TODAY Food Club

This Sweet and Spicy Chili is made in the slow cooker for deep, concentrated flavor. The BEST chili recipe around, I use a secret ingredient to create a sweet-tart background to this slightly spicy recipe.

Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy Chili

• Servings: 1 cup
• Yield: 10-12 servings
• Prep Time: 20 min
• Cooking Time: 4 hr

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef (I used 80-20)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 large jalapeno peppers, minced (remove the seeds and veins for less heat...leave them for more heat)
• ¼ cup chili powder
• 3 tablespoons ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons ground cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoon crushed red pepper
• 6 ounce jar of chopped sweet peppers and juice
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 - 28 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 - 28 ounce can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. In a large frying pan, brown the ground beef until no longer pink and transfer to the slow cooker using a slotted spoon. Drain off all but two tablespoons of fat and add the onions to the pan. Cook the onions over med-high heat until they begin to soften. Add the peppers to the onions and sauté until softened. Add the garlic and jalapeno peppers, cooking for one minute longer. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker with the beef.
2. Add the chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, sweet peppers and juice to the beef mixture and stir to combine. Add the brown sugar, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes stirring thoroughly to be sure all the ingredients are incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook in the slow cooker on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.
3. Serve with your favorite chili toppings, we love greek yogurt, sour cream, shredded cheddar, green onions, and pickled jalapenos...just to name a few.

Recipe Tags

• Comfort Food
• Easy
• Fall
• Gluten-free
• One pot
• Party
• Super Bowl
• Winter
• Entertaining
• Slow cooker
• Entree