowboy was on his own and didn't have time to watch beans all day. The following recipe is based on the original recipes... CHILI In a large skillet, saute meat in oil until browned. Add water and simmer 1.5 to 2 hours. In a small bowl, mix chili powder, salt, garlic, cumin, oregano, cayene pepper, black pepper, sugar and paprika. Add to skillet. Simmer 30 minutes...cooking longer will cause spices to lose flavor. In a small bowl mix flour and masa. Wisk flour masa mixture into chili...stirring constantly to prevent sticking. Bring mixture back to simmer until thickened. Remove from heat. Serve over beans, rice, hot dogs, enchiladas, burritos, or eat plain. Cheese (cheddar, longhorn, queso blanco,etc.) goes well on top. Note lack of tomatoes and beans... Give it a try.....KF