Chili, Really...

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of being apart, the ladies of Vintage Teal gathered for the weekly dinner to celebrate {what we hope} was our final "old man winter" meal.  We wanted to end this season of rain and snow...and more snow... with the quintessential cold weather meal... a big boiling pot of chili. j. doolittle was kind enough to host the evening at her place. Chili, served over sweet corn bread, with red wine and tea cookies for dessert. We caught up on all the latest in one another's lives, had a few good laughs and watched an episode of Lipstick Jungle, which I {b.duncan} had never seen. I would have to say, I will be adding this to my list of "soon to be owned DVDs."

Our favorite thing about serving chili is that it can literally feed a crowd. There are over a million ways to make this dish, so make it your own. I would have to say, our recipe could possibly win an award in a chili cook-off if we so desired, but rather, we will share this recipe with our readers and think up another one to beat you in next year's chili cook off :) Bon apetite!

Chili Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef or sirlion
2 tbsp olive oil
1 finely chopped onion
1 finely chopped bell pepper
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp kosher salt
1 can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
1/8 c sugar

|1.| In a skillet, brown the meat, seasoning with salt and pepper. Drain fat and set aside.

|2.| In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Combine onion, bell pepper, garlic and cook until onion is translucent.

|3.| Add beans to vegetable mixture and stir. Pour browned beef into large pot and begin to add chili powder,cumin, cayenne pepper, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir.

|4.| Simmer chili over medium heat about 20 minutes. Serve over large piece of sweet corn bread and top with cheese, sour cream and onions and enjoy!

Winter Chili

Happy Wednesday. <3*vT