Chili is a staple around my house in the winter. I have to make my 17-month-old stop eating it! My husband likes his chili with some heat, but after I had our daughter, I could not handle spicy foods very well. I created a recipe that had just the right amount of heat for us all to enjoy. My husband says it has more flavor than any chili he has ever tasted. Try it out and let me know how you like it.
Here is the recipe:
- 2 lbs of ground beef
- 2 medium yellow onions
- 2 medium bell peppers
- 1 tbsp of diced garlic
- 2 15oz cans of tomato sauce
- 1 6oz can of tomato paste
- 2 10.5 oz cans of beef broth
- 1 packet of mild taco seasoning
- 2 cans of chili beans (mild) – if you want more heat you can use the hot can
- 2 cans of kidney beans
- 1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
Dice your onions and bell peppers and saute them over medium-high heat with a tbsp of garlic. Saute for about 5 mins and then add ground beef to the pan with the taco seasoning and cook until done. I add a little salt and pepper at this point to taste.
Drain the grease from the pan and then dump everything into the slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients. *IMPORTANT* When you add your beans, do NOT drain the chili beans. Dump it all right into the slow cooker. The juices from the chili beans help add the heat. I do drain the sauce out of the kidney beans and fire roasted diced tomatoes. However, if you like more heat, then do not drain the fire roasted tomatoes. It will give the chili a nice kick.
Give everything a good stir and set on LOW for 4 hours or High for 2 hours.
I find that the beef broth really enhances the flavor of the chili and the mild chili beans provide enough heat for my husband to be satisfied and I can still tolerate it.
Top with sour cream, cheese, and whatever else you like. My family has always mixed peanut butter with syrup to use for sandwiches to go with our chili. My husband says that he has never heard of that until he married me. Does anyone else’s family do this or are we just oddballs? If not, what do you have with your chili? I have heard that the Midwest likes to make cinnamon rolls with their chili. I kind of want to try it. Leave a comment and let me know what you make with your chili!
I would love to hear what you think if you try this recipe and/or your pictures of your finished dish.
Until next time,
Hummingbird & Housewife