Chili

When it's cold outside, I love a big pot of hot chili. Traditionally I'd been pretty basic with my recipe - tomato juice, ground beef, onion, garlic, green pepper, and spices. And while they're all still in this recipe, it has SO much more.

3 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded (I found these dried peppers in the Hispanic section of my grocery store, hanging on a high shelf)
1 quart beef broth
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 green pepper
1 small onion
4 gloves garlic
1 lb. ground beef
1 bottle beer
2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
3 28-oz., cans crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp. cumin

In a medium saucepan, bring chiles and beef broth to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a rolling boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer until chiles are softened, around 10 minutes.

In a large stock pot, heat EVOO, and saute green pepper, garlic, and onion until softened. Add ground beef and cook through, chopping into small pieces. Once beef is cooked, deglaze the pan with beer. Add chocolate. Allow chocolate to melt, beer to cook down, and mixture to thicken.

Once chiles have reconstituted, place peppers in blender with 2 ladles of the broth and puree. Pour pepper puree and remaining broth into stock pot. (IMPORTANT: Don't add all of the broth to the blender or you'll end up with pepper water all over your kitchen. I speak of that which I know firsthand.) Add tomatoes, cumin, and salt and pepper. Allow to cook for 1-2 hours or until it reaches desired thickness.

WW Points: 3 Points per 1-cup serving