Our company had it’s annual chili cook-off last week and it was a huge hit.  We are only a satellite office, so we didn’t have a lot of participants, but nearly everyone came to taste and vote on the submissions.

There were six different pots of chili and each one was very unique of the others.  Chili just how you’d expect it, Chili Mac with noodles, and White Chicken Chili.  They all tasted great and everyone had a good time enjoying the cooks’ efforts.

The chili recipes were judged in 2 categories – spiciest chili and best tasting – and each recipe was eligible for both categories.  The voters got to taste each one as much as they needed to pick a best tasting and spiciest and were then asked to write 1 recipe for each category and then rate it on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being either delicious or flaming hot depending on the category.

Well the results came in and my chili won 1st place in both categories!

Okay, for a quick explanation as to how I could have gotten both awards with one recipe: no one really went for having the spiciest chili this year.  Mine just happened to be the hottest out of the lot.  It did have a bit of a bite to it, but nothing out of the stratosphere.  I’d have to say that my chili-making ability was backed up by a landslide of votes in my favor, taking over 2/3 of the votes out of all 6 contestants.

If you want to try out the chili recipe for yourself, here it is:

1 lb. lean ground beef (I use at least 90/10)
1 chili roll (the only brand I’ve ever found is Fields, but you can get away with mashing a can of mild chili beans)
1 large can of spicy chili beans
2 green bell peppers
4 jalapenos
1 handful banana peppers
1 handful roasted red peppers
2 cans Texas Rotel diced tomatoes with chilis
8 oz. of tomato juice
1 white onion – medium in size (a sweet vidalia onion works well too)
5 tablespoons of chili powder
3 tablespoons mesquite seasoning

Clean and dice all of the bell peppers, banana peppers, red peppers, and onion. Slice the jalapenos, take out all of the seeds, and finely mince them. Sautee all of the peppers and onion together until the onions are translucent. Brown the ground beef with the peppers and onion, then drain the grease. Prepare the chili roll as directed on the package, then add the can of spicy chili beans, Texas Rotel tomatoes and chilis, and the tomato juice. Add all the chili powder and mesquite seasoning to the beans and tomato mixture and stir it up. Add everything together in a large pot and mix well. Season to taste and serve.

Tip – I usually prepare everything in pans and skillets, then transfer it over to a crock-pot or slow cooker. Sometimes I’ll also add about a tablespoon of sugar at the end to add just a bit of a sweet taste to it. Vary the amount of peppers and seasoning to suite your taste, but if you follow this recipe, you’ll get a variety of flavor out of every bite.

Try this out sometime and come back to tell me what you think.