Cooking Intensive Chili

Typically, when I make chili, it is easy. My ingredients are simple, ground beef, tomatoes, yellow onion, cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin and pinto beans. This past week, however, I was looking for more of a smoky taste, not necessarily hot or spicy, from scratch, and knowing "kind-of" what I was going for. I got all my select ingredients together and made a recipe plan. This chili was going to be something different - more like I might expect to order in a more traditional Mexican restaurant.

This was my project for my wife was off doing her own thing. My recipe was going to require a lot more of everything! I was going to need more than my usual skillet, stewpot and a wooden spoon. For sure! For this recipe, I was going to need my blender, two black-iron skillets, a cookie pan, some foil, a sharp butcher knife and a variety of tasty spices typically used in cooking Mexican. I wanted the taste of two different roasted peppers (Poblanos and Anjou) and my choice of beef would be a cubed, chuck roast. No beans in this chili recipe!

Everything came together just great! I took my time and put a lot of love in my creation. With everything in the large pot, now cooking slow on low to medium heat and covered, my "intensive chili" was going to need to simmer for at least 2.5 hours. Our kitchen was a disaster! I like to clean up my kitchen while my cooking is going on. I can't stand to have dirty pans and dishes everywhere when I serve up whatever I am cooking. A clean kitchen before eating is a must with me!

We enjoyed this Intensive Chili that same night, and then for lunch the next day! It was to die for!

"Viva Mi Intensi-vio Chil-io!" (Pun)

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