I'm Really Glad there's One of You on Our Team

The perfect Superbowl meal: a hot bowl of chili. Now how this recipe came to me is an interesting story in itself, but I'll leave most of it to your imagination, mainly because attempting to duplicate and recap the events that occurred would be impossible. 

The night I first tasted this chili was at a "party" (5 people) in the midst of snowpocolypse 2010. This night was filled with four things: awkward advances, a silent (yet not so subtle) text fight, uncomfortable stories about road trips, and a cat named Toes.

At one point, mind you, I'm about five beers deep, I went downstairs to use the restroom. I closed the door, turn around, and Toes is IN THE BATHTUB, STARING ME DOWN. Please, take a moment and try and picture yourself in this situation. You're in a relaxed kind of buzz, in a strange apartment with Valentine's Day paraphernalia everywhere (hint much?), just taking a break to go to the bathroom before getting back to extreme board gaming. You turn around, expecting to see some candles or normal bathroom decoration and you get this:

I IZ WATCHING YOU! I HAZ THE CHILIZ!

 At least obtaining the chili recipe was a success.

What you'll need:

-2 lbs. lean Ground Meat (turkey/chicken/hamburger)

-4 cloves of Garlic, sliced

-1 medium White or Yellow Onion

-1 Green Bell Pepper

-1 Red Bell Pepper

-2 Jalapenos, diced

-2 cans Tomato Paste + 2 cans of Water (I think the size is 14 oz., but it's the regular sized can)

-2 cans Whole Tomatoes; you'll want to slice these in half, but save the juice

-3-4 cans Red Kidney Beans rinsed

-1 tbsp Olive Oil

-1-2 tbsp Cayenne Pepper

-1-2 tbsp Ancho Chili Powder

-1-2 tbsp Cumin

-1 tbsp Cinnamon

-Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by prepping  your ingredients. Dice the pepper, jalapeno, garlic, and onion. Once these are set aside, combine all the spices into one bowl.

Mix it on up.

All prepped!

Brown the meat in skillet and season with about half of the spice mixture.

In a large pot, heat olive oil. Begin adding all your diced vegetables and saute for about 2 mins. 

Once sauteed, add the kidney beans and saute another 1-2 mins. Feel free to add a little more Olive Oil at this point if need be. Add tomato paste and tomatoes and continue to mix.

At this point, the meat should be browned and you can go ahead and add it to the mixture, along with water and the remaining spices. Keep this simmering at a low heat and stir occasionally. You're all set! Feel free to add more spices to taste, as well as a Mexican cheese mixture, and eat this on a cold day in the next snopocolypse!

Significantly better than the Black Eyed Peas Half Time show.

And a special thanks to the awkward night, and amusing group of individuals, without whom, this post would be impossible; here's lookin' at you, Hallmark desperados. One love, from your snorting friend.