Midwestern Chili Recipe

Chili was one of the first meals that I really took to as a new home cook at the ripe old age of twelve. I had no fucking clue what I was doing. I knew there were beans and tomatoes and some beef and shit, but I figured it out on my own from there with relatively little help from my cooking teacher at the time, Food Network.

This is that chili, just a little grown up. You can mix and match your preferred chili bean into the recipe. I prefer kidney beans. There is also a call for a can of water later in the recipe to add some more liquid to the stewing process. If you have beef stock on hand, you can sub that in as well.

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Ingredients:

• ½ medium onion, diced
  
• 2 tbs tomato paste
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 2 15 oz cans of kidney beans
  
• 1 can diced tomatoes in tomato juice
  
• 1 lbs 80/20 Ground Beef
  
• Dash of Cayenne Pepper
  
• 1 tbs chili powder
  
• 2 tsps cumin
  
• 1 tsp white pepper
  
• Pinch of red chili flakes
  
• Salt
  
• Supplement the heat with your favorite hot sauce
  

1. Prepare your onion and garlic while you heat about 1 tbs of veggie oil in the bottom of a pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add your onion to the oil along with your red chili flakes. Allow to cook until onion is softened and begins to take on color. Then add your garlic, tomato paste, and spices. Allow to toast together for a few minutes until the tomato paste begins to darken.
   
2. Add ground beef to the pot. Salt the meat and then begin breaking it down into the spice mixture. Cook until browned, about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the water from both cans of beans, and add at once with the diced tomatoes. Do not drain the tomatoes.
   
3. Add 1 tomato can full of additional water to the pot, then stir to incorporate. Add your preferred hot sauce at this stage to incorporate further heat to your chili if desired.  Allow to stew while covered for as much as two hours on low heat to allow the flavors to come together.
   
4. Server with your favorite chili toppings.