David's Awesome Chili - Recreated by Tom

David's Awesome Chili - Recreated by Tom

A few evenings ago David stopped by for football watching and dinner.  While we were hanging out in the kitchen, he mentioned that he had made an awesome chili that he really liked.  I asked him what was in it and whether he had taken pictures to put on Barbara's blog.  He told me the ingredients, but alas, his answer was no, he had taken no pictures.

So armed with remembering most of his ingredients plus my own knowledge of chili making, I set out to try to replicate what David had made a few nights before.  The recipe that I made has the basics of what David used plus a few of my own to enhance the flavors.  The only major difference was that he used a chipotle spiced mixture and I used ancho chilies.  My mistake, as only after I had made it did Barbara remind me that he had used chipotle flavoring and not ancho.  His was awesome, but mine was pretty darned good too!

So here goes.  This is a great meal for cold evenings like we are now experiencing.  It also makes a great leftover.

Ingredients
8-10 servings

1 lb ground chicken
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion chopped
4-5 carrots chopped
12 oz frozen corn
2 large jalapeno peppers chopped
1 can black beans
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tbs minced garlic
1 package chili mix (I used McCormick's, but any brand will do.)
1 package taco mix (I used McCormick's, but any brand will do.)
1 tbs ancho chili (or chipotle for David's variant)
1 bottle dark beer or equivalent amount of water
2-3 tbs dark semi-sweet chocolate chips
2-3 tsp olive oil for sauteing
salt and pepper to taste

Dice the vegetables.

Saute in a large skillet over medium-high heat all of the chopped vegetables (onion, carrots, and jalapeno chilies) until they are soft and the onions are mostly translucent.  With about a minute to go, add the chopped garlic and saute.  Transfer the sauteed vegetables to the chili cooking pot.

Next brown the ground chicken and ground beef.  Once browned transfer the meats to the cooking pot minimizing any fat rendered during the browning.  A slotted spoon or spatula works well for this.

Now add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and all of the dry spices and seasoning mixes.  Stir these in and return to a low simmer.  The chili will be quite thick at this point, so this is a good time to add the bottle of dark beer, or water if you prefer.  I personally like using dark beer because I think it really brings out and accentuates the chili spices' tastes.  But water is just fine too.

Next add the semi-sweet chocolate chips to the mixture.  This adds a little "Mexican mole" touch to the chili and does sweeten the chili a little bit.

Bring everything back to a simmer and cook covered for at least an hour on a very low heat.  At least 30 minutes before you plan to serve the chili, add the beans and the corn and let them heat through thoroughly.

Serve with some grated cheddar cheese and corn chips.  This is a hearty one-dish meal.

Thanks David for sharing your recipe, and for letting me recreate it with some modifications.
              
             ---Tom