Ramsey's Brown Sugar Chili

This is so good, you'll  just want to dive into it. Imagine a cold, windy day and this is cooking in the crock pot all day making the house smell so yummy and your mouth watering every time you step inside from a hard garden work day.  This is our favorite and time-tested chili recipe around here. It's a flexible chili and what I actually use in it depends on what we have on hand. Enjoy it!

Ramsey's Brown Sugar Chili

Prep Time: 10 minutes ~ Cook Time: 15 minutes plus 3-6 hours in crock pot ~ 6-8 servings approx

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 pints diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 bell peppers (optional), diced
• 1 hot pepper (or more - optional), chopped
• 1 carrot, diced (optional)
• 1 celery, diced (optional)
• 3 green onion (stem and all), diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• about 24 oz. beans (kidney beans, navy beans, black beans are all good varieties - I like a combo of all 3)
• 10-15 oz. water or broth
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 T prepared yellow mustard
• black pepper
• salt (optional)
• other optional herbs & seasonings: (fresh or dried) basil, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper to taste

Directions

1. Saute garlic in lightly greased skillet for 3-5 minutes, add onion & continue to saute over med-low heat for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add ground beef (you may also use ground chicken, pork, turkey, deer, etc) to skillet. Brown until no pink remains. Drain grease and return meat to skillet.
3. Over low heat, add mustard and brown sugar. Cook for another 3-5 minutes.
4. Add meat to your crock pot crock. Add tomatoes, peppers, carrots, celery.
5. Drain & rinse beans then add beans to crock pot.
6. Season with black pepper, salt, and your other fave herbs & spices.
7. Add water or broth until just covered (add more for soupier chili) - you can also add beer or wine as your liquid. I think beer goes really well in it! 
8. Set crockpot to cook for 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high. Serve with rice or potatoes and or a fat grilled cheese sandwich or just by itself! I love it topped with a little cheese, hot sauce, and sour cream and a big piece of crusty bread for dipping! :)

"Whenever I meet someone who does not consider chili a favorite dish, then I've usually found someone who has never tasted good chili."

- Jan Butel, author of Chili Madness, published by Workman Publishing, 1980