Ben's Chili

This recipe is only an approximation since I don't really follow a given recipe but usually just build off of a few key ingredients ... many of the people who have had this chili outside of my immediate family have stated that the chili they were used to was often much thinner and involved fewer ingredients (namely the vegetables). This recipe is my own adaptation of the chili I grew up with which was even thicker and chunkier than mine (almost stew like). Love it or hate it, this is my favorite and I stand by it. (makes a decent size pot full, however many servings that is)

Ingredients

• Peppers, diced
  
• usually 2-3 bell peppers of varying colors (I like a good mix of colors)
• A good handful of jalapeno/serano/banana/wax peppers (4+)
• Meat
• 1 pound hot pork sausage
• 1 pound ground beef
• Other Vegetables, diced
  
• 1 large onion
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 can dark red kidney beans
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 2 cloves garlic
  
• Seasoning
• 2+ tbsp chili powder
• several good dashes garlic powder
• 2+ dashes oregano
• dash cayenne pepper
• dash red chili flakes
• 1+ tbsp sugar
• couple glugs white wine
  
• salt and pepper
  

Steps

1. brown all meat in large stock pot; remove and set aside
   
2. sweat vegetables (minus beans and tomatoes) with salt until tender
3. add rest of seasonings; heat until fragrant
   
4. return meat to stock pot with tomatoes and wine; cook for at least 1 hour, 2+ is better
   
5. aprox. 30 minutes prior to serving add beans. stir to combine and leave alone util ready to serve
6. serve in large bowls with a dollop of sour cream and/or shredded cheddar cheese and a square of corn bread on the side
   

Thoughts

I can think of few things better than a cold day, a big bowl of chili and some good football on the TV. I have made the same basic chili with different amounts of veggies and seasoning depending on who I am making it for and it has turned out good each time. Personally I like it fairly thick (enough to hold the spoon up in the middle of the pot) but with a decent amount of "Chili Juice" to keep things sloppy. The peppers and vegetables give the sauce a great taste but if you prefer a smoother chili just dice the vegetables smaller or run them through a food processor.