I’ve been searching for a truly fabulous chili recipe for years. The kind that is the perfect cure to rainy days and cool nights. And I think I just found it!

The other day I bought a pound of chorizo intending to make Anita’s sloppy joe recipe. That didn’t happen and it got put in the freezer for later. This morning I suggested to Mike that we have them for dinner and he asked for chili instead. Well, okay, but I didn’t have a go to recipe.

Then inspiration struck! What if I took Anita’s recipe, added some beans, some chopped tomatoes, a bit of bell pepper, some oregano and cooked it for an hour or two. It sounded too easy to be true, but since I had pretty much all of the ingredients, I decided to chance it.

And you know what? It’s the best chili I’ve ever made. I just finished a huge bowl and all I can think of now is whether or not I have room for more…

So, just in case you’d like to make your own version, here’s the recipe. I won’t claim this was completely local since the beans were simply organic, and from the pantry. The rest was either homegrown or locally sourced.

*****

San Francisco Joe’s Chili
makes a big pot
adapted from Anita’s San Francisco Sloppy Joes

1.5 pounds bulk Chorizo
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium Anaheim chile, diced, or to taste
1 small bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced (I like red)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 tbs chile powder, or to taste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups fresh tomato, chopped
3-4 cups tomato sauce
1.5 cups pinto beans
1.5 cups kidney beans
1 cup black beans

1. In a dutch oven, or medium pot, brown the chorizo in a bit of oil. Then set it aside, leaving the drippings in the pan.

2. In the same pan, brown the ground beef. Add the chiles, pepper, 2/3s of the onion and garlic when the beef is almost done. Cook several minutes until onions becomes translucent. Then add the chopped tomato, chile powder, oregano and salt.

3. Add the tomato sauce and beans. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for at least 45 minutes.

4. Serve with shredded Monterey Jack cheese, the remaining onion and a touch of sour cream. We had corn bread muffins on the side. Yum!