Chili

People are kinda like chili recipes... No two are the same.  Okay, that may be the weirdest simile I've ever written, but it's true. I've tasted so many different variations of chili, and while I liked some better than others, they all tasted like "chili" and yet were all distinctly different. If you like spicy food, you can make it hotter.  If you like a sweeter chili, you can make it sweeter. Hate beans? Leave them out. Prefer ground turkey or pork? Switch it up!  I love that!  So, here's my chili recipe, but feel free to change it up and make it your own :).

Ingredients

• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
• large yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 lbs ground sirloin (90/10)
• 2 large cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 bottle (or can) tomato juice
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 to 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 to 1 Tbsp of cumin
• 3 tsp. sugar

I love sneaking in extra veggies whenever possible, and that's what our bell pepper friends are here for today. I think they offer a little bit of extra flavor, but it's hard to notice.... Mostly I want those antioxidants and extra vitamins.  I've also been known to grate up some carrots and zucchini and hide it in my chili... but don't tell my kids! :)

Start out by dicing those yummy bell peppers.

Heat your your olive oil in a large pot on medium high.  

Then drop your bell pepper in.  

Dice up the onion.

And the garlic.

Drop those babies in, add some salt and pepper and let them get all caramelized and yummy.

When the onions are translucent and the bell peppers are tender, add your ground sirloin in and break it up into tiny bits.  A lot of people like big chunks of beef in their chili... Not our family :).  But this is a great place to add your own spin on this recipe.

When the ground beef is browned, add the crushed tomatoes.

And the beans.

Then the tomato juice. 

Stir in the cumin.

And the chili powder.

Then, add the 3 tsp. of sugar.

Okay, if you are like me, you're like "what?!?!?!?!"  The first time I made chili after I married my husband, he suggested I put a little sugar in it... I laughed in his face and told him to get out of the kitchen :).  But, he was persistent and insisted if you only put a little in, it doesn't really make it sweet... it just cuts down on the acidity of the tomatoes.  And wouldn't you know it, he was right.  You would never be able to guess that sugar is in there, but it just makes it taste delicious.

I like to let it simmer for 20 mins or so on low before serving, but I usually can't keep my kids away from it that long... The smell draws them to the kitchen and they ask "is it ready?" repeatedly :). So we eat. 

And I add a little cheese to mine because everything is better with cheese.

Enjoy!