Beef and Bean Chili

Bret and I have an unspoken rule that no matter what our weekend plans may involve, once football season starts, Bret is always unavailable if there is a Pats game on.  I usually join him in the living room to watch the games (with my laptop to write some blog posts) and if I'm feeling up to it, I'll make dishes that are easy to eat on the couch in front of the TV.  This past Sunday, I decided to make Bret a huge pot of chili, which is perfect football-friendly food.  Plus, it gave me an excuse to use my Dutch oven, which may be my new favorite toy in the kitchen.

I did a quick search on Epicurious and found this straightforward recipe for Beef and Bean Chili.  After a trip to Whole Foods, I pushed Bret out of the kitchen and got to work.

First, I chopped up two large red onions.

Then I washed and dried two jalapeno chilies, along with one long green chile pepper.

I chopped up all three peppers with the seeds and set it aside.

I then roughly chopped up six large cloves of garlic and also set this aside.

I measured out my seasonings - 1/4 cup chili powder, 2 tablespoons of ground cumin, and 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika.

My final step was to drain two cans of kidney beans and also set that aside.

With all of the prep work done, I got cooking!  I warmed up my Dutch oven on the stove at medium-high heat with two tablespoons of olive oil.  When the pan was warmed up, I added the onions and sauteed them until they were translucent.

I then added the chopped peppers and garlic and sauteed these with the onions for a few minutes.

I then added about two pounds of ground beef.  My beef was a bit leaner than the recipe called for but I wasn't too worried about the substitution.  I browned the beef with the vegetables and used a fork to help break up the beef.

I then added my spices and mixed it into the beef and vegetable mixture.

At this point, the kitchen started to smell fantastic!  I then mixed in a 28-ounce can of diced San Marzano tomatoes with the tomato juices.

I also added the drained cans of kidney beans.

And then I added my final ingredient - fourteen ounces of beef broth.  With each ingredient, I thoroughly mixed the ingredients in the pot.  I left the pot on the stove at medium-high heat and I stirred it from time to time. 

When the chili started to boil, I reduced the heat on the oven to low and let the chili simmer with the cover on for about an hour and checked on it to give it a stir every now and again.  While I let the chili simmer, I baked and cooled a pan of cornbread (blog post to come), which was perfect with the chili.

At game time, Bret and I sat down to a hearty bowl of beef and been chili.  The chili was definitely spicy and packed a serious punch.  Bret added some shredded cheddar cheese to his bowl to provide some relief to the spice but I preferred mine just the way it was.  While the game was a big disappointment, at least we had the chili to comfort us!

What do you like to make for those lazy football Sundays?  Also, have you voted yet for Boston's Best Local Blogger?  Voting is open until December 22nd and I would appreciate your vote here!