Spicy Bean & Bacon Chili

Spicy Bean & Beef Chili

After a long couple weeks of teeter-tottering weather conditions and midterm exams, nothing hits the spot like a nice pot of spicy chili. But not just any chili, spicy bean & bacon chili! A mixture of nice smoked bacon, onions, green peppers, ground beef, tomatoes, kidney beans, and black beans with the kick from a few Serrano chile’s. It’s sure to spice up your weekend and served with a few corn muffins might even be the perfect meal.

Ingredients
2 medium yellow onions (medium dice)
1 green bell pepper (medium dice)
2 serrano chile’s finely minced (keep the seeds for heat)
2-3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
6 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
6.oz can of tomato paste
15.oz can of kidney beans (drained)
15.oz can of black beans (keep the liquid to help thicken up the chili)
15.oz can of tomatoes (I buy the chili tomatoes with jalepeno peppers mixed in)
1/4-1/2 cup water (save for thinning out the chili if you need to)
1lb ground beef (I use 80/20 because its the cheapest but you can use whatever you want)
1/2 package of your favorite smoked bacon (cut into 1/4 inch strips)

Directions

1. In a large dutch oven or heavy bottom pot, render the bacon pieces until they are just a bit crispy around the edges (approx. 5 minutes on medium high heat)
2. Take out the bacon and set on paper towel to absorb excess fat and reserve for later, drain the fat from the pot (I suggest keeping it for some other use later, its mighty tasty)

3. Add the ground beef and brown over medium-high heat, making sure you scrape up all those yummy bacon bits off the bottom of the pot (approx. 5-8 minutes)

4. Add the onions and green peppers and saute until onions are translucent (approx. 4 minutes)

5. Sprinkle the chili powder and cumin mixture over the beef mixture and stir in
6. Add the Serrano chile’s and garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes

7. Add the bacon, tomatoes, and both cans of beans to the pot and stir and let simmer until the chili comes back up to temperature

8. Add the can of tomato paste and stir in thoroughly
9. Add the water if you think the chili looks too thick
10. Salt and pepper to taste and let simmer for at least an hour or up to 3 hours (if you can wait that long)