Making chili is fun… it’s letting your creativity go crazy in the kitchen. Plus it’s a great comfort food for cold, dreary days. You can make it the day before as it will only get better with time. There are no hard and fast rules and you can make it anyway you want from super mild to spicy hot! You pick!

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Here’s our take on chili on this given day. It’s a bean-less wonder filled with lots of meat, vegetables and spices!

This is what you will need:
2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced, or you can use 1 ½ teaspoons of granulated garlic
1 large poblano pepper, diced
2 green or red peppers, diced
2 lbs., ground chuck, or you can use ground sirloin or ground round
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
2 – 3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 heaping teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 – 14.5 ounces of fire roasted tomatoes
1 – 26.4 ounce container strained tomatoes (Pomi)
1 – 6 ounce can tomato paste
2 teaspoons Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

On medium high, lightly sauté onions, poblanos, and green or red peppers for about 5 minutes; add in garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds.  In separate pot, brown meat, drain slightly, and add to the onion mixture.  You can sauté the meat with the onion mixture if you want, but it will depend on how fatty the meat is. You make the call. Once you have added the meat to the onions, add the spices, let everything become fragrant.  Then add in the tomato ingredients. You can add more tomato products if you wish such as a can of tomato sauce, but it will depend on how thick you want your chili. Stir well!  Let everything simmer together for about 2 hours.

If you want, you can start by adding lesser amounts of the spices than I have suggested above. Taste and add more if necessary. Remember, it is all in how it tastes to you!

With this recipe, I made a sweeter cornbread that was a nice contrast to the spicy chili. As always enjoy!!