Game Day Chili

My boyfriend loves football, I love cooking and we both like a good time so this makes us prime candidates for a tailgate party. So far in my life I have yet to attend one of these parties because I live in Canada and tailgating hasn't quite caught on here. I would love to be one of those couples that pull into the stadium parking lot, spark up the grill, plug in the crockpot and drink beer all day long, but for now, one can only dream.

My tailgate dish would be chili. I've been making the same recipe for a couple of years and it's always a huge hit. The best thing about this recipe is that you can adapt it any way you like. For example, for a delicious vegetarian option just omit the beef and add extra carrots, corn and black beans. If you don't like ground beef you can substitute ground chicken. Whatever way you make this chili be prepared to hear major cheers from the stands.

RECIPE Adapted from Allrecipes:
1lb lean ground beef
1/4lb bacon, diced
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 medium yellow onions, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 cups chicken stock
1 can of your favorite beer
1/4 cup chili powder
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS dried oregano
2 TBS ground cumin
1 tsp tabasco
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
2 TBS white sugar

Heat a large stock pot over medium heat and brown ground beef, remove from pot, drain and set aside. Next brown up bacon in the same pot, remove, drain and set aside. Add onion to the same pot with a little leftover bacon grease and saute until translucent (about 10 mins.) Add the celery, green peppers and garlic, saute apr. 5 mins. Stir in tomato paste and saute another 5 minutes stirring constantly. Add diced tomatoes, beef and bacon. Drain and rinse all beans with water and add to pot. Season with all of the herbs and spices, stir to blend then partially cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally. After 2 hours, taste and adjust salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate and serve the next day.

To serve, ladle into bowls, you can top with sour cream, salsa, green onions, cheese and/or corn chips.