Award Winning Chili

Superbowl Sunday our church always has a chili cook off. This year I won 2 awards but I won't tell you what they were. I will tell you I made a lot of chili and not one ounce was left. Here's what we need.

1. 1/3 cup minced garlic; 1 cup finely minced green peppers, 2 chopped onions;
2. 4 TBSP chili powder; 3 TBSP Paprika; 1 tsp ground cumin
3. 26 0z beef stock; 12 oz beer (I used Shiner Bock); 20 oz green enchilada sauce; 6 oz crushed tomatoes and 6 oz condensed crushed tomatoes.
4. 1 lb coarse ground chuck (ask your butcher); 1 lb ground pork and 1 lb ground Italian Pork
5. Salt to taste; 4 TBSP mesa or all purpose flour ( add to desired thickness) pinch of brown sugar to taste and a pinch of cinnamon to taste.

First chop your onions (put them in the freezer for 30 minutes, before chopping, to cut down on the tears) and green peppers and combine with minced garlic. In a chili pot (a big one) brown the meat and drain and add onions, green peppers and garlic. Then place beef stock, beer, green enchilada sauce and crushed tomatoes in the pot. Add the Paprika, chili powder, ground cumin and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Add salt to taste and add the flour. Start with a TBSP and then add a tsp to desired thickness. Let it simmer another 15 minutes and add a pinch of brown sugar and cinnamon to taste if desired. But be really careful with this. When I say a pinch I mean a pinch. Let it simmer another 10 minutes. If you want it hotter you can always add some cayenne pepper, but I'd be very careful with this too.

This is a great chili if I do say so myself and myself does say so. My family loved it and while it was cooking they were drooling for a taste. The aroma filled the house in a wonderful way. But when I added the cinnamon, oh my goodness, you wanted to slap yourself silly to get at it. It wasn't disappointing either. Give it a try and send your comments.