TallBoy's Famous Chili

When we're cooking, TallBoy and I switch off.  I'll cook, he cleans, vice versa.  There are a few things he's claimed- steaks, burgers, Beer Can Chicken and chili.  He's awesome at all of these; so much so that I just let him tell me when it's time to eat.  When he's cooking other things, I tend to stand around, add stuff and generally be a pest- but when he's making chili, I just get out of the way.

I have argued for making our own chili seasoning, but he swears by the McCormick packet stuff- and I have to admit, this chili comes out pretty damn delicious, so I guess I'll concede on this one.


TallBoy's Famous Chili

Ingredients:
2 lbs lean ground turkey
Lawry's seasoning salt
1 green pepper
4 stalks celery
2-3 medium sized yellow onions
1 yellow hot hungarian pepper
8 oz fresh mushrooms
1-2 jalapeno peppers (he uses 2)
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 envelopes McCormack HOT Chili Seasoning
2 15 oz cans HOT Chili Beans
2 Cans Dark Red Kidney Beans (drained)

1-2 12 oz cans of CHEAP beer (this is the ONLY thing we use cheap beer in)

** This chili is not for the faint of heart- it is SPICY.  If you want to cut down on the spice, use less hot peppers, or remove the seeds, even use mild seasoning/chili beans, but I recommend it HOT.**


Directions:
In a large pot, brown ground turkey with a couple of good shakes of Lawry's.  After it has browned, drain any extra grease. 

Dice all fresh ingredients: green pepper, onions, celery, hungarian pepper, jalapenos and mushrooms.  Add half can of beer and diced veggies to ground turkey, cook until soft (NOT mushy).  Again, drain off extra liquid and grease.

Add can of crushed tomatoes and McCormack seasoning packets.  Add remaining beer (he usually adds another complete can of beer for this step).  Add the remaining beans, and simmer for another 30 minutes, at least.  

This is sacrilege to TallBoy, but I like to serve this with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheese.

This makes a whole boatload of chili- I'd say at least 8-12 servings.  

Also, make SURE you have a doggy helper.

In my opinion, this is usually the best the next day, when the chili ingredients have been hanging out and comingling for at least 24 hours.  It takes a big person to admit when they've been defeated, and TallBoy's Chili has indeed defeated mine.  The only thing we do NOT agree upon when it comes to chili is the carb that goes alongside- he's a saltine guy, and I am decidedly a cornbread girl.  Although- I did make a perfect beer bread recipe last week with pumpkin ale that we might be able to agree on goes well with chili...