"Pretty sure I have 3rd degree burns." - Me

I am a very lucky guy. Jamie handles all meals in this house. She is just better at it and enjoys cooking. Every once in a while I find myself trying to impress her with my culinary skills. I have a handful of dishes I can pull off when I try. My pancakes? Get out of town, they are incredible. This past week I had a day off, and it was raining. Perfect chilly weather day for some chili (see what I did there?). I have a few different types of chili I like cooking. We have varying tastes when it comes to food. I can't get my food spicy enough where as she likes to do something she calls "actually tasting the food." So I decided to meet in the middle and use my basic chili recipe with a little heat; and a little Pabst. Making this chili is SUPER easy, hence why you can do it while drinking. *thumbs up emoji*

Without sounding like a pretentious dickhead, I try to use as many organic ingredients as I can (disregard the Pabst). Gather your ingredients and place the ground beef in a large pot and toss in the garlic. Cook over medium heat until browned, takes about 15 minutes. You can drain off the excess fat, but sometimes I do not, up to you. If I am using a leaner meat without a ton of excess fat I leave it; I think it adds some richness. Pour in the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, some red pepper flakes, and cayenne. Stir together well, cover, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so. If the mixture becomes overly dry, add 1/2 cup beer.

After an hour, place the masa harina (essentially corn flour, but hey, were getting worldly over here) in a small bowl. Add 1/2 cup of beer and stir together with a fork. It thickens up quick so act fast! Transfer the masa mixture into the chili. Stir together well, and then taste to add any additional seasonings. This is where I usually go nuts and start adding jalapeños, a canister of red pepper flakes, and every other source of heat I have in the house, but I wanted Jamie to enjoy dinner with me, so I kept it pretty tame today. Add more masa paste or beer to get the chili to your preferred consistency. Add the beans and simmer for 10 minutes! Done! Bowl that beast - top it with cheese - get classy and throw some lime slices or some tortilla chips around and you got yourself a nice rainy-day chili!

The goods:

2 pounds ground beef

2 cloves garlic, chopped

One 15-ounce can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons chili powder or to taste

1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground oregano

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup masa harina

One 15-ounce can kidney beans

One 15-ounce can pinto beans

Shredded Cheddar, for serving, topping, or throwing around

Tortilla chips, for serving and throwing around

Lime wedges, for serving and throwing around

-YourFriendMatt