Chili

I haven't been keeping up with this very well. I've been a bit busy and not feeling too well. Anyway, last week I made chili, which was the first recipe I ever created. There's actually a bit of a story to it. A couple of years ago my husband was deployed overseas for a year, he left when our oldest daughter was a week old. So... I didn't have much to do here alone with an infant, so I tried new recipes. After all, I was the only one that was gonna eat 'em, if they were terrible, oh well! Anyway, I love chili so I made it for myself about once a week that winter. I added new things and tried different combinations each time until I found what I thought was the perfect chili recipe. I love it, and my family loves it. I'm actually thinking about entering a chili cook-off here in my home town this fall.

Chili

1 Tbsp chili powder
½ Tbsp cumin
1 tsp adobo
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Plus enough of all of the above to season meat with

1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 ¼ lb ground beef
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
½ - 1 onion
2 (16 oz) cans kidney beans (drained)
1 (16 oz) can chili beans
2 (16 oz) cans diced tomatoes (fire roasted are my personal favorite)
1 bottle beer (my favorites that I have tried in this recipe are amber lagers and stouts)

• Heat olive oil in pan. Add jalapenos and onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add beef and brown, lightly season with spices while cooking.
• Combine the meat mixture, beans, and tomatoes in a large pot or crock pot. Add beer (you may not need the whole bottle). Add spices and mix well.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 1-2 hours (or longer, in crock pot).

Serves 5-6