Cincinnati Chili with a twist!

For many years, I've enjoyed making a slow cooked chili and then trowing some of that over a nice steaming plate of chili! After adding a couple of topping like cheese and chopped onions, I enjoyed what amount to Cincinnati chili! A true winter time comfort food!

However, being a normal male with a smattering of curiosity, I decided to experiment by adding a small amount of spaghetti sauce I had made earlier using only a small can of tomato sauce and some seasonings! (Is that being a little too nit picky)? Sure, but I wanted to see if there might be some taste improvement to be gained. [Spatula in hand, I marched forward]...

This luncheon styled meal came together very quickly (around ten minutes or so). I had already made the chili and sauce a day before, so all that was needed was to boil some pasta in water, chop some onion up and then sprinkle on a little shredded cheese! I my view, this is very filling Italian styled repast would be great for both kids and old men, such as myself. (If you count pennies, as I do, this is also a pretty cheap eat)!

TASTE: After mixing in some chili into the spaghetti sauce in a 2 to 1 ratio, I sat down and tried to impartially judge the result in terms of overall taste. My immediate reaction was that I liked it. I felt that the taste of the added sauce mellowed out the chili in a flattering manner. I also thought this to be a winning idea, as I'm always on the lookout to find ways to bulk up my meals in a cheaper manner.

CALORIES: If you happen to be twenty something and fit, then you can wolf down all of this stuff you want. If your not particularly fit and or older, then you may definitely want to keep an eye on how much you eat. As a rough rule of thumb, I have calculated that the combination of pasta and chili comes in at about 1.8 calories per gram – so the 150 gram serving equaled out to be about 270 calories. Not all that bad when you consider what I was eating. (Note that 150 grams is a very small amount. I supplemented this sitting by adding in some fruit and garlic bread)!