Chocolate Cola Chili!

It's that time of year! I'm dragging out my chili recipes.

They are many, my friends.

Sometimes my chili is made up whatever I have in the pantry.

Sometimes...like a few weeks ago...I have a specific "never-fails" recipe that I turn to.

Josiah WUVS this chili.

It also happens to be the recipe I made up for his FIRST birthday party. He wasn't quite interested in chili then, but the birthday guests sure appreciated it!

I have heard this chili recipe called a Steak and Shake Chili copycat. I'm not sure if I would go that far. But it's still yummy.

I do need to put a little disclaimer here. This is not my "healthy" chili recipe. It does, after all, call for some sort of soft drink.

We don't drink much of that around here. But...in this recipe...it's magic.

Did you know that you can put any kind of meat in chili? I realize that in some circles I could be shot and quartered (or is it hung and quartered?). For this recipe I am using some ground beef.

Frankly, ground beef is a luxury in my grocery budget right now. I look for markdowns and stick it in the freezer.

It took me just minutes to get this chili going.

I simply started it browning in a big pot. I also added some chopped onions...cause we like them. This will eventually be transferred to my crockpot. I used to use a can of French Onion soup in this chili recipe. Then I read the back of the can and decided it didn't make that much of a difference. There is some interesting ingredients in canned soup!

I generally cook up a big pot of beans and use it for a few different meals, but for this particular week I needed to grab a couple of cans. I threw the beans in the crockpot.

And then added an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce.

Then a can of tomato paste.

Chocolate! Not a great picture of chocolate. But trust me...this is chocolate. I added 2 teaspoons to the crockpot.

After my ground beef was brown I added 1 Tablespoon of chili and then 2 teaspoons of cumin.

Then the SECWET INGWEDIENT. A cup of Cola. I just used a cheap can I got at the Dollar Tree.

Then I just let it cook! I made it on a Friday and then took Josiah to swim team. When we got home it was scrumptious and ready to eat. 

I just served it with some saltines and a little cheese. 

My guys went back for seconds (and maybe thirds!)

I was just happy that our Friday night meal included more than one food group.

There are those days.

2 pounds of ground beef
2 cans of kidney beans (undrained)
1 can tomato paste (6 ounce)
1 can tomato sauce (8 ounce)
2 teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup of cola (soft drink)
1 teaspoons of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon of chli powder
2 teaspoons of cumin
You can add a few teaspoons of your favorite hot sauce for more kick.

Brown the hamburger with the onions. Drain if needed. Put all of the ingredients in the crockpot and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 on high.

Serve with your favorite chili toppings.

I have a few more chili recipes ready to put on the blog. Next up is a chili recipe that I made with some of my Dad's homemade ketchup and served with Cheesy Grits!

I'll post that one next week.