Cooking Thursday

We had a chili cook off at work last week. The judges were our local police, ambulance and firemen.
There were 16 crockpots of chili, and they were anonymous.  Each judge got 2 marbles and could put them in cup in front of the chili.  They could put both in one cup or choose two that they liked.
The entries were varied - there was a venison chili, several white chicken chili, a chili dip, a pork chili, a steak chili...

Here's one of the tables of chili.

Here's a few of the first police and firemen, ready to start sampling.


I brought a big crockpot of chili too, and guess what?  I won!

Here's my chili, and the recipe for it.

Tailgate Chili
1 pound Italian sausage
1 pound stewing meat
1 pound beef roast, cut into cubes
1 15 ounce can chili beans in spicy sauce
1 15 ounce can dark kidney beans, drained
1 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained
2 28 ounce cans petite diced tomatoes with juice
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
3 stalks celery, diced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 cubes, beef bouillon
1/2 bag Hormel bacon pieces
1 cup beer
2/3 cup black coffee
1/8th cup chili powder
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar

Brown sausage in large stock pot. When browned, stir in stewing meat and roast and brown. Drain off excess grease.
Stir in chili beans, tomatoes and tomato paste.
Add the onion, celery, green and red bell peppers, bacon bits, bouillon beer and coffee. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, basil, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and sugars. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. 
After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste.  
I refrigerate it overnight, and then heat it again in the crock pot.
This isn't a recipe I'll make often, because it's not cheap to make, but if you want a big pot of chili that tastes great, this is a good one!