Fiery Chili

Hi there Mangia Monday friends!

Welcome to the weekly blog hop I co-host with Kristin of the fabulous foodie blog Delightfully Dowling! Are you feeling spicy today? How about some chili then?

Don’t be alarmed at all the ingredients. Besides the chopping of a few veggies, this recipe is NOT labor intensive. I like to line up all the spices on the counter and systematically add them to a little bowl, ten throw them in the pot all at once. Mark and I have tried many a chili recipe and we love how the flavors in this one come together for an incredibly tasty, satisfying meal (bonus:  it’s packed with protein and fiber.)  The fun thing about chili is playing with the level of heat. If you like your chili spicy, don’t forget the sour cream to balance out the heat! We added a lot of jalapeno seeds to this batch so it was 5-alarm and OH SO GOOD!!

2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. Italian sausage
1 28 oz. can baked beans
2 15 oz. cans kidney beans with liquid
2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes with liquid
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped, some seeds reserved*
2 slices bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup beer
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
1 8 oz. package shredded Mexican blend cheese
8 oz. sour cream

Spices:
4 beef bouillon cubes
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon white sugar

Heat large stock pot over medium heat. Brown ground beef and crumbled sausage; drain off grease.

Add baked beans, kidney beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste.

Add onion, celery, green and red peppers, jalapeno with seeds to taste*, crumbled bacon, and beer.

Next, in small bowl, combine all the loose spices – chili powder to white sugar – and add to pot with the bouillon cubes. Stir, cover and simmer over low heat for at least two, up to 5, hours, stirring occasionally. The longer the chili simmers, the more the flavors will develop and the better it will be!

Before serving, taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. To serve, ladle into bowls and serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.


*For a spicier chili, add some of the jalapeno seeds. In the world of peppers, jalapenos are not considered extremely hot, but the darker green it’s skin is, the hotter it will be. Every pepper contains different levels of heat so you may want to start on the milder side if you’re worried about your chili being too hot. You can always reserved seeds and add them after the chili has simmered for a couple of hours.

Now how ’bout you? Do you have a tried and true recipe you’d like to share? A restaurant you enjoyed? A kitchen tip to pass along? We’d love for you to jump right into the Mangia Mondays madness with a link or a comment!

Thanks for visiting and hope you have a great week ahead! Don’t forget that this Friday is the February After party for projects ! 🙂