Totally Bodacious Chili!

So I made chili for the first time ever and my only complaint was that it came out a little too spicy. Otherwise, it looked and tasted exactly as it should! I love my chili served "chili mac" style over spaghetti with shredded cheese on top. You can add beans to this recipe (sadly, the boy does not like beans) and I would just toss them in when you put in the tomatoe-y ingredients. Give it a whirl! We also served this up with buttermilk biscuits (the recipe for which can be found on your local bisquick box) and TALL glasses of ice water :)

Totally Bodacious Chili (Mac)
inspired by The New Best Recipe and Alton Brown
Serves 4-5
8/10

1 TBS olive oil
1 lb ground sirloin or ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1 green bell pepper cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 TBS chili powder (decrease to lessen heat)
1/2 TBS cumin
1 tsp. ground red pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
2 cups crushed tomato (16 oz.)
2 TBS fresh salsa
2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce, chopped (decrease to 1 to lessen heat)
1 TBS adobo sauce (from canned chipotles) (decrease to lessen heat)
1/2 tsp salt

1 lb linguini or spaghetti
grated cheddar or monteray jack
crumbled tortilla chips

1) Heat oil in a large dutch oven (or skillet if, like me, you don't yet have a dutch oven) until shimmery. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, ground red pepper, and oregano. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften and begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to med-high and add half the beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the beef and repeat until the beef is no longer pink (about another 5 min).
2) If you are using a skillet instead of a dutch oven, move contents of skillet into a deep pot (otherwise, continue adding to dutch oven). Add crushed tomatoes, 1/2 tsp salt, chipotles, adobo sauce, and salsa and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. Remove cover and simmer for 1 hour longer, stirring occasionally (add water if the chili sticks to the bottom/sides of pan).
3) While chili is cooking, set 2 qt of water on to boil. Add spaghetti/linguini and cook according to package directions. Try to time it so it is finished around the same time as the chili. Drain and transfer to four pasta bowls
4) Serve chili over spaghetti. Top with grated cheese and crumbled chips (other good toppings: chopped raw onion, sour cream, fresh salsa...)