Positively Luck: Chili REAL-Man-Style

I based this recipe off the recipe located HERE. Brett doesn't really like ground turkey and he wanted baked sweet potatoes so I used double ground beef (for the man who always asks and pays for extra meat at Cafe Rio) and baked the potatoes and put the chili over top instead of using the sweet potatoes inside the chili. I have made it the original way and it is quite delicious too.

Chili REAL-Man-Style

2 lbs lean ground beef
2 medium onions chopped
4-8 cloves garlic chopped
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes (Muir Glen is best)
2 15-oz. can pinto beans rinsed/drained
1 15-oz. can red kidney beans rinsed/drained
1 15-oz. can Black Beans rinsed/drained
2 - 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 - 3 tbsp. chili powder (to taste) (if you grind your own I would suggest 1 T if you like it super hot, dang that stuff is potent!)
1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic salt (or 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1 tsp garlic powder)
2 - 3 tsp. cumin (to taste)
1 tsp. oregano flakes
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 - 2 tsp. Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (to taste)
2 - 3 tsp. balsamic vinegar (to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbps Corn Starch plus 1/8 Cup cold water
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)

Optional Toppings/accompaniments: fresh avocado, sour cream (or greek yogurt), salsa, tortilla chips, corn bread.

Put ground beef into a large pot and cook over medium-high heat until the beef is almost cooked through then add chopped onions and garlic and cook until onions are slightly softened (maybe another 4-5 minutes). Drain the excess fat (if necessary) and add the tomatoes, beans, chicken broth, and spices. Stir well. Bring back to a soft boil and then reduce heat and cover. After it has cooked for about 20 minutes and the spices have had a chance to mingle, add the chocolate and balsamic vinegar to taste and continue to cook, covered, over medium-low heat for about 30 - 45 more minutes.

In Pictures

I cooked the meat with the onions the day before to save time.

The line up:

Drain and rinse each can of beans.

Easy Peasy!

Baked Sweet Potatoes (these are really easy)

I used 4 med-large sized yams.

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Wash each potato well and then dry off.
2. Poke each potato a bunch of times with a fork (I usually aggressively stab them maybe 8-10 times a potato, good stress reliever!)
3. Wrap each potato WELL in aluminum foil. These tend to leak their juices so I would also suggest lining the bottom of your oven with a large piece or two of foil or if you're fancy and have one of those silicon mats, that would work too.
4. Bake for about 45 minutes for a medium sized potato or up to 90 minutes for a gargantuan sized one. Just make sure they are nice and soft and cooked all the way through.
*If you happen to take one out too early they are really easy to finish up in the microwave. Just TAKE THE FOIL OFF and cook them for a few minutes at a time until completely softened. And just FYI, sweet potatoes tend to get softer than regular white potatoes.

Clean them well