Chili Con Carne

This hearty stew from the farm kitchen is super-simple to make for a crowd. Garnish with chopped scallions, shredded cheddar cheese, raw onions, hot sauce, sour cream!

**with grass fed ground beef and chorizo from Stony Creek Farmstead Chorizo**

 Total Time: 1 HR 30 MIN
 Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• Kosher salt

• Pepper

• 1 lb of chorizo sausage

• 1 lb of ground beef

• 1 large onion, thinly sliced

• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1 quart chicken stock or low-sodium broth

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• ½ tablespoon paprika

• ½ tablespoon cumin

• 1 can crushed tomatoes

• 2 cups of frozen or fresh corn

• 1 can red kidney beans

In a large deep cast-iron casserole, put 1 tablespoon of the oil into the pan and heat till medium. Place the chorizo in the pan and sear each side till golden brown. Once it is fully cooked on the outside, take it out of the skillet and put it in a separate bowl. Lower the heat and place the onions and garlic into the cast-iron skillet and cook till translucent, 7 minutes. Next, place the ground beef in the skillet to brown and season with the cumin, paprika and chili powder. Once the beef is fully cooked, add the tomatoes and chicken stock then stir to combine.

If you like a rich tomato-ey chili, you can add diced tomatoes or a small can of tomato paste. Then adjust seasonings to your taste. Lower the heat, so that the whole pot comes to a simmer and add the bay leaves. Take the chorizo sausage and cut it into bite-size pieces, place it back into the chili and add the corn and beans. We like to add a can of beer at this point as well.

Stir occasionally for the next 30 minutes to allow flavors to combine. Taste and add salt or pepper as needed. After that you are done! Remember, it always tastes better the second day, so feel free to make this on the weekend to eat during the week. Or throw everything in the slow cooker to simmer all day.