There is no better meal in the fall and winter than a big bowl of chili. Most beef chili recipes use a premixed chili powder for seasoning but this recipe shows you how to mix your own. A variety of dried chili powders can be found at local Mexican groceries or even health food stores. Places like Whole Foods even sell dried whole peppers that you can grind for your personal use. The best way to grind whole dried peppers is to use an electric coffee grinder. I would recommend having separate grinders for spices and coffee. I'm not sure how chili flavored coffee tastes, and I don't think I want to find out any time soon.
Ingredients
• 3 pounds ground beef
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1 15 oz can red pinto beans
• 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 large onions, diced finely
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced finely
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons ancho chile powder
• 3 tablespoons pasilla chile powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons cumin, ground
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, ground
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 chipotle peppers, seeded and chopped in adobo sauce
Directions
In a large pot, heat the brown the ground beef, making sure to continuously break up large pieces with a spoon or spatula. Once browned drain fat off of ground beef. Return the ground beef to the pot.
Add onions and green bell pepper to the ground beef and cook over medium heat with stirring until the onions are soft and translucent.
Add the garlic, ancho chile powder, pasilla chile powder, cumin, sugar, thyme, cayenne powder, oregano, and black pepper. Heat over medium heat with stirring for 12 minutes.
Pour in the beef broth, pinto beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, cider vinegar and chipotle peppers. Stir to mix well. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 2 hours before serving or refrigerating.
Cook's Note: Most chili recipes with beef have you leave the fat in the chili then remove it once you have refrigerated the chili overnight. You can also do that with this beef chili recipe, but if you are serving the chili right away, you should go ahead and drain the fat off.
