All-American Chili

I made a big old pot of chili over the weekend and have been having it for lunch this week. Love it! I love it with cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, crescent rolls, etc. I love chili! Any-who, no pic for this one, I mean chili is chili, but I wanted to share the recipe anyway. I changed a few minor things, so below is my version of the recipe from Cooking Light. This didn't have quite enough heat for us, so another jalapeño or some other sort of heat will be added the next time I make this.

6 oz. pork sausage

2 cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped red/orange/yellow bell pepper

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb. ground sirloin

1 jalapeño pepper, chopped

2 tbsp. chili powder

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. ground cumin

3 tbsp. tomato paste (or 1.5 tbsp of the double concentrated stuff in a tube)

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. salt

2 bay leaves

1-1/4 cups beer

2 (28-oz.) cans whole tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped

1 (15-oz.) can kidney beans, drained

1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained

1/2 cup shredded cheese

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, onion and the next 4 ingredients (onion through jalapeño) to pan; cook 8 minutes or until sausage and beef are browned, stirring to crumble.

Add chili powder and the next 7 ingredients (chili powder through bay leaves), and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in beer, tomatoes and beans; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaves. Sprinkle each serving with cheese (and your other favorite toppings) and enjoy!