Our Perfect Chili

OK… Corina and I love Chili. We tried and tried to find the perfect recipe that would satisfy both of our tastes. She likes spicy chili and I like it hardy without adding any noodles. So after many failed attempts we found our perfect chili. Actually, I found the original recipe on Men’s Health Magazine, but I change a few things.

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 bag 15 bean soup (dry beans)
2 lb ground chuck (or ground turkey)
3 Chile de Arbol crushed (these are small red dried chiles that you can buy at the Mexican store or section)
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper, diced
8 tomatillos, husked and chopped (don’t buy them canned)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
4 cups beef stock
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tsp cumin
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
Salt and pepper

What to do…
I like to soak the beans overnight and cook them in the crock pot on high for about 4 hours. If you buy the HamBeens brand, save the Cajun seasoning for later use. Cook your beans and season with salt and pepper.

Heat a large heavy skillet (or just a big pot), add the olive oil and brown the meat. Cook until there is no liquid. Add the onions, garlic, green peppers and chiles. Cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Then add the tomato sauce, beef stock, cilantro, tomatillos, paprika, cumin, chili powder and cinnamon. Boil and simmer for about 30 minutes. Finally, add the cooked beans. I like to use a slotted spoon to add the beans and later if I need more liquid, add the liquid left from the beans. Season with salt and pepper.

*** If you can’t find any Chile de Arbol you can use jalapenos, Red Cayenne Pepper or your favorite Hot Sauce, this is what gives it the spice. If you don’t like spicy chili you can skip this ingredient.

I know I mentioned earlier that I don’t like my chili with noodles, however we do make some spaghetti and add chili on top. Good stuff!

Here is the original recipe from Men's Health