2lbsground beefI used local grass-fed beef from Whole Foods. It was great! It was the first time I have made something with beef that had no grease at all. Even after putting the chili in the fridge overnight, there was no nasty orange fat on the top to remove. If you like grease, don't use this.
1cupcanned pumpkin puree
1 28ozcan crushed tomatoes
1cuptomato juice
½Abuelita chocolate bar
3clovesgarlic
1chopped onion
2cupspinto beans
olive oil
Special chili mixture
1tbspblack pepper
½tbspcinnamon
1tbsporegano
2tbspsaltI don't like salt. I only used 1 tsp. That was plenty for me.
In a large pot cook onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat.
When translucent, add ground beef and special chili mixture and cook until beef turns brown. It is important that the ground beef is thoroughly cooked.
Add pumpkin puree, chocolate, crushed tomatoes and tomato juice.
(At this point, I dumped everything into the crock pot and left it there for 8 hours. I added the pinto beans about halfway through. This worked perfectly for me. If you don't have a crock pot, read on.)
Stir and reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about one and a half hours.
Add pinto beans and simmer for about 20 more minutes.
Let it cool a little bit before serving.
Garnish with avocado, sour cream and fresh cilantro. (I topped mine with a Mexican cheese mix.)