I'm feelin' a lil chili

I'm new to Texas. However, if there's only one thing I know about Texas it's this.....the weather is never the same more than 2 days in a row.

We've been hot, we've been cold..we've been EVERYTHING in between. During the most recent cold spell, I got a wild hair up my butt and decided that I wanted to make my first pot of chili....EVER.

I kind of had an idea of what needs to go in chili. Meat, spices, grease, etc. I just didn't really have an idea of what kind of chili powders, etc. I researched a few recipes and found that none of them really sounded like something I would be interested in trying.

I made a decision that day. A decision that would change my life forever. I made up a recipe for chili and here's the kicker.....IT WORKED! In fact, it worked so well, the hubs and I ate a whole dutch oven full on our own. *burp* It was good!

So, ladies and germs, here's my recipe for chili.

Misty's Surprisingly Good Chili

Ingredients:

4 lbs hamburger meat
2 small onions-diced finely
2 1/2 jalapenos-diced finely
4 cloves of garlic-minced
4 TBSP Chili powder
3 TBSP Chipotle Chili powder
2 TBSP cumin
2 TBSP dried oregano
2 TBSP tomato paste
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can beef broth
2 14 oz cans of tomato sauce
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
Garnish(es) of choice: I just use shredded cheese!


Directions:

In a large dutch oven, sautee onions and jalapenos in olive over medium heat until the onions are translucent, approx 5 mins. Add garlic and cook until fragrant about 1 min.

Now, here is the most important step, add in all spices and cook for 2 minutes. Add in hamburger meat and cook until no longer pink.

Once the meat is fully cooked, add tomato paste and stir to combine. After one minute, add in all other ingredients.

Bring to a rolling boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook.

Now, here's where you have some options. The first time I made this I cooked it about 2 hours, put it in the fridge until the next day, skimmed off the fat and then warmed it up. OMG so good.

The last time I made it, I cooked it for 6 hours on simmer and followed the next steps. It seemed better with the longer cooking time.

So, your option is to cook it 2 hours or more. HOWEVER, you don't have the option of eating it the same day. Sorry, no can do. We all know that chili is much better the second day.

Enjoy :)