Winter is coming and chili is a great comfort food to warm the body on a cold day.  The team at work decided to have a chili contest.  This is my second attempt at making chili.   Good chili has spice and heat.  My version is midwest meets Texas where there is bite size chunks of tender beef with a thick smooth bite.  I won second place. Yahoo!!!

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs diced beef chuck
1 lbs ground pork
1 lbs ground beef 85% 
2 lbs diced red peppers (or a mixture of red, yellow, and orange) 
3 cups chopped onion 
3 tbsp ancho chiles powder 
2-4 dried arbol chiles (stems and seeds removed) 
2 tsp light molasses 
2 tbsp cumin (ground) 
2 tsp bittersweet chocolate 
2 tsp ground coriander 
1 tsp dried oregano 
2 tsp brown sugar 
3 tbsp chili powder 
1/2 tsp dried thyme 
1 tbsp cinnamon 
4 tbsp minced garlic 
4 tbsp tomato paste 
1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed) 
1 can crushed tomatoes 
2 can diced tomatoes 
2 cups of chicken broth 

DIRECTIONS: 
Difficult Level: 4 
Preparation time: 45-60 minutes 
Cook Time: 2-3 hours 
Total Time: 

*Chili Paste / Powder* 
1. Adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. 
2. Toast the ancho and arbol chili without the seeds in the oven. 
3. Grind the Ancho and arbol chili into a paste by adding small amount of water.
4. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and make sure the paste is thick.
*Chili* 
1. Cook the ground pork with onion, a pinch of garlic, salt, and black pepper.  Drain liquid and pour into crockpot.
2. Cook the ground beef with onion, a pinch of garlic, salt, and black pepper. Drain liquid and pour into crockpot.
3. Pan sear the beef chuck with garlic, salt, and black pepper. Pour into the crockpot.
4. Pour in the wet ingredients and stir evenly.
5. Mix the chili with the chili paste.
6. Set the crockpot to high and cock for 1.5 hours. Stir the chili every so often.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste and let it warm for another 2 hours before serving.

Adaptation: