Chili, or is it Chilli? It's Chili...right? Whatever, it's a Wisconsin Chili

I always spell chili wrong...I can never remember if it's "chili" or "chilli", but either way, it tastes amazing. Or at least the Hubster says so.  The problem I am going to have with sharing this recipe with you is that I never measure the ingredients.... well the seasonings at least.  I go by taste, so what I will do is give you a rough estimate of how much seasoning goes into it, and you can do your best to judge the flavor.  Also, I generally make a large batch at once because we freeze some, or we have guests over to eat, especially for games, so if you want just a single meal for approx. 4-5 people, just cut it in half.

I do not care for kidney beans, I cannot tolerate their texture, so I make mine with macaroni noodles, which I cook and add to each bowl as I eat it because the Hubster doesn't like noodles in his.  But for all my Big Bang friends out there, according to Sheldon Cooper "...Real chili has no beans in it, but you're from a foreign land, so your ignorance is forgiven... Mmmm, this is good... whatever it is" HAHA, I love Sheldon, but my chili is "foreign" too I suppose as it is not a Texas Chili... I'll call mine a Wisconsin Chili... :)



Ingredients:
3lbs ground beef (I use ground chuck)
8 Stalks celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 c. Chili Powder
2 TBSP Onion Powder
1 TBSP Garlic Powder
3 TBSP Ground Cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste
(These seasonings listed above are for seasoning the meat, so you can alter them to your taste, and again they are estimated)

3 - 29oz. cans of Tomato Sauce
1 - 15oz. can of Tomato Sauce
1- regular size can of diced tomatoes (not sure exactly how many ounces)
15 ounces water (I used the small tomato sauce can)
1/3 cup chili powder (estimated to taste - could be closer to a 1/2 cup.  Sorry, like I said I never really measure)
1/4 cup Cumin - estimated
Salt, Pepper, and Onion Powder to taste.

2 cups macaroni noodles or 2 cans of kidney beans if you prefer.

Start lighter on the seasonings because as the meat and sauce simmer together, the flavor will become stronger.

Put about 2 tbsp oil in the bottom of a 12 quart pot and heat it over medium heat.  cook celery in oil for about 5 minutes and then add chopped onion.  Cook for about another 5 minutes or until onion is tender and then add the ground beef.  Add seasonings from the first list and cook meat until completely browned.  Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and water.  Stir until meat mixture and sauce is blended.  Add seasonings and stir.  Simmer over low-medium heat for about 20 minutes.  Check flavor and add more seasonings as needed. Simmer another 20 minutes.
Like I stated above, I keep the macaroni noodles on the side but you can add them (cooked) about 10 minutes or so before you serve.  Also, the noodles will absorb a lot of the liquid, so if it sits in the fridge over night, the chili may appear "thicker" because of the noodles, another reason I like to add them into each bowl instead of the pot.

I love cheese and sour cream in my chili, generally I use a shredded cheddar, but since I need to go grocery shopping, I improvised with monterey Jack today and substituted sour cream with plan greek yogurt.  The hubster eats his chili straight out of the pot, no additional ingredients needed.

I'm sorry about the estimated measurements, I figured since I made it, I would blog it, so the next time I make it, I will try and remember to measure things out.  Then I will make changes here as necessary, but I'm pretty certain I got it fairly close. *Oh I should add, you can add peppers or ground red pepper to make yours hot! I don't like it too hot, the chili powder is usually enough heat for me!