Springfield Chili

I love chili! I could seriously eat it everyday! Well today seemed like the perfect day for a nice, cozy bowl of chili. I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light. I added a dried chipotle pepper for a little smokiness and some heat and a little cayenne pepper for some more heat. Oh, and I got to use my dutch oven again! Score!

1 bacon slice, finely chopped - I used ham instead
2 1/4 cups finely chopped onion, divided (about 2 medium)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 (12-ounce) can beer (such as Budweiser)
3 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1 dried chipotle pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Cook ham in a large Dutch oven over medium heat 5 minutes or until browned. Stir in 2 cups onion; cover and cook until onion is tender (about 5 minutes). Uncover and stir in garlic; cook for 1 minute.

Increase heat to medium-high; add ground beef to pan. Cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add beer; cook until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup (about 7 minutes). Stir in chili powder and next 7 ingredients (through tomato sauce). Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in beans; cook 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

We topped our chili with some shredded mozzarella cheese (normally I like to use cheddar, but this was all we had, and hey...cheese is cheese) and sour cream. We like to eat our chili with some tortilla chips too.