Chili Californio

Total Time: 11 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 10 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juices
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium red bell peppers or 1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 lbs round steaks, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 lb lamb shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar or 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons new mexico chile powder or 2 teaspoons california chili powder
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup pitted ripe california black olives, drained and chopped
• 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
• chopped red onion
• chopped fresh cilantro

Recipe

• 1 combine half the onions, the celery, garlic, salt, tomatoes, and tomato paste in a slow cooker.
• 2 cover and cook on high while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
• 3 in a big skillet over med-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil, then cook the remaining onions and the bell pepper, stirring, until softened, 6-8 minutes; remove from heat.
• 4 using a handheld immersion blender, partially puree the tomato sauce in the cooker, then add the sauteed vegetables and continue cooking on high.
• 5 in the skillet you just used, brown the beef and lamb cubes on all sides in the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, sprinkling the meat with the flour (you will need to do this in batches).
• 6 add the cubes of meat to the cooker; add in the chili powder, brown sugar, vinegar, chile powder, oregano, bay leaf, whole jalapeno, and water; stir to combine.
• 7 cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
• 8 taste for salt and remove bay leaf and whole jalapeno; stir in the olives and cheese.
• 9 serve the chili in bowls; garnish with chopped onions and cilantro.