Drunken Polish Chili - The recipe

Here's the recipe for Drunken Polish Chili:

Ingredients:

½ lb. bacon
1 lb. kielbasa sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 lb. ground beef or 1 lb. ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon jalapeño pepper (I used the whole pepper; I mean, waste is bad, right?)
1 C. Merlot wine (Lee and I drank the rest of the bottle, same principle)
2 28-oz. cans whole peeled tomatoes, mashed, liquid reserved
2 tablespoons chili powder, or to taste
2 15-oz cans pinto beans, drained

Directions:

In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until evenly brown and crisp. Reserve juices in skillet, and set bacon aside. Brown the sausage in the bacon juices. Set aside. Cook the ground beef or turkey in the skillet until evenly brown. Set aside. Sauté the onion and green pepper in the skillet juices until tender.

In a large pot over medium heat, mix the bacon, sausage, beef, onion, green pepper and jalapeño. Pour in the wine and tomatoes, and season with chili powder. Cook 20 minutes, stirring often. Mix in the beans, and continue to cook and stir 25 minutes.

Yields 10 servings.

Optional: Lighten this further by using smoked turkey sausage. I did use bacon, but I drained the fat. I sweated the veggies in their own juices.


I paired the chili tonight with some jasmine brown rice from Trader Joe's, which is my favorite brown rice in the whole wide world. If you happen to have a Trader Joe's near you, don't miss the chance to pick up some of this wonderful rice; you won't be sorry!