Kris's Hot Damn No Ham Chili Chili

For about 10 years my second son was a vegetarian. During that period we both had to get a bit creative with cooking. I have to say that usually he was better than I was, although I didn't do badly. This was a chili recipe he came up with one day. I would like to say that he spent years developing it, but I think it actually occurred over the period of, say, one day. But it is the only one that I ever use. And it is awesome! I know I sound 14, but it is the only word I can think of to describe it. I have done some tweaking, but I will tell you what I did different after I give you his version.

The Ingredients

3 TBS. olive oil
1 large red onion chopped
2-4 jalapenos chopped, seeded for milder heat
8 tomatoes chopped
4 mushrooms chopped
8-10 cloves garlic minced
2 green bell peppers chopped
2 red bell peppers chopped
2 16 oz. cans black beans
2 16 oz. cans kidney beans
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 TBS. chili powder
2 TBS. cumin
1TBS. cinnamon
1/2 bar of chocolate...like a Hershey's bar
Any other spices like oregano, basil, red pepper flakes...anything you prefer

Heat oil in the bottom of a large pot. Saute all the veggies until tender. Add some salt to get the flavor going. Add in the beans with juice, the tomato sauce, the tomato paste and simmer for 15 or 20 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer at least 3 hours. Good chili has to age! (Just like the rest of us.) Check often for heat. You can always add more peppers and chili powder if you like to 4 alarm. You can add water if it gets to thick.

OK, here's what I did that was just a bit different. I added a pound of ground beef and half of the red and green peppers. And I had leftover roasted jalapeno and poblano peppers from the salsa verde from an earlier post, so I used those. I only used 3 tablespoons of chili powder...1 was chipotle chili powder and the other 2 were regular. And I only had 4 tomatoes so I also added a 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes. Other than those changes I did everything else the same. The chocolate and the cinnamon are key. Don't even think about leaving them out. As my son said...trust me on this one.

This really is a great versatile chili recipe. It really isn't important what type of beans you use. And you can control the heat to whatever your taste buds can handle. Add a batch of homemade cornbread and you really can't go wrong. We also like to add sour cream, grated cheese, and tortilla chips our individual servings. With fall approaching we will be definitely chowing down on this often. Enjoy!