Chili Recipe

Please forgive my photography! We always serve chili with rice around our house. It stretches the chili out so it serves us longer.

Okay, so I adapted a recipe out of Cooking Light Magazine. Honestly, it is pretty good. It tastes better the 2nd day after it has been sitting in the fridge, freezes well too and tastes even better after it has been frozen.

Here goes:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 pkg. Turkey Sausage (don't get Polly-O stuff is gross)
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 Tbs. chili powder
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. ground cumin
3 Tbs. tomato paste
1 Tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
2 bay leaves
2 (28 oz.) cans whole tomatoes, undrained, coursely chopped
2 cans (15oz) red kidney beans, drained (I like Bush's brand)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Remove casings from turkey sausage.
Chop your veggies
Measure out all your spices/seasonings.
Drain your kidney beans.
Open your tomato cans
Be careful when you add the tomato paste and seasonings cause it'll burn!

Here goes:
Heat large pot over medium high heat. This is when I add a little olive oil. Add sausage, onion, bell pepper, garlic, sirloin, jalapeno pepper to your pot cook around 8 minutes or until sausage and beef are browned. It makes your house smell fantastic. Add Chili powder, brown sugar cumin, tomato paste, oregano, black pepper, salt, and bay leaves. Stir quickly add tomatoes and beans. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Stir occasionally. Uncover and cook for 30 more minutes. Take out bay leaves. Sprinkle each serving of chili with cheddar cheese.