Firehouse Chili

It's a snowy, snowy night and we were supposed to go to a holiday party.  Hearing the news making it sound like snowmageddon, we decided it was best to stay home; however, not having been prepared to stay home (and no desire to go out to the grocery stores along with the rest of the State of Massachusetts), I took to pinterest and found this recipe that used things I actually had in the cupboard and the freezer.  Served along with some casserole elbow macaroni, it proved to be a fabulous comfort food kind of dinner for a bitterly cold, snowy night.  Oh yeah, and spice-ay!  YUM!

• 1 onions, chopped
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 3 cloves mined garlic
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
• 3 hot Italian sausages
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 can diced tomatoes (plain)
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 oz. chili seasoning mix (see recipe below)
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1 can yellow corn (or ½ bag of frozen yellow corn)
• Water, if desired

DIRECTIONS

1. Sauté onions in dutch oven in butter until translucent.
2. Add garlic and sauté for one more minute.
3. Remove all but about ½ cup from the sauté pan and reserve for later use.
4. In same dutch oven, brown the sausage and ground beef with the ½ cup of onions, salt, and pepper flakes.
5. Once browned, add in reserved sautéed onions, canned tomatoes, and chili seasoning.
6. Add kidney beans and corn.
7. Simmer for at least 1 hour.
8. If a thinner chili is desired, add water as needed.
9. Serve with casserole elbows, or tortilla chips, with some cheddar cheese sprinkled on top and enjoy!

Adapted from Doughmesstic.com blog

Chili Seasoning Mix

• ¼ cup flour
• 4 tsp. chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. crushed red pepper
• 1 Tbsp. onion powder
• 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. white sugar
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. dried parsley
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. In a bowl, stir together flour, chili powder, red pepper, onion, garlic, sugar, cumin, parsley, salt, basil and pepper.
2. Store in an airtight container.
   
   Makes ¾ cup, but for the recipe above, use 3 oz.

Adapted from allrecipes.com