Crock Pot Chili

This is the best chili recipe you'll ever make. It was the blue ribbon winner at a chili cook-off in the south, garnering a prize worth $20,000 according the the recipe book it came from. With surprise ingredients like beer and unsweetened cocoa, the blend of seasonings and flavors creates a mouth watering chili that will have them begging for the recipe. For the brave souls that like more fire, double the hot sauce to kick it up a notch. This chili has been taste tested by people that have searched high and low for the best chili recipe and they agreed...it is definitely a winner!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lb. lean chuck or lean sirloin, ground
1 lb. lean pork, ground
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped onion
8 oz. hunt's tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 can beer (12 oz.)
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons instant beef bouillon (or 6 cubes)
2 Tablespoons cumin, ground
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons oregano leaves
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon coriander, ground
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce

1 can stewed sliced roma style tomatoes with oregano and basil, 28 ounces, drained

1 can red kidney beans, 16 ounces, drained

1 can cannellini beans, white kidney beans, 15 ounces, drained

Last steps: 1 teaspoon cornmeal
1 teaspoon flour

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon warm water

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan brown 1 1/4 pounds of the ground meat (the beef and the pork), drain the fat.

2. Remove meat (the beef and the pork). Brown the rest of the ground meat, drain all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.

3. Add the garlic and onion, cook and stir until tender.

4. Add the other half of the meat and the tomato sauce, water, beer, chili powder, bouillon, cumin, paprika, oregano, sugar, coriander, cocoa, and hot sauce. Mix well.

5. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, add in the drained beans and stewed tomatoes, and cover for 2 hours on low. If you want to use a crock pot, once the chili is boiling, turn off the flame and dump all the chili in the crock pot. Add in the stewed tomatoes and drained beans and stir a couple times. Set the crock pot to low and you can let it sit for 3-6 hours.

6. In a small bowl, stir together the cornmeal, baking soda, and flour, then add the warm water and mix well. Stir into chili and cook, covered, for an additional 20 minutes.

***Top your chili with all your favourite toppings, shredded cheese, raw chopped onion, chives, sour cream, avocado and of course more Louisiana hot sauce or Tabasco if you like your chili extra spicy. We serve our chili with corn bread and honey butter but you can also serve with Frito’s or tortilla chips or even on top of a burger for Chili Size. I stuffed my burgers with lactose free jalapeno cheese from Trader Joe's and bought fresh baked dinner rolls from Albertson's to use as mini chili sized sliders.

Homemade honey butter and jalapeno corn bread:
http://neighborchicks.blogspot.com/2011/12/cinnamon-honey-butter.html

http://neighborchicks.blogspot.com/2012/06/jalapeno-cornbread.html

Recipe Inspired by:

http://www.momswhothink.com/easy-recipes/best-chili-recipe.html