Spicy Chili with Black Beans, Sweet Corn, & Shitake Mushrooms

Chili has become one of my all-time favorite, go-to meals and my Mother-In-Law (MIL) makes THE BEST chili. She doesn't cook a lot so I'm not going to lie, I was pleasantly surprised and I was even more surprised at how easy it is to make once my MIL shared with me her "secret weapon."

I suppose I could've left her recipe untouched but I decided to go ahead and add a few other ingredients that I feel make her chili heartier, chunkier, and spicier (because nothing is ever spicy enough for me). Now I'm not going to lie, this is not a "from scratch" recipe in the sense that I don't bother with getting, measuring, and putting all the seasonings together - Why? Because the "secret weapon" here is French's Chili-O Mix! So yes, for this recipe I cheat with French's Chili-O Mix and I am so not ashamed because it is so freaking Double Yummy Too Much.

Oh and just FYI - this recipe is for A LOT of chili because I wanted to have leftovers for the week since I don't always have time to cook so if you're not trying to have chili for days then feel free to cut everything below in half, which should give you about 4-6 servings.

Ingredients (serving size...A LOT and then some)

2lbs ground Beef (I use 80% lean)
2 pkgs French's Chili-O Mix
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 White Onion, diced
1 13oz pkg of Shitake Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 can of Reduced Sodium Black Beans
3/4 can of Whole Kernel Corn
1 fresh Jalapeno, cut into small pieces (I don't deseed mine)
1 can diced Tomatoes
1 can Stewed Tomatoes
2 Bay Leaves
1/4 tsp Brown Sugar
A few splashes of Maggie Seasoning Sauce (if you have it, if not no biggie)
Salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef in a pan with some olive oil. Salt and pepper the meat then drain the fat.

2. In a separate medium-sized pot, drizzle some olive oil and brown the garlic, onions, and Shitake mushrooms.

3. Add the ground beef and Chili-O Mix to the pot. Stir well.

4. Add the bay leaves, can of diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, corn, black beans, and jalapeno. Bring to a boil for a couple of minutes then reduce heat to simmer. Add the brown sugar and a few splashes of Maggie Seasoning Sauce, if you have it.

5. Serve with a bit of sour cream or Stonyfield's Smooth & Creamy Organic Whole Plain Yogurt, which is my preference.



This would also be great with rice (obvi), corn bread, or if you really want to go all out then slap some of this on a hot dog for THE BEST chili dog ever. YUM!

Thanks and hope everyone's having a good week so far.

Chokh Dee!

Stevie