Our favorite chili

My husband and I made this our first year dating (8 years ago!). I'm not saying that this chili will make you fall in love and get married, but it worked for us. Among other things. But this chili really is special. It's got beer and chocolate in it. Two very romantic things indeed.

Our favorite chili 

Ingredients:

• 2T olive or vegetable oil 
• 2 onions (chopped) 
• 1 red pepper (chopped)
• 6 cloves garlic (minced) 
• 1lb of ground beef (I've also used ground turkey before) 
• 3/4lb beef sirloin (cubed) (if you're using ground turkey instead of ground beef, substitute the sirloin with 1lb of sweet chicken sausage) 
• 1 (14.5oz) can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice 
• 1 can or bottle of dark beer (if using turkey, use light beer ... I only had an amber tonight so I used that with the beef) 
• 1 cup strong brewed coffee
• 2 (6oz) cans of tomato paste
• 1 (14.5oz) can of beef broth (I use low sodium) 
• 1/2c packed brown sugar
• 3.5T chili powder 
• 1T ground cumin or cumin seeds
• 1.5T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2t ground cayenne (if you like spicy, 1t if you don't) 
• 1t ground coriander 
• 1t salt 
• 2 (15oz) cans of kidney beans (undrained) (I use a combo of light red and dark red beans) 
• 1 can of corn (drained) 
• optional 1 jalapeno (chopped, seeds removed -- only add this if you like spicy) 

Directions:

Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Cook the onions, garlic, and red pepper until soft. 

Add a little extra oil if needed before adding the ground beef and cubed sirloin. Brown the meat. 

When the meat is brown and the onions and red pepper soft, add the diced tomatoes with juice, beer, coffee, tomato paste, beef broth, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, cocoa powder, cayenne, coriander, and salt. Stir in the 2 cans of beans and jalapeno if you're using it. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 1.5 hours. At hour 1.5, add the drained can of corn and simmer for another 30 mins. 

Now, you can eat this after simmering for 2 hours (3 hours of simmering is fine, too), but honestly, it's better the next day after refrigeration and the flavors get some time to mingle. I like to serve it in deep bowls with diced avocado, sharp cheddar (grated), chopped onion, and either sour cream or Greek yogurt. It also makes great chili-cheese burritos or nachos.