Chili Recipe

Here is the absolute best chili recipe on the web.
http://chilirecipe.webs.com/index.htm

Background:
I have been working on my chili recipe since 1993 when I bought a little seasoning packet and added it, per the instructions, to a pound of ground beef. It's come a long way since then. Now I actually cut up my own vegetables and add the spices, etc. to my own taste. Below you will notice that I have both ground beef and Italian sausage. If you want this to be super hot, to where you actually will sweat while eating it, then just use the sausage and double the amount. If you don't like hot chili, then go with the ground beef doubled up.

Over the years, while eating my chili, most people would comment on how great it tasted, but also about how hot it was. I've had many requests for me to make it again, but this request was usually followed by another request to "not make it so hot this time". This was during the time when I used only the sausage and I tried many thing to try to "cool" if off some. I found the only way to cool it down was to mix in some ground beef and now I normally make it half and half.

One variation that I want to try, but just haven't gotten around to yet, is to switch out the ground beef with steak. I figure to use 1 lb of steak, probably a london broil, sliced up into 1/2 inch cubes.

Ingredients: (an asterisk * next to the ingredient means it's an estimate. I normally don't measure, I just add and taste until I like it)

1 lb Ground Beef
1 lb Hot Italian Sausage
8 Baseball Size Tomatoes
1 - 2 Baseball Size Onions
1 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce*
1/2 cup crushed Red Pepper*
1/2 cup ground Cayenne Pepper*
1/2 cup Chili Powder*
1 cup shredded Cheese (your choice of type/flavor)
1 cup Sour Cream
1 can Kidney Beans (or two if you like a lot of beans)
Assorted Hot and Chili Peppers (your choice)

Directions:
Dice the tomatoes and onions and simmer them in a large pot. Next, if sausage is in links, cut it free. Grill the beef and sausage together. Make sure the meat is crumbly, like taco or sloppy joe meat. Once the beef is completely cooked through, drain it and add it to the tomatoes and onions. Add the kidney beans. Dice and add any assorted peppers you chose (I don't normally use these). Add hot sauce.

Now you can add the spices, but only add a little of each at a time. Stir and taste after each few spoonfuls added until you like the taste. You should add about 1/4 cup of each.

Simmer for about an hour. This will make it almost soupy. It's ready to serve at this point. Use the sour cream and shredded cheese as toppings. I usually let people add their own and I serve it with dip style tortilla chips.