Chili for our new President!!!

I intended to post this earlier, but we got busy with work this week after Inaguration Day. We took that day off and watched all the festivities on TV. I've never watched any of that stuff before, but I really wanted to witness it this time.

I considered making some Hawaiian food for the occasion, but when I looked into it, the ingredients appeared that they would be difficult if not impossible to obtain here in NJ. So, we agreed that we would go to Hawaii someday and eat it then!

I read that President Obama likes chili, and of course we love chili, so we decided to have some for the celebration. A dear Friend recently gave us a package of ground venison, so here is:

President Obama's Venison Chili

1.5 pounds ground venison

EV olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 Tablespoon chopped chipotle in adobo

1 pint tomatoes (I used home-canned, but store canned is just fine)

2 Tablespoons chili powder

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon hot paprika

1 teaspoon medium-hot crushed red peppers

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cans pink beans, drained (or any beans are fine)

2 cups beef broth

Mix spices together in small bowl. Preheat crockpot to high. Put beans, tomatoes, and chipotle in crockpot. Brown meat in oil over medium-high heat until well browned all over. Add about half of the spice mixture and cook for 2 minutes. Remove meat to crockpot. Add a bit more oil to pan if necessary, and cook onions until beginning to soften. Add peppers and cook for about 5 minutes until vegetables are soft and browning some. Add remainder of spice mixture and stir for 2 minutes. Put vegetables and all remaining ingredients in crockpot and stir until completely incorporated. Turn crockpot to low and cook for 6-8 hours. Add more broth if it gets too dry.