Three Chile Chili

Ingredients:

Chili is wonderful. Chili is good. Chili has been my go to meal to make whenever I'm bored and feel like cooking. It's versatile, easy, and honestly hard to mess up real bad. I like it in the winter the best, especially after a long day of skiing or shoveling snow or fighting off yetis. That does not mean, however, that it isn't made in the summer. NAY! It's wonderful in the summer as well. The different chiles available are a veritable cornucopia of funhouses of candy stores for chili cookers, and as this is titled, I like many chilés in my chili.

Chili Theory
The way I've been doing chili for the last year has been to mix different chiles in by chili based on the different chile characteristics involved. I've tried a whole slew of combinations: 1 chile, 5 chile, 2 and 4 chile chili for shits. I think 3 has given me the best results.

Here's my theory:
- One chile for sweetness. For this, bell peppers are pretty much ideal, especially red bells.
- One chile to have little pepper discs in the chili. I think it adds a nice culinary touch to have a little slice of chile in the spoon. One should try to have a milder pepper for this. In this recipe, it's red Jalapinos.
- Finally, a chile for raw heat, for that kick to the face of spice to clear the sinuses and wake up the senses. I will settle for nothing less than Habanero. I like my chili to remind people that they're alive. If you survive my chili, you can survive anything.

On to the Chili recipe!

I never make chili precisely. I always go with what feels like the right amount. So I apologize for my vagueness.

Ingredients
About 1 lb of cheap beef
3-6 strips of bacon
1 habanero
4-6 red jalapinos
1 yellow bell pepper
2 cans/ 3-5 tomatoes
2 cans of beans (I like to mix it up, get some variety in the chili)
1 large onion
chili spices
garlic
bay leaf

Not pictured: Black pepper, salt, oil

Hardware
Large pan
Large pot
Cutting board
Knife
Big spoon
(optional) bowls

Step 1:

First, turn this:

Step 2:

into this:

Step 3:

And this (I started already):

Step 4:

Into this:

Step 5:

Now, get organized before you even get the oven going. Your going to thank yourself once you need to get rolling. Besides, it's a really good habit to have when in the kitchen (let alone in real life). As a side note, this is the point you realize you don't have a can opener in your new apartment and run to the store to get one.

Step 6:

Squish the tomatoes in your hands into the pot. Then add the beans and spices.

Step 7:

Brown the bacon until it releases it's grease.

Step 8:

That, my friend, is the secret ingredient. Remove the bacon to the pot.

Step 9:

Dump the onions into the pan and coat them with the bacon grease. (Bacon grease + onions) x hot pan= perfect onions. Make sure to stir the onions around, picking up all those lovely little bits of flavor.

Step 10:

Check your proto- chili. Looks good here.

Once the onions are good and translucent, dump them into the pot.

Step 11:

Now with your clean pan (thanks onions!), add a little oil if you need it, then the beef.

Step 12:

Brown the beef. It needn't be fully cooked inside, that's what the chili's for. So once it's all good and brown, dump 'er in the pot.

Step 13:

Now use the peppers as we did with the onions.
WARNING: The chiles are going to put out some fun gasses! Get the fan going, open the window, grab a gas mask if you want to. Just do not inhale over the pan!

Step 14:

Those look delicious at this point. Dump it all in the pot.

Step 15:

It's almost ready! Give it a good stir.

Step 16:

Don't forget the bay leaves. I once asked a cook what a bay leaf did. All he could really tell me is that it 'brings together' tomato- based sauce. Good enough for me.

I would let it simmer for at least 45 minutes before even tasting it. All the ingredients need to blend and intermix like a boozy fraternity party. At most, I'd wager it's not going to get much better after 3 hours of simmering. Go a head and dive in. If it's not as thick as you like it to be, add some cornstarch. I would have done tortilla chips, but I don't have any here yet.

Step 17:

Add cheddar. There is no other cheese allowed.