I Have A Chili Question: To Bean Or Not To Bean?

My boyfriend loves to cook; and I don't mind a bit, since he's great at it. We'll go through about 10 to 12 recipes on a Saturday morning, choose two or three, and then pick up the ingredients, and off he goes chopping veggies, preparing a variety of meats and seasonings, and adding his own special touch.

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SOMETIMES YOU JUST FORGET

This past weekend, he made us three dishes, one of which was a very tasty chili. He made a ton of it too. We ate it, we shared it, and three days later we realized...he didn't put any chili beans in it.

Now honestly, it was so good I didn't even notice there were no chili beans in it. My question is: Is it still chili? If there are no beans in it?

NO BEANS?

Someone told us they loved his chili because it was beanless. My kids don't like beans either, so if I make chili for them I blend the beans and it's just a thickener for the chili.

How do you make chili? Was this more like a hamburger soup, rather than a chili?

THE INTERNATIONAL CHILI ASSOCIATION SAYS

The International Chili Association says that the definition of chili is: "Any kind of meat, or meats, cooked with chili peppers, various other spices, and other ingredients with the exception of beans or spaghetti which are strictly forbidden."

Did I read that right? That said, NO BEANS? Does that mean chili beans? Or are we talking green beans? Baked Beans? Now I'm really confused?