Super Bowl Chili

I made the chili last night.  It looks (and smells) soooo good.  Unfortunately, I was a bad blogger and didn't take many pictures.  Just a before and an after.  There are so many ingredients in it, though, and you (or at least I) feel like they have to be put in quickly or the recipe is ruined.  I'm weird like that.  So I kind of felt like I was hurrying through getting the ingredients in and forgot to take pictures of the process.  So...sorry 'bout that. 

Anyway.  The recipe is from a restaurant called Redstone Grille.  Matt and I had it one day at the restaurant and thought it was so awesome.  And you know, sometimes you can find restaurants' recipes online.  So I took a shot, Google'd it, and lo and behold - found it!  I made this for our department Christmas party and it was a huge hit, so I thought I'd make it again for the Super Bowl.  It's pretty easy, just that it has a ton of ingredients and some of them were kind of hard to find. 

To start, all the ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs ground beef (80/20)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon fresh garlic
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 cup onions, diced
1/2 cup green peppers, diced
1 Tablespoon chipotle pepper puree
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon beef base
1 1/4 teaspoon dry oregano leaves
1 1/2 Tablespoon cumin
1 1/2 Tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
1 bay leaf
2 cups diced tomatoes (canned or fresh Roma)
1/2 cup tomato juice
4 cups tomato puree
1 cup chili sauce
2 cups kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Start off by browning the beef in a skillet, then drain it in a collander.  In a 1 gallon pot (I used my 6-quart stock pot), over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil then saute the garlic, celery, onion, and green pepper until tender.  Add the chipotle puree, water, beef base, oregano, cumin, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and bay leaf.  Bring to a simmer and let it cook for 5 minutes.  Then add the ground beef, diced tomatoes, tomato juice, tomato puree, chili sauce, and kidney beans.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.  Stir ever 5 minutes (or so) to prevent the kidney beans from scorching to the bottom.

Finshed product?

I made 1.5x the recipe, since we're expecting about a dozen people (the stated serving is 6-8).  You're supposed to make it a few days in advance so that flavors have a chance to marinate and marry.  The day of, we'll have it on the stove with a toppings bar, including shredded cheddar jack cheese, sour cream, and green onions.  I hope it's as big a hit as it was at the Christmas party!

*all personal photos