Easy Chili

The Original 

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ground beef 1 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder 1 clove garlic, minced 1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 4 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeno chile peppers 1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, undrained salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large saucepan over medium high heat, combine the ground beef, onion and bell peppers. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain excess fat.
2.	Add the chili powder, garlic, bay leaf, cumin, chile peppers, tomatoes, tomato sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in the beans and heat through.

(click here to see the original webpage, as well as other tips and suggestions: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?RecipeID=15401&origin=detail&&Servings=6 )


Tips:
- Don't be afraid to salt! Season to taste.
- The secret is CUMIN. I know not everyone has cumin, but trust, do not pass on the cumin! You can follow the instructions and add little by little as you go. I added a LOT more cumin than the recipe asked for.
- Cover and simmer for as long as you like. I made mine at midnight so I let it simmer for like 2 hours. It's okay to let it sit but there's always the risk of food spoilage, so I'd suggest you don't do what I did (I let it sit overnight because I didn't cook my beans soft enough oops) and just pack it up into the fridge. The flavours will still intensify when the chili is in the fridge.
- Buy some good ole dinner rolls and slap some garlic butter on them, then toast them up to eat with your chili. Crackers are good too but then there's no garlic butter factor...
- If you have don't have tomato sauce, or you don't wanna buy any, but you have little cans of tomato paste lying around, use it! I just used a small 4.5 oz can of tomato paste and diluted it with 2 waters using the same can. You don't need to do mix it separately. Just throw it in. After a good little mixing, and then 1 1/2 hours of simmering and occasional stirring, the paste is bound to have broken down.
- I freaking love Tim Hortons' chili and I couldn't figure out what I was missing until I'd cooked the whole thing: MUSHROOMS! I know what I'm gonna add the next time I make this... (:

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