I want to say that I never liked Chili. But I never tasted it, so what do I know to like or dislike? We would go to Sweet Tomatoes, and Chili is always served in the Soup section. And I never understood why people go crazy over overcooked beans.

I started making Chili few weeks back, and got rave reviews. This is one of those dishes that I make without knowing how it’s supposed to be tasting. I’m still hesitant to taste it, because it’s too spicy, and mainly because of my stubbornness. I just do not like beans …

Tina is aspiring to become great chef, so here’s my Chili to you. I got all my ingredients at Safeway. I’ve made Chili 3 times, and each time I played with the ingredients: ground beef, ground pork, sausages, combination of the meats, different kinds of  beans, beer, broth … Following recipe is from the latest trial:

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions – chopped
• 1 bellpepper – chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic – chopped or crushed
• Hot Italian sausage (in Meat department) – cut up in small bite-size pieces
• 1 pound ground beef (choose the leanest meat)
• 1 Tablespoon Chipotle chili powder (in Spices section)
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 Tablespoons canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (sold in small can in International section) – minced or cut up with scissor
• 1 beef bouillon
• 2 (28-oz) cans fire-roasted cut-up tomatoes, undrained
• half bottle of beer, any kind will do
• 1 can (15-oz) can kidney beans ( I used the Low Sodium one) – drained, rinsed, and drained
• 1 can (15-oz) can black beans (again,  Low Sodium) – drained, rinsed, and drained
• 1 can Rosarita refried beans

Directions:

Heat large non-stick pot. Add onions, stir for few minutes, then add garlic and ground beef. Keep stirring to crumble the beef. When beef is almost cooked, add italian sausage and cook at same heat until all meat changes colors.

Add chili powder and rest of ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, continue cooking for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.

I never had to add salt for seasoning, so it’s up to your taste to add more salt or more bouillon.

Tina eats it with her Ritz crackers. You can top it with chopped onions, shredded cheddar cheese.

Supposedly, Chili tastes better the next day.  It freezes well for a month, and stays fresh in fridge for a week.