Recipe: Buffalo Chili

Difficulty
Prep Time	30 minutes - 3 hours
Suggested Sides	Garlic Bread

Until they come up with "Purina Guy Chow," this is probably the next best thing. You can eat it after half an hour, but it's much better if left to simmer for a couple of hours. And it reheats really well.

I use buffalo since it's healthier than ground beef and I live close to a Central Market. Ground beef works in a pinch, but cooking with buffalo sounds more impressive.

Ingredients

1. 2 pounds ground buffalo (also called bison).
2. Olive oil
3. 1 large (28oz.) can of crushed tomatoes
4. 1 large (28oz.) can of diced tomatoes (some come with spices — these are fine)
5. 2-3 cans (15oz.) of black beans
6. ½ of a sweet onion
7. 2 oz. dark chocolate (broken into small pieces)
8. One package of Carol Shelby chili mix
9. Black pepper
10. Sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation

Get out:

1. Ingredients
2. Cutting board
3. Large frying pan
4. Large pot
5. Bowl
6. Sharp knife
7. Spatula
8. Large spoon
9. Cheese grater

Open the cans of black beans. Empty them into the large pot. Fill the pot with cold water and stir the black beans with the large spoon. (The water will be foamy — your pot was probably clean, the beans just look like they're mixed with soapy bubbles). Dump off the water and repeat a couple of times. By rinsing the black beans in cold water you're getting rid of the stuff that makes you, how shall we say, "gassy."

Take the onion and remove the outer couple of layers while running it under cold water. Chop the onion very fine.

Turn the large burner on to medium-high (7-8) and place the large frying pan on it. Add the chopped onion and a couple of ounces of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Stir (technically "saute") the onion until it starts to turn brown. Drain the excess oil and put the chopped onion in the bowl.

Place the ground buffalo in the large frying pan (don't worry about cleaning it) and add a few (2-3) ounces of olive oil. Use the spatula to break up the buffalo and start stirring. Continue to stir and break up the buffalo into smaller pieces. (If you're a cook, this is simply "browning the buffalo.")

Take a break from stirring and rinse the black beans again. Basically you want to rinse them until the water is fairly clear.

Go back to stirring the buffalo. Once there is no more pink anywhere in the meat, rinse the meat under hot water and drain it. Repeat twice. Turn the rangetop down to "simmer," "low," or "2."

Drain the water from the black beans, add the buffalo, and mix. Add the crushed tomatoes. Add the ingredients from the chili mix package. Mix. Finally add the diced tomatoes, chocolate, and onion. Mix thoroughly.

Place the pot of chili on the rangetop and stir. After 10-15 minutes, it's edible, but if you let it simmer for a couple of hours and stir it every 10 minutes or so it will be much better. I often make it while watching television and stir at the commercials.

Put the chili in a bowl and add some grated cheddar cheese on top and it's some really tasty stuff. It will keep for at least 4 days in the refrigerator. (There will be some liquid forming in "pools." Just mix it back in and don't worry about it.)

Good Luck!!!

- "Mr. Nice Guy"