Peach-Mango Salsa Chili Recipe (Well, Assembly)

I call this more of an assembly than recipe because all of the “ingredients” are actually prepared foods. That, and it’s really easy.

To start you need:

• A slow cooker
• Two jars of Desert Pepper Trading Company’s Peach-Mango Salsa
• One can of your favorite brand tomato paste (I use Hunt’s)
• One jar/can of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I use Classico brand Marinara with plum tomatoes and olive oil)
• Two cans of your favorite diced tomatoes (I use Del Monte brand, usually with basil, garlic, and oregano)
• Two cans of your favorite kidney beans (I use the generic cheap stuff)
• Three Pounds ground beef (although you can substitute ground turkey for a healthier chili)
• Chili powder

Cook the ground beef to your liking. I season the crap out of the ground beef with chili powder and dice up some onions, bake it, and then drain the grease. Then I empty the contents of the cans and jars into the slow cooker, seasoning the crap out of everything with chili powder as I go, and add the cooked beef, making sure to chop, dice, and tear the beef into small bits. Next, slow cook the concoction for four to six hours, adding chili powder and stirring occasionally. Serve when ready. Oddly enough, the chili is actually a lot better the next day, after sitting in the fridge and being re-heated.

Obviously this “recipe” can be easily modified to taste, such as adding green chilies or jalapenos, or green chili or jalapeno flavored diced tomatoes, adding different spices, different brands of tomato sauce, etc. Maybe you can really go nuts and make your chili from scratch (y’know, an actual recipe) and just add the peach-mango salsa. I would, but I suck. Enjoy!

This article was edited after publication by the author on 10 Jan 2009. View changes.