Real Chili

Tonight’s dinner was a good one and worth sharing. Jon would have loved it – get up here to New York, Jon! I made real chili! Okay, I don’t know how traditional and “real” my chili is, because I don’t think traditional chili should even have beans in it… um, or be filled with peppers but  I’d say it’s more traditional than one made with ground beef. I even made it in the crock pot so my life was super easy. So here we go!

Traditional Chili

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 pounds beef stew meat

1 large onion, diced

3 bell peppers, diced (any color, I used 1 red and 2 green)

2 cloves garlic, minced

14.5 ounce can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 chili seasoning packet

14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes with juice (I used one with jalapeños in it)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used traditional Cholula)

Directions: Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Using paper towels, pat the stew meat so it is very dry. Sear meat 2 minutes on each side. To the crock pot, add the onion, peppers, garlic, and beans. Add the seared meat on top. Tops with seasoning, diced tomatoes, Worestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Cook on low for 6 hours. After 4 hours of cooking, shred the meat. Return the shredded meat back to the crock pot and cook for the last 2 hours.

If you make this, promise me you’ll serve it with cornbread!

Because what is better than chili and cornbread in the fall?