Touchdown Chili

For Super Bowl Sunday, we decided to kick back and make something easy to eat before the Niners and the Ravens take the field.  Below is the recipe we made and it is a keeper.

Ingredients: 

- 2lbs ground beef
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 28oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 4oz. can diced green chilies
- 1 15oz. can tomato sauce
- 1 bottle or can of beer (12oz.)
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pepper hot sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 or 4 carrots, peeled and sliced (optional)

Directions:

1.  Place the ground beef, onion and garlic in a large sauce pan and gently saute over medium heat.  Stir to crumble the beef and cook until the  beef is no longer pink and the onions are tender.  Drain off the fat and water, and return the beef mixture to the pan.  Combine the chili powder, basil and cumin, then sprinkle over the beef.  Cook and stir to coat the beef and toast the spices a little.

2.  Pour in the tomatoes, green chilies, tomato sauce, beer and vinegar.  Bring to a boil.  Mix in the brown sugar, hot pepper sauce, black pepper and carrots.  Transfer the chili into a crock pot and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Cook's Notes:

We have made a lot of different chili recipes and this one rates up there with the best.  It was easy to make and absolutely delicious.  We used Tabasco sauce for the "hot pepper sauce," and we added carrots to the original recipe.  We served the chili with grated cheese and sour cream.