Basic Simple Carolina Chili

This is a basic Chili recipe I came up with myself. You will probably see several others like it out there. Chili is one of those meals EVERYONE has their own twist and versions of. I think I did a really great job recreating Chili as I remember it from my childhood. It was seriously a Ratatouille moment when the food critic tastes his first bite of ratatouille and it takes him back to his childhood and his mother serving the dish to him. Seriously, it was that moment. My mom makes the best Chili from what I can remember and she usually did it homemade if I can recall correctly. My dad usually uses a kit, which is just as good but I feel like this took the cake!

We've had a cold, chilly, rainy, gloomy, and wet few days here. I'm not sure how it is in the rest of the country. It was one of those days where I truly needed something warm and spicy to warm my bones. After having a day where I completing FAILED at trying to build a fire in our fireplace (seriously almost caught the house on fire and had to use a snuggie to put it out) I just wanted some sort of happiness in my life. :) A one bowl wonder of tasty goodness always does that for me. The best thing about Chili? It's versatile and it can be rather healthy and filling when you think about it! This was a little spicy but not too much. My 3 year old did fine! When I say it is versatile you can always remove some of the spices to make it milder or hotter. I tried to make mine a little spicey while also keeping in mind that my 2 and 3 year old also had to eat it.

Carolina Chili
1 lb ground beef (or venison or turkey, I actually used venison)
1lb sausage (pork or turkey)
1 medium onion
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 can chili beans
1 can kidney beans
2 cans tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes for chili (Hunt's brand has it, if not use regular petite)
1 small can tomato paste
2 Tbsp diced Jalapeno (from a jar)
2 Tbsp Chili Poweder
1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Tsp Black Pepper 
1/2 Tsp Thyme
1/2 Tsp Cumin
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder

Directions: First you want to brown your ground meat and sausage in a skillet. While you're doing this you can work on dicing your peppers and onions. Find a pot that is large enough to fit all ingredients,( I would normally suggest a slow cooker but my slow cooker ended up being too small. I found this out once I added everything in there up until the sauce. ) Go ahead and set the pot on low to warm it. Once your meat it browned and your peppers and onions are diced you can go ahead and add all the ingredients together. Stir well, turn the heat up to Medium-High and heat until the Chili begins to bubble, then turn it back to Lo, cover, and simmer until your peppers and onions are tender. :)

Enjoy! I always eat my Chili with cheese and saltines. Sometimes I add even more diced Jalapenos on top.