TASTE: Spicy Sausage Chili

Chili Time.

Oh, the weather is beyond cold these days. It got down to 28 degrees last night and the wind was howling. With all this icy weather, I admit that I just want to burrow into blankets and eat warm comfort food. Last week I shared my Turkey-Kale Chili recipe, but I also want to pass this delicious option along. It's spicier, a bit heartier and definitely man-approved. One of Stevie's co-workers came over for dinner at ate 5 bowls of this - I'm just saying! It's pretty tasty. This is a great recipe to whip together for all the upcoming family gatherings - it's always nice to have something warm on hand for entertaining.

Ingredients:

- 1 lb. lean ground beef

- 2-3 large spicy Italian sausage links, diced

- 1 medium onion, diced

- 1 green pepper, chopped

- 1.5 tbsp. cumin

- A dash of red pepper seasoning

- 2 tsp. Italian Seasoning

- 2 tsp. salt

- 2 tsp. pepper

- 1 can tomato Paste

- 2 14.5-oz. cans diced tomatoes

- 1 can black beans

- 1 can kidney beans

- 1 bag frozen corn kernels (I used fire-roasted, available at Trader Joes)

- 2 cups chicken broth

Method:

1. Head your stock pot over medium and coat the bottom with olive oil. Combine the ground beef, diced sausage, chopped onion, chopped green pepper and garlic in the pot. Cook it all together until the mean browns, about 7 minutes. Throw in the salt and pepper. It's flavor confetti.

2. Add the Italian seasoning, cumin & red pepper seasoning to the meat mixture. Make sure to mix it up well.

3. Add the tomato paste and diced tomatoes to the mixture. Stir well.

4. Add the chicken broth, kidney beans (drained), black beans (drained) and corn to the mixture. Stir well. Cover the mixture and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook for about 20-30 minutes.