Friday Night Fellowship at church- a once a month gathering for families to eat, play games and get to know each other a little better. And when the weather was cool, it was a great time to have a chili cook off! What an opportunity to test my chili recipe and find out if friends loved it as much as my family did. I think I remember there being about 12 different pots of chili that night. Some were very good and shall I say…exotic tasting, with unusual spices and venison giving the unique flavor. My chili was perfect for kids. Not too spicy, nothing weird or bizarre about it. Just enough flavor to make your kids say, “Mmm! This is GOOD!”
My husband has always bragged about my chili, referring to it as “Comfort Chili.” In fact, he is the one who encouraged me to enter the chili cook off. So, I did. And, I was pleased to come in 2nd place 🙂 The vote was so close too…close enough that just one vote could have put me in a tie for 1st place. Too bad I didn’t have my husband’s vote that night. You see, even though he raved about my chili, he decided to vote for “Venison Five Alarm Chili!” (He likes things spicy) Poor guy, he still apologizes to me 5 years later for his “lapse of domestic judgement!”
Winner of the chili cook off or not, this recipe is still my family’s favorite! My mother in law says it’s the best chili she’s ever tasted. We like to serve it with Fritos and shredded cheddar cheese, otherwise known as Frito Pie. I’m actually not a huge fan of chili, but mine is some seriously good comfort food. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!
Ingredients
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1 T. all spice
- 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 T. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1/2 lb. ground sage sausage
- 1 family size jar of Prego Traditional Sauce
- 15 oz. ranch style beans
- 15 oz. jalapeno navy beans
- 15 oz. black beans
- 14.5 oz. chili style diced tomatos
- 10.5 oz. cream of chicken soup
- 3 Roma tomatos, diced
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- In a medium stew pot heat olive oil on high heat for 1 minute.
- Add tomatos, onion, garlic and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add meat/sausage and stir thoroughly for 7 minutes or until brown.
- Reduce heat to medium and pour cans of beans, chili tomatos and jar of Prego.
- Now, here comes the weird part: Add a can of cream of chicken soup. Trust me- it will be awesome!
- Add all spice, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and let simmer until you are ready to serve.