Slowcooker Game Day Chili

Posted on | September 11, 2010 | by Jennifer | No Comments | Print Recipe

Hey Lauren,

It’s officially game day, as evidenced by JH waking me up bright and early on a Saturday morning singing the college game day song, clapping way too loudly, and letting me know he’d laid out all the ingredients for his favorite chili for me – how sweet! Nothing says fall like sitting on the couch, watching a football game with my man, drinkin a beer, with a slow cooker full of simmering chili.

I found a chili recipe two years ago on AllRecipes.com, converted it to a slow cooker recipe, and have made it SO many times since then. It fills my massive slow cooker, so we eat what we can and freeze the rest in our Chinese soup containers. I’ve never liked chili until this recipe and now I LOVE, possibly because the only chili I’d ever tried came from a jar and was poured over a hot dog. This recipe has 5 stars at AllRecipes with over 1,600 reviews! You can’t go wrong!

xoxo,
Jen

Boilermaker Tailgate Chili

Source: AllRecipes.com – altered
Servings: 12

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef chuck
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
3 (15 ounce) cans chili beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can chili beans in spicy sauce
2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 green chile peppers, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon bacon bits
4 cubes beef bouillon
1/2 cup beer
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 (10.5 ounce) bag corn chips such as Fritos®
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Just a few of the ingredients in this chili, hahah. Add 2 pounds of beef and that’ll top off your shopping list. I used your tip and bought the bag of bacon, rather than taking the time to skillet a piece and chop it up just for one tablespoon. Although there are a ton of ingredients, I marked this one as semi-homemade because it calls for several canned ingredients and dried herbs. It looks like a lot, but if you lay everything out and open all of the cans before you get started it’s quite easy.
I wasn’t kidding about this being a meaty chili – 2 pounds of beef and 1 pound of Italian sausage. Brown meat in a deep dish skillet over medium heat and then drain excess grease. I used my new Pampered Chef Mix ‘N Chop and it separated the meat perfectly.
You know I HATE to chop. JH’s parent’s got me this chopper for Christmas and it’s PERFECT. Now I can make salsa, and anything else that involves chopping, in no time!
I converted the original recipe to slow cooker vs. stove top by first browning the meat, chopping all the veggies, and then dumping all of the ingredients into the slow cooker at the same time. I didn’t alter the ingredients much, but I did use a full bottle of beer and I’m a little heavy handed on the ingredients that taste great with a meaty chili – Worcestershire, beef bouillon, chili powder, cumin, and Tabasco.

This recipe is heaping in my 6.5 quart slow-cooker and nearly impossible to stir until the veggies wilt down a little. I simmered on high for 2 hours and then reduced the heat to low for another 4 hours. So easy! It smells so good and I’m so hungry!
Ladle into bowls and serve topped with cilantro, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and a side of tortilla chips, yum! Bon Appetit!
Definitely a 5 star recipe!