Chili

I made Chili last night. This isn't the only way I make Chili, it just happens to be the style of Chili I wanted at the time. Of course there are a million ways chili can be made. Hot dog sauce? Beans or no beans? Ground beef or steak or pork? Tomato based or white chili? It goes on and on.

And of course there are people out there that are going to argue that their style of chili is the genuine thing and all other chili recipes are junk. Those people are closed minded and will be discussed no further.

Method

Starting off with some jalapenos, smoked jalapeno paste, onions, and garlic.

Nice can of crushed tomatoes.

Cored and seeded the jalapenos.

View of the chipotle paste. You can also buy the whole ones and chop them up yourself (the can).

Chopped up the jalapenos and a look at the spices I used.

Diced onions always go in first. Sauteed them in a bit of olive oil.

Added the jalapenos once the onions have cooked for about five minutes.

Once the onions and peppers have broken down a bit, I made a "well" for the garlic.

Added the now chopped garlic to the "well" and let it cook for about 45 seconds. The second you smell that good garlicky smell, it's time to add the ground beef.

Beef goes in and I start to break it up with my wooden spoon.

I also add the first round of spices: cumin, paprika, smoked paprika, black pepper, and chili powder.

Brown the ground beef and continue to break it down.

Once the beef is almost crispy, add the crushed tomatoes.

After the beef and tomatoes are incorporated, I put in 3 tablespoons of the chipotle paste.

Cut the heat to low and simmer for at least half an hour.

Time to check your seasoning (it needed salt) and wait... Where are the beans???

Since I have some one in my home who is on a Keto diet, I add beans separately. Nice soaked black beans with a sprinkle of cumin.

In this batch, I also added a 15 ounce can of tomato sauce and a quarter cup of Frank's Red Hot© for its vinegary zip. The end result was a mid-spicy chili.