Beef and Bean Chili

I cut this recipe roughly in half with my cupboard in mind, so I waffled on the water and ended up leaving it out. I used pinto beans, stewed tomatoes, and a mix of hot peppers I had around the house (2 hot peppers, 2 pepperoncini and one dried chili piquin). I also added a dash of Morrocan spice mix. I tossed in the salt when it was convenient; there's no reason to delay it for canned beans. I made corn bread (this time with all white flour) to replace the corn chips.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped (1 c.)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/4 c. water, optional
• 1 15-16 ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups corn chips

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven brown beef over medium heat; drain off fat. Add onions, garlic, and peppers to pan; cook about 5 minutes or until almost tender. Add the chili powder and cumin; cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add tomato sauce and water; bring to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
2. Mash one-third of the beans. Stir all beans into chili. Return to simmering; cook about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the chopped cilantro, chocolate and salt until chocolate is melted. Serve topped with corn chips.