Mama’s Chili

Sauté onion, celery and garlic in olive oil about 7-8 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink. After the meat cooks, if there is a lot of grease, you might want to skim some off, but don’t take all of it. As they say, there is flavor in the fat!

Add the tomatoes and beer and let cook for about 5 minutes. Then add the spices, drained kidney beans and black beans. Also add salt to taste!

Bring to boil, then reduce heat. Cover and let simmer for at least an hour. You can let it cook as long as you want or need to. Just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t get too thick. If needed, you can add more beer (or water if you want to). The cooking time listed above includes just one hour of simmering, but as you know, chili tastes better the longer it cooks!

When it’s done, I like to throw it over some rice and put some sour cream and freshly grated cheddar cheese on top, which provides a lovely cooler temperature to contrast with the hot chili!