My Chili Recipe

Making a pot of chili is a great way to stay warm on a cold winter night. My chili is extremely easy and a bit different from the traditional. I don't add hot peppers or a lot of spices. It's very simple, like the rest of my cooking, but it has been a big hit around my house.

I tend to eye measurements, so adjust to taste. The recipe below makes about 4 servings, but I have doubled and even tripled it for larger groups.

Ingredients:
1.25 lean ground beef (I use 96% fat free)
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained
1 16 oz.can pinto beans, drained
2 14.5 oz. cans petite diced tomatoes, no salt added, mostly drained
1 16 oz. bag frozen mixed pepper strips (green, red, yellow - or use 1 fresh of each color cut into strips)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Directions:
- Brown ground beef in a skillet
- Put all remaining ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil
- Add drained browned beef to the rest, stir well
- Reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally

And that's it. The longer it simmers the better the flavors mingle. Using frozen peppers and canned tomatoes makes it really simple when you don't have a lot of prep time and it's easy to substitute fresh when time allows.