After enjoying a nice break from the cold and snow, we had a beautiful sunny day here in Madison. How did I know the weather would turn cold and crazy again? The weather report here is always pretty right on. So, I knew I’d better enjoy the sun. . it was 37 but felt like summer. Funny how I have adjusted to the cold weather . . meaning, I don’t get freezing cold when it’s 40 degrees anymore.
Now, I know what freezing feels like.
After feeling -18, 37 degrees ain’t nothin’. And after breaking out my slow cooker for this dish, my slow cooker has held a semi-permanent place on my counter. So, I thought. . I have to make a slow cooked chili.
And I have to use beer and cheese. Two staples here in Wisconsin. So, I used a bottle of our Wisconsin Capital Brewery Annual Beer, an American Amber/ Red Lager, “a sort of catch-all category, these lagers boast a bit more malt backbone and overall character than their lighter sister styles. Bitterness is generally low.” More malt was exactly what I was going for.
Now, I’m no chili expert but I have made chili several times in my kitchen and this one is the bomb!! Maybe it was the Wisconsin cheddar, maybe it was the beer. . or maybe it was slow cooking it, allowing all the flavors to meld together. . and I’m calling this one Cheeseburger Chili because I purposely did not break up my beef so you would have big chunks of ground beef, along with a lot of cheddar cheese in every bite.
Freaking delicious.
How this all comes together. . Heat some oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions and red and green bell peppers, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic, a lot of chili powder, and cumin, stir to coat the vegetables, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the ground beef, being careful not to break it up too small (remember, you want some nice big chunks) and cook, until the beef is no longer pink.
Transfer the mixture to your slow cooker, add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beer and beans, and stir to combine. Cover and cook until the chili thickens and the flavors meld, for about 8 hours on low or 6 hours on high.
Mixture going IN the slow cooker:
After 6 hours. (These photos don’t do this chili justice. And you have to smell this chili!!! so good!)
Serve and pile on the sour cream, chives and cheese! Your slow cooker did all of the work for you. . now sit back and enjoy!
And add even more cheese like I did, yum!
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, medium dice
- ½ medium to large red bell pepper, medium dice
- ½ medium to large green bell pepper, medium dice
- 6 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes (optional, or you can use less)
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, + more as needed
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (12-ounce) bottle beer; dark or amber (more malt)
- 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Sour cream
- fresh chives; diced
- Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions and red and green bell peppers, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, for about 6-8 minutes.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin and red chili pepper flakes, stir to coat the vegetables, and cook until fragrant, for about 1 minute. Add the ground beef, being careful not to break it up too much and cook until the beef is no longer pink, for about 7 minutes.
- Carefully transfer the mixture to your slow cooker, add the diced tomatoes and their juices, the tomato sauce, pour in the beer and beans, and stir to combine. Cover and cook until the chili thickens and the flavors meld, for about 8 hours on low or 6 hours on high.
- Taste and season with salt as needed, and serve with sour cream, loads of cheddar cheese and garnish with fresh chives. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Chow.com.
Today is a Sunday Supper CHILI COOK-OFF!
Today we are having ourselves a good ole Chili Cook-Off!!! And the WINNER gets one ticket to the 2014 Food and Wine Conference, being held once again in sunny Orlando, Florida this July + a $25 gift card. And I want to WIN so please VOTE!!! Chili Cook-Off Voting will take place at the Sunday Supper Movement Online Community Magazine’s website, so click here to VOTE!
How should you vote? With your eyes…your heart…your mind…your stomach – however you wish! Choose the one that looks the best, or the one that your best friend made, or the one that has a tongue-tingling ingredient list, or maybe the one that just all-around makes your tummy rumble. The choice is yours! So, bring on the chili!!!
Beef and Bison Chili
- Bison & Black Bean Chili from It’s Yummi!
- Cincinnati Chili from Savvy Eats
- Easy Beef Bean Chili from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
- Easy Chili con Carne from Manu’s Menu
- Gesundheit Chili from Magnolia Days
- Hellfire Chili from Yours And Mine Are Ours
- Hoisin Beef Chili from Small Wallet, Big Appetite
- Moroccan Harissa Spiked Chili from MarocMama
- Short Rib Chili from The Texan New Yorker
- Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Chili from Hip Foodie Mom
Pork Chili
- Apple and Red Ale Pulled Pork Chili from Curious Cuisiniere
- Pineapple Pork Chili from Melanie Makes
Chicken, Duck, and Turkey Chili
- Asian Five Spice Duck Chili from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
- Buffalo Turkey Chili from La Bella Vita Cucina
- Chicken and Bell Pepper Chili from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Chicken Meatball Chipotle Chili from Soni’s Food
- Gluten Free Turkey Chili from Gluten Free Crumbley
- Kickin’ Chicken Chili from Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
- Low Calorie Turkey Chili from Basic N Delicious
- Olé Mole Turkey Chili from Kudos Kitchen By Renee
- Quick & Easy Chipotle Turkey Chili from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
- Shockingly Delicious Chili Mole with Red Beans and Raisins from Shockingly Delicious
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili from Family Foodie
- Thai Chicken Chili from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
- White Chicken Chili from The Foodie Army Wife
Mixed (meat combo) Chili
- Best Damn Chili Ever from Noshing With The Nolands
- Chili con Tres Carne from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Daddy’s Favorite Chili from Momma’s Meals
- Harlem Meatloaf Chili from Neighborfood
- Leslie’s Best Chili from La Cocina de Leslie
Fish and Seafood Chili
- Scrumptious Seafood Chili from A Kitchen Hoor
Vegetarian Chili
- Easy Vegetarian Chili with Raisins and Cashews from Delaware Girl Eats
- New Orleans Style Vegetarian Chili from Take A Bite Out of Boca
- Vegan Slow Cooker Chili from Killer Bunnies, Inc
Twist-on-Chili
- Chicken Chili Cheese Fries from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Chili Cornbread Cupcakes from In The Kitchen With KP
- Chili Topped Tater Tots from Ruffles & Truffles
- Spicy Chili Mac from girlichef
Best Wines To Pair with Chili #SundaySupper from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on Twitter today! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm EST. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our#SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.
Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.
I don’t think I’ll ever adjust to this frigid winter! But I have to admit that anything above freezing feels balmy 🙂 Your cheesy chili would be a huge hit at my house! And your photos have made me long for a big bowl for breakfast 🙂
Yes, they do need to invent smell-o-vision. I can only imagine how wonderful it does smell while this chili is cooking. And beer in chili is the bomb!
I agree with you about the slow cooker. Ours is always out this winter and we are freezing again this weekend with a high of -20C. Your chili looks so good, love all that cheese!!
You know I love beer in my chili! Love all of the cheese. This would warm me right up!
That picture with the melty cheese??? You reeled me in with that one! YUM!
What a great twist on chili! I love topping my burgers with it, so why not just add ’em straight to the pot? You’re a culinary genius! 🙂
PINNED to my Chili Creations board!
All of that melted cheese PLUS sour cream has my mouth watering right now. I absolutely love this chili recipe, Alice!
Woah… way to take your chili to the next level!!
Cheeseburger Chili? This is perfect! I am loving it!
This is my type of chili, I love it! Also the cold temps are coming back to us this coming week. Can it just end? I can’t wait another month for spring to get here!
Want, want, want a bowl of this, today!
Using the slow cooker is the way to go when making chili!
amazing as usual Alice! Looks and sounds great!
It’s almost 50 degrees here today, but I here we are dipping to subzero temps again next week. This season has been a test of…everything!
Oh yes – this looks fantastic!!! Love it
Wow how amazing does this look, love the cheeseburger style! And of course because it’s in a slow cooker!! Mmmm…..
What a great idea for a chili! You are so creative!
Cheese?????? I LOVE it! And your pictures look so good, they make me want to grab a spoon and reach for that bowl!
Beer and cheese in chili? Sign me up! It sounds like the perfect dish for a cold day…
This looks really similar to the chili my mom made us growing up – except we’d add elbow macaroni too. Yum!
Burgers and beer – sounds like a winning chili combo to me!
Big chunks of beef and cheese in every bite sounds like my kind of chili! Love with WI beer!
Look at all that cheese goodness.
This looks and sounds amazing! I’ve been wanting to come up with a bacon cheeseburger chili for awhile now, and I think you have just inspired me to get my butt in gear!
Delish! I can almost taste your chili and the pics are making me super hungry 🙂
What a great chili riff-all my favs.
how great to walk into the kitchen and have the chili already made in the slow cooker — yes!
WOW this looks so good. Big chunks of meat ooey gooey cheese……oh and beer. Yes please!!
This looks soooooo good. I love all the melty cheese on top. Isn’t it funny how you adapt to the cold? We had 45 degrees here in Columbus on Saturday and people were walking around in shorts! It felt amazing, but alas, there was snow on my car this morning. :/ Spring is coming soon, right? Right?!
Cheeseburger chili… (Sigh!) Has anyone ever told you you’re a genius!
Oh, how I miss good Wisconsin beer!
Oh… you create the most beautiful meals Alice. Stuff that would be devoured by a hungry family on a midweek night! I can already imagine how good that cheesy, meaty deliciousness would’ve been. Definitely bookmarked for making next week! So good.
This chili totally looks like it’s da bomb! I loooooove your photos (how do you manage to make brown gloppy food look so beautiful?! Mine would look like dog food if I tried photographing it). That pic with the melted cheese on the spoon. I swoon. I had to grab onto the edge of the table to stop from falling over. I voted for you cause this sounds freaking delicious and I’d love to see you at the F&W Conference. Make it happen, woman! Tony and I are going to book our flights soon and I can’t wait!
OK, dude, if you’re going to be there and Amy is too!!! I am going to really try. . let’s see how much everything is. . FL, here we come (hopefully) woot woot!! and if we’re there, we have to meet up with Lora (Cake Duchess)!
Thank you you so much for all the love. . It’s so awkward how I photograph the “spoon” shots b/c it’s just me holding it and doing everything. . but thank you for the sweet comments!
I just made this tonight, it was amazing! Definitely the best chili I’ve made. I actually didn’t have chili powder on hand, so I used 2 tbsp of TEX MEX seasoning (my kids don’t like spice anyway) and it was delish. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Nicole!! great!! thank you for letting me know!!! 🙂 glad you enjoyed it!
Sorry for my confusion – for the peppers, you’re saying to use half of each of them? I’m just making it right now and used 1 whole red and 1 whole green 😳 Thank you
Hi Crystal, yes, just 1/2 of each is fine. . but if your family likes bell peppers, you should be ok! will just be a chunkier chili!