Dutch oven chili/Photo byGin Lee

Dutch oven chili

The savory aroma of chilies, onions, pinto beans, and spices are filling my entire house this morning. Because today, I am making homemade chili in my large Dutch oven on the burner of my wood stove. Ooh, it smells so good!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of ground beef, cooked separately
• 1 pound of ground sausage, cooked separately
• 2 pounds of dried pinto beans, this makes about 12 cups of cooked pinto beans, if using canned beans you'll need about 6-15-ounce cans of beans
• 1 very large onion, diced
• 3-4 green and red chili peppers
• 3-cups (24-ounces) of homemade pasta sauce, or 1-24-ounce jar of pasta sauce
• 1 tablespoon of turmeric
• ¼ cup of chili powder, or to your taste
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• 1 tablespoon of cumin powder
• 2 tablespoons of smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons of freshly ground black pepper
• 1-½ tablespoons of seasoning salt
• 6 cups of water
• 4 cups of beef broth

Instructions:

First, rinse your pinto beans. Then transfer them to a large Dutch oven; cover them with water and bring them to a boil. When the water has cooked down a little and the beans have plumped up, add the beef broth. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the beans are fork tender. (You can add the water and beef broth at the same time if you'd rather.) Add extra water if needed.

Dice the onion and chili peppers.

Cook your ground beef, ground sausage, chilies and onion until the meat is browned and the pieces of onion are translucent (cook in a skillet over high heat). Stir as needed. Now, transfer the cooked meat mixture to your Dutch oven. Stir well. Then add all the other ingredients, including the pasta sauce, or tomato sauce and stir well. Allow your chili to simmer until it has thickened to your preference. I slowly simmered mine for about six hours over my wood stove.

Taste your chili as it simmers; don't forget to stir it occasionally. Add more seasoning if it's needed. To thicken your chili, add two tablespoons of flour, cornstarch, or cornmeal, add more if it's needed. If you're not allergic to nuts, add one heaping tablespoon of peanut butter to make your chili creamier in texture.