I have been craving chili since August. But, chili is one of those comfort foods that it needs to be a little (or a lot) cold to really enjoy. I finally got my chance this weekend with mild-70 degree weather through the next week and a bit of rain yesterday. Perfect fall chili weather!

When it comes to chili, I take a recipe and make it my own, probably more so than the usual recipe. I made this chili a bit more aromatic and spicy than what the original recipe called for as well as added some new additions to the ingredients list. Lastly, usually people put ground beef in their chili, and I have done the ground beef, turkey, and chicken in chilies. And for this one I wanted to go meat-less to really enjoy all of the different bean flavors that were included. Feel free to put meat it, however. Men usually love a hearty meaty chili. Either way enjoy!!

Ingredients: medium onion, green bell pepper, balsamic vinegar, dry red wine, 1 can of: pinto beans, dark red kidney beans, light red kidney beans, and black beans; chili powder, ground cumin, salt, garlic salt, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can mexican diced tomatoes, 1 small can of mexican-style tomato sauce, brown sugar, dried basil

Directions:

1. Place a crockpot liner into your crockpot. This is the best invention for those of us who swear by their crockpot. The clean up afterward: take liner out, through it away, and put crockpot away. Huzzah!!!

2. Cut the bell pepper and onion into strips. Place in the crockpot. Follow with all four of the beans.

3. Add the tomato sauces, and tomatoes. Mix thoroughly.

4. Add 3 tbsps of chili powder, 2 tbsps of balsamic, 1tsp of garlic salt, 1 tbsp of brown sugar,  1 tbsp of dried basil, and 1 tbsp of cumin. If you think anything else, herb-wise should be added, go for it! Mix thoroughly.

5. Last ingredient to add is the chipotle peppers. Warning: BE CAREFUL when handling these. They are hot and can literally chemically burn you if you touch them for long enough. So I fished out three peppers from the can (with a fork) and diced them (as seen below). Three peppers is all you need to add spice and flavor to the chili. Any more and you will not be able to eat it. Trust me, I learned the hard way.

Chipotle peppers diced in adobo sauce.

6. Mix in the peppers and cook on high for 4 hours. After 4 hours, place 1/2 cup of dry red wine in the chili, mix, and cook on low for an additional 2 hours.

7. Serve with some mexican cheese sprinkled on top and Enjoy!!