Chili

Ingredients:

- 3 lbs lean ground chuck

- 1 1/2 lb ground sirloin

- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

- 3 medium onions, chopped

- 7 cloves garlic, minced

- 12 oz tomato paste

- 12 oz water (use tomato paste can)

- 2 cans Italian tomatoes (no salt added)

- 1 can Rotel (tomatoes and green chilies)

- 4 cans cannelloni beans, rinsed (can use great northern beans instead)

- 1 Tbsp. ground cumin

- 1 Tbsp. chili powder

- 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp dried oregano

- 2 tsp dried basil

- pepper to taste

Optionals:

- low fat/lite sour cream

- shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

- In a large stock pot over medium heat, brown the ground chuck and sirloin in the olive oil until no longer red/pink. Drain grease once done and put meat back into the pot.

- Add the remaining ingredients (but NOT the sour cream and cheese) and give it all a good stir. Simmer over low heat for 3 hours, stirring only occassionally.

- Serve with a sprinkling of cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

This was my very first attempt at making chili. Usually in our house Mike is the chili maker and he does a wonderful job! He uses a recipe in his head though, one that changes according to what's on hand at the time he's about to make it. So I set off on a hunt for a good chili recipe and found literally TONS of them out there. So I narrowed it down to a few and decided I liked bits and pieces of several. This is the result of my combination recipe. I was surprised at how good it was and my kids argued over which one liked it best. (my 10 year old ... aka miss picky ... and my 20 year old to be specific) The only thing they didn't like about this chili was that I put half of it up to freeze so we can have it again once Mike is home. I'm going to guess that this recipe would feed 10-12 or 5-6 with double servings. It's very filling and outside of mincing the garlic and chopping the onions, practically makes itself. Very simple and perfect for a cold day!