Jamie's Chili

I think Jamie is Paula's son, but since I just googled this, I'm not sure. :-)

Anyhow, it's an excellent recipe and it's made me abandon my old chili recipe. And, if you haven't noticed, I like to cook things that I can start when the kids go to bed and just let simmer for, oh say, 3 or 4 hours. This is definitely one of those. And it has celery in it. I love it. Celery in our chili.

1 lb mixed ground beef and sausage, browned and drained

1 medium onion, diced

1 green bell pepper diced

2 cups chopped celery (2 stalks)

1 (28 oz) can whole, peeled tomatoes

2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

1 package chili seasoning mix

chili powder

ground cumin

1 can chili beans

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

garnish: shredded cheddar, sour cream, chopped green onions

Brown the meet and drain. Spray large pot with nontick cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, green pepper, and celery and saute briefly. Stir in the diced and whole tomatoes (I'm working with the tomatoes. I don't want the chili to be too tomatoey - b/c that's a word- and My Man likes it pretty hot. So I'm swapping out some tomatoes for tomatoes with green chilies. I'll let you know...). Add cumin and chili powder, to taste, and cook for about 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add the beans, browned meat, and chili seasoning. Partially cover and let simmer for 4 hours.

BTW, I didn't drain and rinse anything but the black beans. Let me know if you make this and like it! And I suppose you could let me know if you don't too....