All week long we’ve been getting cozy on the couch with the best comfort food, chili! Owner of Golden Fig, Laurie Crowell shared her favorite Smokey Three Bean Chili.

Ingredients:

• 4 slices thick cut bacon-chopped (Fischer Farms is the BEST!)
• 2 large onions –chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper – finely chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves –minced
• ¼ C Golden Fig Chili Seasonings
• 1 TB Smoked Spanish Paprika
• 1 tsp-1 TB Cayenne Pepper (to taste)
• 3 lbs 85% lean ground beef (Thousand Hills grass fed is what we use), bison, ground venison or any mixture of the three
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 28 oz can tomatoes (we love the Local Folks brand OR the fire roasted kick it up a bit)
• 3 C plain tomato sauce
• 2 C Beer (get good beer so you can drink the rest!)
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce (Colonel Pabst is primo)
• 3 -15 oz cans beans (black, pinto, kidney, etc. Mix it up!)

Description:

1. Sauté Bacon in a large, heavy bottom saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until just brown. Don’t let it crisp.
2. Add chopped onion, bell pepper, stir, cover and let onions and peppers sweat for about 5 minutes, until translucent.
3. Uncover pan, cook a bit longer if onions aren’t yet translucent. Add garlic, cooking about a minute.
4. Add ground beef, cooking until beef loses it raw color, about 10 minutes. Break up a little but do leave some larger chunks.
5. Add the spices and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the salt, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beer and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and cook partially covered for about 30 minutes, until chili has thickened slightly but is still soupy.
6. Add beans and cook another 15 minutes (uncovered if you want to thicken it) Taste, adjust seasonings.

Serve with sour cream & cheddar cheese. This is also excellent for a chili dog, nachos, or chip dip

Laurie’s TV series recommendation is The Durrells in Corfu on PBS.