moondawg

My friend Amy has a more or less annual party in October that she calls “Pumpkinfest”.  There’s a pumpkin-carving contest with prizes, all kinds of food, and eventually beer pong. 

This year, I threw together a batch of crockpot chili which got rave reviews.  The key to this chili is the Andouille sausage and the yellow and orange peppers.  Try to resist the urge to add more than one link of sausage–Andouille has a surprisingly strong flavor and will throw the whole thing out of kilter.  So, for your enjoyment, the recipe:

Pumpkinfest Chili
2 pounds ground beef
1 6 inch Andouille sausage link, diced
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14 ounce can black beans, drained
1 14 ounce can kidney beans, drained
1 bottle Heinz Chili Sauce
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 orange or red bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp mexican chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Paprika
(adjust spices to taste)

Brown the ground beef and drain any fat.  Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook on medium for 4-6 hours.