There is no dish that speaks to me more on the snowy ski slopes than a hot bowl of thick, hearty chili.  It’s perfect for making the day before and heating up later on or throwing into the slow cooker and serving up when you arrive home in the afternoon – in fact, it tastes better the longer it sits.  The versatility of this recipe is endless.  I’ve made it with different meats (or meatless) and even with fish.  If you are inclined to black instead of white beans, more heat, extra veggies, handfuls of toppings or served up plain, chili is the perfect recipe to tweak again and again subject to taste.  For me, I’ve found that I like my chili best with ground chicken.  It’s not dry, it soups up the flavors of the spices and veggies like a sponge and it crumbles nicely.

I add finely diced red and green pepper, jalapenos, carrots and onion.  While it looks like a mountain of vegetables to begin, they will cook down well.

This will come as no surprise to those that make chili often, but the secret weapon of this recipe really is the BBQ sauce.  My Mom originally taught me how to make chili many years ago and always threw in a little BBQ sauce to thicken and sweeten.  You don’t need much as too much BBQ can overpower, but about a quarter cup for the entire pot works perfectly and adds just a hint of tanginess.

As I mentioned above, any number of toppings and sides can accompany chili.  I like to top my bowl with a little shredded cheese, avocado and onion (in this case I had some leftover green onions) and some crunchy garlic toast to dunk and sop up every last bite.

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