Chili is a great way to warm up on a cold winter day and last week, we posted a recipe for King David Dogs’ chili recipe.  This week, we have another At Home segment with another chili recipe, but this one has a twist:  it is my recipe!

My recipe has won the chili contest that WIBIA, EatHSE and several of our friends have had the past couple years.  Yep, that’s right, I’ve won with this recipe twice and had rave reviews on it when I’ve brought it out to football tailgates in years past (it’s actually a sore spot for WIBIA that I’ve won both times).  So, what I am saying is that with this recipe, you are guaranteed a flavorful chili that is simple and cheap to make!

FYI, this is a recipe you would want to make a day or two before and let sit in the refrigerator.  Also, you’ll notice one thing about this recipe…no beans!  Beans themselves are great, but they don’t belong in chili, in my opinion.  Without further adieu, here’s the recipe:

Ingredients
[The spice level of this chili recipe tends to be hot, so that is just a warning.]

• 2 pounds hot/spicy ground sausage (if you want to cool the recipe down some, use mild sausage or ground beef)
• 4 cups of tomato juice
• 29 ounces tomato sauce
• 12 ounces tomato paste
• 1 large onion (chopped and diced)
• 1/2 medium-sized green pepper (chopped and diced; seeds removed)
• 1/2 cup of celery (chopped and diced)
• 1/4 cup of chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar (I often use Splenda as a substitute)
• 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika

Steps

1. Brown ground sausage and drain fat out of skillet.
2. Dump ground sausage in large pot and then cover with all other ingredients and stir.
3. Leave mixture in pot and simmer on LOW for two hours (if it comes to a boil, turn off burner and let the pot simmer with no heat source).
4. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. On the day of eating, pull chili pot out of refrigerator and re-heat on LOW for one hour.
6. After one hour, increase temperature of heat source in order to get chili to desired temperature (simmering on LOW will probably get you there).

After you get the chili to your desired eating temperature, serve it up plain, with cheese or whichever way you like it and enjoy.

-IndianapolisEater