Beef and Lamb Chipotle Chili

We made chili tonight at the Cafe.  I found a recipe for Chipotle Chili and made a few changes to it with the items I had on hand.  Try serving it with some sour cream and grated cheese.  This recipe is a keeper.


Beef and Lamb Chipotle Chili


Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 2 TB bacon fat (or olive oil)
- 1 small onion, minced
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 small can of chipotle pepper(with seeds) finely minced
- 1 TB adobo sauce from chipotle can
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 12oz package of frozen squash (defrosted)
- 1 16oz bag frozen corn
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 bottle of beer
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 can (14.5oz) crushed tomatoes


Directions:
1. Brown meat with fat in pan.  Drain the meat and set aside.
2. While the meat is browning, finely chop the onions and garlic.  Cook chopped onions, garlic, chipotle pepper, chili powder and squash in the same pan the meat was browned in for 7-8 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer this mixture into a large pot.
3. Place the browned meat into the same large pot.  Add the frozen corn, tomato, beef stock and beer into the pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer. After 30 minutes, taste the chili and adjust seasoning to your  taste.  Cook the chili for 30 more minutes and then serve.
4.  Add sour cream and grated cheese to the chili, if desired.


Cook's Notes:  This is a variation on a recipe I saw on a cooking blog.  I substituted frozen squash for fresh squash, and I added the corn.  I also used a can of chipotle peppers and I minced the peppers before adding them to the  pot.  If you do not like lamb, you could just use ground beef.  I used lamb because the original recipe called for it and I have a pounds of frozen ground lamb left from a 1/2 a lamb we bought last year.  The chili was spicy, but not too hot