Growing up I was not a huge chili fan but as I have gotten older I have learn to really love it, especially as we move into colder fall weather. This year our group here decided to participant in a local chili cook off and this meant coming up with a homemade recipe that really kicked butt.
For the base of this recipe we actually used a lot of the same ingredients we use in our Beef Mexican Bowls. I wanted something that focused on the beef we have here because our Grass Fed and Finished Ground Beef from Wholly Cow has phenomenal flavor. To add a pop of color and get those vegetables in, we added lots of different colored peppers to the mixture. The jalapenos and spices add enough heat to build and give it a kick without burning off your taste buds. If you are not a fan of spice you may want to omit the jalapenos and decrease the chili powder and chipotle chili powder. We included fire roasted tomatoes because I personally like the extra flavor they bring but you can always use just diced tomatoes.
The order you cook in is really important. Cooking your vegetables first will make sure they are done where they are not too crunchy. Then browning the meat will insure it is cooked all the way through. You want to add the spices next so they really coat your vegetables and meat and seals the flavor in. This helps it from getting diluted when you add the tomatoes, beans and broth next. Making sure you bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 30 minutes will make sure all the flavors cook together and the beans soften. You can definitely simmer longer. The balsamic vinegar at the end helps to balance out the acidic flavor of the chili.
We have found with this recipe that if it sits a couple days in the refrigerator after making it the flavor just gets better. It is like all the flavors have more of a chance to marinate and blend. Hope you love it as much as us. Let me know your thoughts!
KNeticx original recipe
