Anna Jane Hays Amazing Chili

Chop one onion, one red pepper, one green pepper. (Do not dice, these should be chopped onions and peppers.)

In a large frying pan, saute in olive oil. Adding onions first, until they get a little translucent and then adding the chopped peppers, until they get a little soft. Do not brown! And, if you’re feeling a little adventurous, sprinkle some cumin on the onions when they first start to cook.

With a slotted spoon transfer onions and pepper into a large red creuset or other large stove top pot (even a pasta pot will do).

In a large frying pan, saute in olive oil, two pounds of hamburger meat (slightly lean), until brown, separating the meat, so it’s in tiny pieces.

Add cooked hamburger, also with a slotted spoon, trying not to add the oil from the cooked hamburger or olive oil) to creuset. Pour in One Large Can of Canned Tomatoes, they can be in tomato sauce, but not in tomato puree. And two cans of Vegetarian Baked Beans. (Drain a little of the liquid out of the baked bean cans before adding.)

Add two teaspoons of ground cumin and sprinkle two teaspoons of chili caribe on the mixture, stirring it in. (Chili caribe is a lot like that red hot pepper flakes you use for garnishing pizza and works just fine! Available at any market. Should be the red and yellow chili flakes, not chili powder!)

Cook on a low to medium flame, stirring occasionally, but be sure to scrape the bottom, for one to two hours.

(Make sure it stays a little liquid, as it cooks, add another half a can of tomatoes if needed. Or you can toss in a cup of water...)

Depending on how spicy you like it, add more chili pepper flakes. Sometimes we even add a little jalapeno pepper (either fresh or Mezzetta). Five minutes before serving, add one teaspoon of white sugar and stiff and cook for five minutes longer.

Completely delicious. And I say to all other chili cookers, bring it on!

AE