Baby It's Chili Outside

Nothing pairs better with cold weather than chili and football. That being said Rob and I cooked a big pot of his famous chili yesterday while watching the Ravens vs Broncos game. His recipe is really easy and I can honestly say it is the best chili I have ever eaten. It is slightly sweet, a little salty, a bit spicy, and it always hits the spot. To go with our chili we decided to tweak an existing recipe for beer bread that I had found on Food.com. We had tried making the bread a few weeks ago but unfortunately it was lacking a lot of flavor. To correct this we decided to increased the amount of sugar and used a darker beer than recommended. It was delicious and was a perfect addition to the chili! 

Rob's Famous Chili 

Getting all of our ingredients ready.

Melt butter in a large pot. Add onion and bell pepper. 

Cook until browned and tender.

In a separate skillet cook bacon until lightly browned. 

Once the bacon is cooked drain off the bacon grease 

and add bacon to the large pot with the onions and bell pepper. 

Add the garlic and cook and stir until fragrant. 

Add the ground beef.

Stir and cook until lightly browned- the meat will still be slightly pink. 

Add the crushed tomatoes, fire roasted tomatoes, brewed coffee, dark beer.

Add the dark brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, spices. 

Finally add the light red kidney beans. 

Stir chili until everything is incorporated thoroughly.

Bring chili to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.

Simmer on low heat until it thickens and reduces- about 1 hour

Rob's Famous Chili

Makes 4-5 Servings

Ingredients:

2 tb Butter

1 Bell Pepper- diced

1 Onion- diced

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Pepper

4 Strips Bacon- diced

1 ½ tsp Garlic- minced

1lb Ground Beef

1 14.5oz can Fire Roasted Tomatoes

1 14.5oz can Crushed Tomatoes

1 cup brewed Dark Roast Coffee

6oz Dark Beer

1/3 cup Dark Brown Sugar

1 tb Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp Oregano

1 tsp Coriander

½ tsp Cumin

3 tb Paprika

½ tsp Cayenne, or more to taste

1 14.5oz can Light Red Kidney Beans

Directions:

Melt butter in a large pot. Add diced onion and diced bell pepper and cook until browned and tender. Once the onion and bell pepper are cooked add salt and pepper and stir. In a separate skillet cook diced bacon until lightly browned. Once the bacon is cooked drain off the bacon grease and add bacon to the large pot with the onions and bell pepper. Add the minced garlic and cook and stir until fragrant. Add ground beef and stir and cook until lightly browned- the meat will still be slightly pink. Add the crushed tomatoes, fire roasted tomatoes, brewed coffee, dark beer, dark brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, spices and light red kidney beans. Stir chili until everything is incorporated thoroughly. Bring chili to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer chili on low heat until it thickens and reduces- about 1 hour. Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Buttery Beer Bread

It is surprising how easy this delicious bread is to make. 

Thoroughly mix together dry ingredients.

Add beer and stir, do not over mix.

Pour dough into a greased loaf pan and then top with melted butter.

Bake 55 minutes at 375°. Doesn't that look heavenly!

Buttery Beer Bread

Lightly adapted from Food.com

Makes 1 loaf- about 10 slices

Ingredients:

3 cups Flour

1/3 cup Sugar

3 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

12 oz. Beer

1/4 cup Butter, melted

Directions:

Thoroughly mix together dry ingredients, add beer and stir. Do not over mix, dough will be slightly lumpy. Pour dough into a greased loaf pan and then top with melted butter. Bake 55 minutes at 375°. Allow to cool before slicing.

Enjoy!

We sure did