So, Fall is quickly approaching, which means lots of cooking – homemade soups, spice cakes, cheesecakes… Oh, how we love fall!!!

When we first feel the wonderful chill of fall, we usually start off the season of sweater weather with our chili.

 

Ingredients:

1 large Vidalia or sweet yellow onion, diced

2 medium jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced

1 green bell pepper, diced (feel free to use any color of bell pepper, if you fancy)

1 chipotle pepper (in can with Adobo sauce), diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp of butter

2 15oz cans of tomato sauce

1 14.5oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes (break up by hand as they go in the sauce)

2  Tbsp of chili powder

1 Tbsp of cumin

1 Tbsp of cocoa powder (we know, it sounds crazy – but think Mole sauce)

1 pound of ground chuck or ground beef

1 pound of steak (we prefer sirloin), cubed

S & P to taste

 

 

Directions:

Start by melting the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onions, peppers, garlic and sweat down until onions are translucent.

Add both cans of tomato sauce and liquid from the whole tomatoes. Add tomatoes one at a time, breaking each one up by hand over chili.

Add spices and cook sauce over low heat for one hour to combine flavors.

In a separate pan, brown ground beef, drain if desired, and add to chili.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to saute pan and heat to medium-high heat. Add cubes of steak, in batches, and brown on all sides (cook meat to about medium to medium-well).

Add steak to chili. Continue to cook over low heat for another 30 minutes to an hour to let flavors penetrate meats.

Voila – you’re done!!! Enjoy with cornbread, and topped with cheese and sour cream to take out some of the bite if needed ;)

***If you like it spicy (and we do) – try adding a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce, add more chili powder (in teaspoon increments), or add you favorite pepper into the mix off the top!