Smoked Sweet Chili For The Gastric Impaired

Having ulcers sucks, but it doesn't have to make chili completely off-limits. I devised this recipe because I wanted the chili to love me as much as I love it. This actually has a great flavor and if you have stomach problems where you can't have too much spice, give this a try and tell me what you think.

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs Ground beef
15.5 oz can of beans, rinsed and left to soak for 30 mins to overnight
16 oz tomato sauce
1/2 Onion, diced
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbspns Smokehouse Maple seasoning
2 Tbspns Parlsey, Cilantro, Smoked Paprika, Chili and Garlic powder
1 Tbspn Lime juice
1 tspn Cayenne pepper
A small dash of Frank's Red Hot, just for a kick.
Sometimes I'll make this with chopped celery for color, but I didn't have any today. /=P

In a large pot over high flame, caramelize the onions and garlic. Add a little water to soak up the brown, don't use oil. Instead of chopping this all by hand, I used a mechanical chopper because Tammy took it out for me and insisted I use it. It pulverized my onions to the point where they held no consistency in the chili. This is why I prefer chopping by hand, and best  believe I will be doing so from now on.

Add the meat and stir using a wooden spoon. (Those work best) Chop up meat and mix with the onions until the meat is fine and evenly browned. Add the brown sugar and mix well, allowing it to fully melt. I put the Smokehouse maple in at this point too.

Drain the beans and add them, mixing well. Add the herbs, spices and hot sauce. I personally like to wait until all the liquid evaporates from the meat before adding the tomato sauce, this way I know the meat is done.

Add the tomato sauce, blending everything together. You may have to turn the flame down to keep the sauce from splashing. Make sure you add the lime juice last. Cover and let it all heat through on a simmer.

You can serve this with crackers, rolls, garlic bread, or even over rice.

I did a random search for the origin of chili, and found out it's a purely American dish, but a lot of people mistake it for being Mexican. Mexicans view chili as a culinary abomination, did you know that? This coming from a people who invented refried beans. Anyhow, Tabasco.com had this to say: "…it can only truly be Texas red if it walks the thin line just this side of indigestibility: damning the mouth that eats it and defying the stomach to digest it, the ingredients are hardly willing to lie in the same pot together." -John Thorne, Simple Cooking

I'm sorry, but that just doesn't work for me. This does. Maybe it'll work for you too.