Ultimate Chili

It has chocolate and four kinds of beans. That makes it ultimate, right? This is, so far, the only chili that I really care for. It's so rich that you could probably omit the meat entirely without any ill effects, which is why I'm tagging it vegetarian.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground meat
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1-2 jalapenos, or a can of green chilies
  
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 15-oz cans of beans, rinsed. Pick out whatever combination you have on hand, or whatever sounds good at the time. I used pinto, kidney, Great Northern, and red beans.
• 1 28-oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
• 1 15-oz can corn
• 1 15-oz can chicken (or vegetable) broth
• 2 tbsp oil
• 5 tbsp chili powder (yes, that's tablespoons. I used about three, plus another tbsp combined ancho chili powder, chipotle chili powder, and New Mexico chili powder, left over from my sweet potatoes)
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Sauté the onions, garlic, bell pepper, and jalapenos in oil until translucent, then add the meat, cook through, and drain. If you want to cook this in a pot, go ahead and do this in the pot you want to cook with. If not, dump everything into the crock pot now.

Stir in the spices. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, corn, and broth.

As soon as it gets hot enough, be very brave and stir in the chocolate chips. Or, if you're me, resist the urge to dump in the entire bag.

Simmer gently for as long as possible. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes.

If using a crock pot, start it on high for an hour then switch it to low.

This is even better the next day. And it's super good for Frito chili pies.