Beef Chili with Kidney Beans and Bacon

Chili and football go hand in hand, in my opinion. The perfect thing about this chili is it gets better as it sits. It can be made on Friday or Saturday and be ready to enjoy during the football game. Because you wouldn't want to miss a minute of football Sunday, would you? 

You can make this as spicy as you want. If you are using an inexpensive chili powder, you are going to end up with less heat. This is my mom's recipe and hers is a lot spicier than mine. We figured out that it was the chili powder. Hers is from Penzey's and it apparently makes a huge difference in the heat department. No worries though, add more cayenne pepper at the end to give it more heat. Overall it is a very changeable recipe. Throw in whatever floats your boat. 

What kind of toppings do you like on your chili? I love to load it up with saltine crackers and cheese. I always get the look of "are you eating crackers or chili?".

Ingredients:
5 strips bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium white onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 rounded tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound ground beef
15 ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
14 ounce can tomato puree
14 ounce can diced tomatoes

Instructions

1. Heat a medium heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crispy. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease. Leave the bacon in the pan. Add the onion, garlic and spices. Cook until the onions start to soften and brown slightly, about 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the beef, breaking it up. Continue to cook the beef until there is no pink. 
2. Add the beans, tomato puree and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Remove the lid and continue to simmer for another 1 hour, until dark, rich and thickened slightly.
3. Enjoy with a cold beer and Packer domination.