Chili!

Chili is a very personal food.  It's all about what you like.  And, as I recently learned, to call anything the best indicates there is no room for improvement.  While my taco dip recipe, a.k.a. Toxic Dyp, is truly the best ever and can not be improved upon, I rarely think that of any recipe especially one so controversial as chili.  For me, there are a few key factors that make up any great recipe, and ease as well as likelihood of ingredients already being in your kitchen are two of the most important.

With that in mind, this is the best homemade chili recipe I've tried.  It's everything I put into my chili but the secret is the amount of spices plus one very important lesson, do not drain the bean liquid or the beef fat.  As with any recipe that calls for a lot of spices, this will be better the next day.

1/2 lb package of dried black beans or red beans
1 lb of 80/20 free-range, anti-biotic and hormone free ground beef or Venison
1 large yellow onion
2 T. paprika
1 T. garlic powder
1 T. cumin
1 T. oregano
1/2 t. cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt: 1/2 t.

1-2 T. Ketchup (optional, my new secret ingredient)

1 large Onion, diced
1-2 large Green Bell Peppers, diced
1-2 T. Olive Oil

Cook beans according to directions.  Do not drain the beans!

In a skillet, brown the beef but do not drain the fat!  If you are using Venison, it won't have any fat-you will need to add 2 Tablespoons of cooking oil or butter and saute the onion first. Cook the onions in with the beef. When the beef is done, add all your spices and brown for about 1 minute. Combine the beef, onions, and spices with the beans.  Add the ketchup.  In a separate skillet, saute the green peppers and onions with the olive oil for just a few minutes.

Lately I've been enjoying the heck out of this recipe on top of spaghetti and all covered in cheddar cheese and diced raw onions with Cholula hot sauce.

And just recently discovered chili is a great way to use up chip shards from the bottom of the bags, add shredded cheddar and a dollop of sour cream for bliss.  Cholula for Nirvana.