Anna's Chili

I had been making chili for years, tweaking it along the way. Then I moved to Texas and was semi-forced into entering a workplace chili competition...long story. This was pretty intimidating because this is Texas, people! I was blown away when it won and started to believe in my recipe a little bit. It's one of those recipes that I make by "what tastes right" and haven't monitored the amounts I use until I decided to type it up here. I love to make this meal on days when I don't have a lot of time to cook and want to make something filling. Enjoy!

Anna's Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground beef (or ground turkey for leaner chili)
• 2 T vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1-3 jalapenos, deseeded and chopped fine
• Salt
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 5 garlic cloves
• 2-4 chipotle chiles to taste, diced
• 1 28oz can petite diced tomatoes, with juice
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 2 15oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 15oz cans pinto or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 c frozen corn
• 2 T adobo sauce from can of chipotle chiles, or to taste

Optional garnishes:

• sour cream
• shredded cheese
• Fritos corn chips (to make the ever-popular regional favorite "Corn Chip Pie")

Directions:

1. In a large stock pot over med-hi heat, brown the ground beef or turkey. Set browned meat aside and drain off fat.
2. Add oil to the pan. Heat over med-hi heat until oil is shimmering. Add onions, jalapenos, and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder and cumin, toast for about 60 seconds.
3. Add garlic and chipotle chiles. Saute for 30 sec or until fragrant. Add tomatoes with juice and red wine vinegar. Stir until combined and beginning to simmer.
4. Add beans and corn. Taste for heat. Add adobo sauce to taste. I used a whopping 2 T of it. We like it spicy around here. :)
5. Add salt at the end to taste and to round out flavor.
6. Spoon into bowls and top with sour cream and shredded cheese. Serve hot.

*Optional: Corn Chip Pie- Place a handful of corn chips in the bottom of a bowl. Spoon chili over top of chips. Top with cheese and sour cream. For those uninitiated, this may sound like a strange combination. I may have even scorned it when I first moved to south Texas. But oh. my. goodness. delicious.